UEA Weekend

Having two no school days in a row was cause for celebration in this house. The weather was so nice that it was like we had a little encore to summer. The kids spent tons of time outside playing with the neighbors. We did all the lazy day things that we haven’t had time for lately – built puzzles, played GameCube, had a picnic, did art projects, built Lincoln Log cabins, and had some fun family outings. It was a nice break from our normal routine of school, homework, and chores. Here are a couple of the highlights:

Air Force Museum Revisited –

On Thursday, we took the kids back to the Air Force Museum. We met Nate there at noon so we had plenty of time to see all of the displays. I was glad that Nate was there to tell the kids cool things about the planes. My descriptions went something like this “That’s a big plane,” “That one goes fast,” “That’s a helicopter.” Nate was much more informative and interesting.

Haunted Dinosaur Park –

Friday night we took the kids to the dinosaur park’s Halloween event. We’ve gone for a few years and the kids have always really liked it. This year was a little disappointing. It seemed like they didn’t have quite as many cool things to see and they didn’t even light the pumpkins on the “Wall of Pumpkins.” After considering the cost-to-fun ratio, I think we will try something new next year. On the bright side, Heidi and Aaron and their boys came with us. It was fun to hang out with them even though the park wasn’t quite up to par.

Zack and Austin coincidentally matched our family’s Star Wars theme. They were pretty fascinated with mine and Nate’s lightsabers.

Ben made friends with this little boy while we were having scones and hot chocolate. They kept chasing each other around having a blaster/sword fight. I’m always a little surprised that I have such an outgoing kid.

Other Random Photos –

Abby graduated from the Mr. Pitt style of eating a banana to the full on monkey style.

The girls were so proud of their Lincoln Log tower/cabin. Emily ran up the stairs to tell me to come and see it; then she added “get the camera . . . you’ll want a picture.” When I took the picture, Ben said “make a blog of it, Mom!” I guess if they were that excited about it, I should include a picture.

Ben picked the “biggest carrot ever” from our garden. I didn’t really understand his enthusiasm until Nate pointed out that we always just buy the baby carrots at the store. With those as his frame of reference, it is no wonder that he was really impressed. There’s something about growing your own food that kids love. I’ve never seen them get so excited about a healthy snack. Okay, so Abby just kept sucking the ranch dressing off her carrot and double dipping, but it was healthy for the other kids.

True Confession –

The most exciting part of the weekend for me was that Saturday marked the end of the fall soccer season. I think that soccer is a great experience for the kids, but I am ready to reclaim our Saturdays. Our house and yard have been paying the price for our busy schedule.