A Chilly Day at the Pumpkin Patch

We have had a beautiful fall. It has been the perfect combination of warm days mixed with cool nights and mornings.  In.cred.ible!  We have only had one weekend where the weather decided to give us a taste of winter.  The cool streak started on the Friday our homeschool group had scheduled a trip to the pumpkin patch.  (Since that weekend, we have had beautiful warm sunny days.)

We were supposed to spend the morning at the pumpkin patch but it was far too chilly.  The temperature was in the 40's, the sky was overcast and it was very windy.  Thankfully, the kids really didn't seemed bothered by the cold. They were so excited to pick the pumpkins, go on the hayride, and see the new animals in the petting zoo (zebra and camel). 

Even though it was a short and very chilly trip, it was an adventure and one the kids will remember for a long time.  

He Did It!

A little chart. (he marked each day with a sticker when he didn't suck his thumb and every week he got to watch a movie, or he could play the wii, or pick one thing at the dollar store)

A little bribery. (i told y'all in this situation i was not opposed to bribery)

A boy who is no longer sucking his thumb.

A happy mama! 

The completed chart - 6 weeks of no thumb sucking

The grand prize: a skateboard ($7 thank you very much)

so proud

(showin' some skills)

Interview with Landon:

Do you miss sucking your thumb: No

Do you miss your blanket: Yes

What would happen if I gave you your blanket: I would suck my thumb

At least he is honest. 

Italian Dinner

In September, our neighbor Joanie went on a two week tour of Italy with her daughters.  During their trip they spent four days at a cooking school, learning new cooking techniques and eating wonderful food.

Last Saturday evening, Joanie invited our family along with three other families over to have an Italian dining experience.

The great thing about Joanie is she is all about the kids. She invited all the kids over early to help set tables, prepare food, set out water cups, and practice their jobs for the dinner.  She also wanted the kids to try her Italian cuisine but knowing that it wasn't all kid friendly she also prepared a kid friendly dinner and dessert.  

The adults were treated to a five course Italian dinner.  The food was fantastic!  Thank you Joanie for treating us to such a special dinner. Thank you Pat and Lance for doing all the dishes for Joanie!

The Meal:

1. First course: peaches with honey, two different cheeses, and jam

2. Second course: Squash stuffed ravioli (so so yummy and I am not even a fan of squash)

3. Fifth course: Cooked cream with berries 

I was too excited about the third and fourth course to get photos! The third course was bread salad and the fourth course was roasted pork loin and roasted garlic potatoes.

The Workers:

4. Morgan: setting tables, serving, and clearing dishes

5. Joanie: our wonderful, gracious hostess

6. Landon: the butler "Welcome to Italy may I take your coat or purse"

7. Mauryn: just because she is so stinkin' cute!

(The picture missing is of me rolling across the street to get home because I ate way too much food)

Wordless Wednesday: Snack in a Box

All In A Days Work

In the past week Landon has taken an interest in sounding out words, figuring out rhyming words and words that start with the same letter. He has become very interested in starting to write letters and words.  He is constantly asking how to spell things and writing them in his notebook or making things with letters on them for his friends.

Over the weekend, Lance took Landon with him on some farm calls.  As my boys were driving along, Landon was asking Lance how to write "work pants" and how to form the letters he didn't know how to write yet.  

When they returned from working this is what I found on Landon's pants:

self portrait

this is how you write work pants - twice since the first one wasn't good enough

So next time Landon is wanting to write, we need to be sure he is writing on PAPER!

I really tried hard not to laugh. Seriously, the boy was so proud of his work and coming from a kid who had zero, i mean z.e.r.o interest in any type of school just a few short months ago this is progress. I complemented him on his writing and sounding out letters but then gently reminded him that we don't write on our clothing. 

And then as any good blogger would do, I had to get some pictures to remember this moment.

My boy showing off his skills.

Thanks to Melaleuca prespot, there is no more ink on his jeans. YES!

Fall Fun

 My friend Stephanie had this posted on her blog and I thought it looked like fun.

F (favorite fall food recipe)

Ohh this is a hard one... there are baked apple doughnuts, pumpkin bars, chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, candy corn with peanuts and M&M's (not really a recipe but a yummy snack)

A (favorite fall activity)

When we lived in MN, we had an apple orchard about five miles from our house. I loved going their for lunch, taking the hayride, and picking apples. I haven't found any place near our house now that offers those type of opportunities. We do go to the pumpkin patch, feed the ducks on the greenbelt, and just enjoy being outside biking or going on walks.

L (favorite fall liquid drink)

Hot chocolate or hot caramel apple cider

L (what you look forward to when fall comes)

Curling up with a blanket by the fireplace with a book or a movie, hot chocolate, football games, my girls' birthdays, wearing sweaters, scarves, and jeans, bonfires, macintosh apples, making soup, all the yummy fall baked good with pumpkin, and the list could go on and on...

What are your fall favorites??

Ode To Decorah

The fall always makes me long for the place I called home for my four years of college.  The memories of football games, dinners at Mabe's (still my all time favorite pizza. if only they delivered to Idaho), walks on tree lined streets, and hikes at the parks.  

This quiet little town in northeast Iowa is a diamond in the rough in the fall. It is one of the most beautiful places when summer turns to fall. The rolling hills, the bluffs, the trees turning magnificent shades of red, orange, and yellow. Amazing.  

Most people have never heard of Decorah, Iowa or Luther College. 

Since we no longer have cable, I have been trying to find some new shows to record on TiVo to watch while I workout. (I am open to any suggestions for shows not on cable to record)

Earlier this week, I was watching an episode of Life on Mars.  One of the characters was talking about how hard it was to live in NY and she missed home. Where was home? DECORAH, IOWA.

When the character, Windy, said she was from Decorah Iowa. I about fell off my elliptical machine.  I wanted to make sure I heard her correctly so I replayed the scene about ten times. By now I was fairly certain she had said Decorah, Iowa but I wanted to make sure I wasn't imagining it.

So I called to Lance in my loudest whisper yell, you know the one where you want to get his attention but not wake the children.  I didn't tell him anything about what was playing just that I wanted him to watch it. And I knew when a look of surprise came across his face, the Windy in fact had said Decorah Iowa.

So our fair Decorah, Iowa you are now famous. Although most people will probably have missed the fine city where Windy hailed from but to us it brought smiles and memories of a place we hold so dear to our hearts.