The kids are getting so excited about Halloween! Austin is going to be a Lightening McQueen Race Car Driver and Caitlin is going to be either Belle or Snow White. They have their school Halloween party on Tuesday and then they have Fall Break the rest of the week. On Halloween, Uncle Travis and Aunt Kasia are coming from Oregon to visit. It will be their first trip out here together and the first time we've seen them since their wedding. I hope they arrive well rested! Austin and Caitlin have some plans for them! :)
They carved their first jack-o-lantern the other night...it was classic. Poor Ryan was so grossed out when he had to scoop the pumpkin! He doesn't do messy! But, he'll do anything for our kids...They were sooooo happy to tell him what kind of face to carve and they LOVED when we took it outside and lit it up! Oh my gosh, it was adorable. The next day they drew faces on their little pumpkins....yeah, they weren't so into that activity! Mostly they are scribbled, which is a shame, because they are quite talented when it comes to drawing faces....I have the artwork on the fridge to prove it!
So, we got those lovely pumpkins from our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch. LOVE IT!!! We took a hayride to the patch and this year they were soooo focused on choosing just the "right" pumpkin. It was a perfect fall day to do it too....sunny and crisp. At the pumpkin festival they had pony rides, so of course Austin and Caitlin each took a turn. They are such equestrians. When we got home the kids rested and I finished our outdoor Fall decorations. The kids enjoy decorations so they were happily surprised when I showed them.
The day before the pumpkin patch, we got to share another great family adventure...Weekend Of Service for our church. They literally close down the church and have the congregation volunteer for all sorts of great projects around the Indy area. This year we chose to work with an organization called Food Rescue. Volunteers go collect the leftover food from area businesses that would otherwise be thrown out and take it to local food pantries for distribution. Our job was to go to 2 different Little Caesars Pizzas and collect their leftover pizza to take to Wheeler Mission in Downtown Indy. We picked up about 50 pizzas (seriously...we ran out of room in the "way back" of my car!) and dropped them off. It was a great opportunity to talk to the kids about poverty and how it's important to help others and to actually let them participate in doing so.
A few weeks ago we did another Fall tradition...went to the apple orchard with my mom, gramma, sister, & nephew. Okay, it's only the second year we've done it, but a tradition needs to be started somehow, right? Austin was focused on PICKING the apples....Caitlin was focused on EATING the apples! The night before was awful for them...getting no sleep....so it was touch & go with tantrums. Austin fell asleep at a table at the orchard!!! Now that's tired!!
We are awaiting a large furniture delivery...we finally got the kids their bedroom sets! Caitlin's is white and Austin's is a medium dark wood. Once those arrive we can hang things up and finish the upstairs. It will be nice to have their rooms done! Right now is a little crazy...they are sleeping on only boxspring/mattress and have all their clothes in a large plastic bin. :( Caitlin's new comforter set has cute applique flowers that match the color of her room and Austin has all Pacers/NBA bedding.
We are muddling through a not so great phase of increased tantrums from Austin. This, to me, is the hardest part of parenting! Now they are starting to assert some independence, which is fine, but I hate the acting out part. UGH! Nothing worse than a screaming, crying 4 year old...especially when it regards something non-negotiable like getting dressed, wearing a coat, or getting buckled in the car to go to one of our activities!
Speaking of activities....Caitlin is getting a lot better at tap and ballet. She really pays attention to the teacher and tries so hard. She likes to show us her moves at home too and tells me how much she loves her ballet class. Her favorite move is "Genie in a Bottle" (I think it's because it involves hip shaking!) and she also likes to do an arm movement with a stuffed animal! Daddy let her get a new sweater to wear in the studio, so she is excited to get that next week. Austin loves his "basketball class"! He is getting a lot better at dribbling and following his coach's directions. He sinks most of his shots (on a lowered hoop, of course) and likes talking to the other kids. His favorite part is the "BIG GAME" at the end of each "class". They get to wear jerseys and run the floor. Austin often passes rather than shoots and you can often find him guarding his own team! :) I love hearing him yell, "Pass it to meeeeeee!" as he's running down the floor! (BTW, he hustles down the court like a champ!) Both kids get to listen during Bible Basics and they LOVE the Tootsie Roll Pop at the end! (Austin calls them "tootchy woll pops")
Now, for some random stuff....
*Caitlin is a dress up fanatic! She loves anything princess!
*Austin loves candy corn! He even turns down M&Ms in favor of the "corn".
*Austin was just playing a game he made up. He called it "Fall Down & Get Up" and I'll be darned, that's exactly what it is!
*The kids saw their second movie in a theater...."Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"...they loved it and were soooooooo good! Caitlin ate her popcorn and Austin ate some Twizzlers!
I guess that is all for now....more later!!!!!!
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