Saturday, October 30, 2010

Halloween Fun at School!


Mac got to dress up on Thursday for Halloween.  He was the only one of my three who had a school parade.  Mac dressed up as a duck hunter.  He and his class got to parade outside, despite the rain, and show off their costumes.   Happy Halloween!

John and Angela

This week John got to paint a pumpkin.  Angela, his therapist, came with this fun in her bucket.  He was very serious about it.  He did not even try to eat the paint brush!  Angela also brought a bin full of beans to scoop and play in.  John LOVED it.  He also walked with her to her car to pick out more toys.  They played birthday party.  He was so serious.  He cut the cake and shared the pieces.  He wore a birthday hat.  He was very engaged with her.  He loves Angela.  We are sad that she will soon be on maternity leave and we will have a new therapist, although we wish her well and know she will be a GREAT mommy.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Noble Orchard and Applesauce

 Last week I took a trip up to Paradise to visit Noble Orchard.  It was fantastic!  They had many varieties of apples and I could buy by the bushel.  I took home two bushels (one gala and one jonathon) of apples, a bag of fujis, and some cider.  I also got a few of each kind of apple to try at home.  When I got home I was very excited to start canning!
I used both bushels to make applesauce.  I combine the sweet and tart apples together to make a nice sauce without having to add sugar or anything else!  First I take out the stems of the apples and then I cook them in a pot.  They end up looking like this:
 Then I put them through my awesome strainer.  It separates the skins and seeds from the applesauce.
 I made quite a mess, and John loved it!  He's got a bunch of apple juice all over him!
 I then put the applesauce in jars and sealed the lids with a steam canner.  I ended up with 29 jars of applesauce.  My kids are loving it!!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Ryan's Jack-o-Lantern Story

 This is Ryan's first homework.  His teacher wanted him to make a jack-o-lantern out of construction paper and then write a story about it.  Here is his story:
"My jack-o-lantern grew out in the jungle.  The jungle was as creepy as a spider.  I went to the jungle on a boat and I didn't believe my eyes!  I saw my scary as a bear jack-o-lantern.  Then I went walking to this gate and I put my ear next to it.  My ear heard elephants!  I went home and made some hot chocolate.  Then end."
As long as I'm talking about jack-o-lanterns.  This is Ryan's.  He got the pumpkin on his field trip.  On Sunday, Daddy helped him make his jack-o-lantern.  Unfortunately, once Ryan got the seeds out, he dropped the pumpkin and it cracked down the sides.  So, Ryan decided to fix it with duct tape.  It is now a blind, mummy pumpkin.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Pumpkins Float

Ryan has been talking about things that float in his class this week.  He learned that pumpkins float because they are 90% water.  We decided to test that today.  He threw his pumpkin into the pool and what do ya know, it floats!

Shasta Harvest Festival



We took the kids to the harvest festival at their school on Saturday.  Ryan wore his cowboy vest - and his boots, of course!  Maddie got to bring Bonnie along.  They got their carnival bracelets and played all sorts of fun carnival games.  My favorite to watch was Ryan's eating contest.  They put gummy worms on a plate and covered them with whipped cream.  Ryan sucked those things in lickety split.  The big kid next to him didn't see what was coming!!  Ha!  It was too funny.  The festival was so much better this year than ever before.  They had much less candy, more fun little toys, greater location, etc.  Way to go PTO!!

Jeff is 22!

My little brother is 22.  We celebrated at the Grad on Friday night.  His actual birthday is today.  Happy Birthday Jeffrey!

Garner Ranch Pumpkin Patch









Ryan and I got to go BY BUS to the pumpkin patch last Friday with his class.  He was so excited about that bus ride, I tell you what!  Ryan wore his cowboy boots, like he does most days.  The kids first went in to hear about the farm from their buddy's mom (who runs the show over there!).  Then they got to feed the goats.  They also had pigs, chickens, a steer that for some reason wore a saddle.  ??  Then we walked through their corn maze.  The kids really liked that.  I am so glad we did it during the day!  Finally they got to pick out a pumpkin.  Ryan hiked it way out to the back.  I made him come back - he was just too far out there!  He picked a big pumpkin, the biggest one he could carry.  Then they got to play on the hay stacks.  That is where Ryan got so dang dirty.  He was so hot.  He had sweat pouring down his face.  He was super happy!  He let me sit next to him on the bus ride home.  What a great trip! I hope to avoid riding on the school bus ever again, but I was happy to ride with Ryan that time.

Pumpkin Decorating Contest


Mrs. Granicher had a pumpkin decorating contest at school.  You could not carve the pumpkin, you could only decorate the outside.  Ryan had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do.  He wanted a bat pumpkin.  So, off to Michael's we went.  We got black spray paint, some craft foam, glitter glue, and googlie eyes.  Ryan did most of the work himself - yes I did let him spray paint.  He LOVED his pumpkin.  He did not win the contest, but he had so much fun.  Mrs. Granicher raised some much needed funds for her classroom, too.  Happy Halloween!

Cousins & Friends

The kids are still swimming here in October.  The water is cold, but with it still reaching the 90s, it's plenty hot outside!  After swimming last week, these girls hit the chalk.  They made quite the mess while having lots of fun.  Spencer tried to hose them off, but it didn't work.  I wouldn't let them in the pool or house like that.  Spencer ended up out there with a bucket full of soapy warm water to get them clean enough to come inside.  They regretted going crazy with the chalk.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Go Dinosaurs!!

Ryan is playing soccer this season.  I am so excited!!  I love watching little kids play soccer.  It was super hot today, but I was still happy to be sitting out there.  Ryan was awesome!!  He has a great coach, who happens to be the dad of one of Ryan's buddies from Pre-K.  Ryan is number 7.  They put six kids on the field at a time.  They don't have positions, and they don't use a goalie.  They just run around like a pack of maniacs for 45 minutes or so.  By the end Ryan was exhausted and hot.  He either ran or danced around for the entire time out there.  He really is a crack up!






Forester Pin and Craftsman Pin for Mac

We had a busy night last Wednesday.  It was pack meeting for cub scouts.  Macky was awarded the Forester Pin and Craftsman Pin.  He now has 5 pins on his uniform!  We are so proud of his hard work and are so thankful for Elaine and all the work that she does for these boys.
That same night I took Maddie out to the observatory in Upper Park.  That place is fantastic!  If you've never been there, it's worth staying up late to visit.  It's open Thursday through Sunday starting at sunset. Maddie got to see all sorts of constellations and even the planet Jupiter and its moons up close.  The people there are very knowledgeable and enjoy teaching others.