Lately

Here is what has been going on in our home lately:

Workbooks and Word Girl.

 Time to break out the winter coats. And we are very grateful for hand me downs from a friend. Lots of princess stuff for Ellie. 

 Thanksgiving craft. 

 Handwriting practice. 

 Lego building. 

 And stilt walking. 

 I love having a girl! And a very girly girl at that. 

 Christmas choir practice. 

 And look who lost 2 teeth! He was a jack o'lantern just in time for Halloween. 

Fall Day

We had a fun fall day! This morning we went to Hands On Museum in downtown Hendersonville. I only have been there once, when Everett was a toddler, and this whole month of October admission was only $4. So today we ventured out and the children had a blast! They all loved the play grocery store, the stage with costumes, the tunnel slide, the Lego raceway, and the play bakery. Eleanor loved the little nursery with baby dolls (where she gave her baby a bath, rocked it, and put it to bed). And the big boys got to participate in a science experiment making slime while Eleanor and Thatcher Reid did a project of painting rocks. They definitely did not want to leave and we will have to go back next month. While the littlest ones took a nap, the big boys watched a few Halloween videos. Then this afternoon we carved pumpkins. Everett, Hampton, and Eleanor drew faces on their pumpkin and then Eric carved. I think they did a good job! And then they made leaf piles in the front yard and had a blast jumping in them. Chili for dinner was the perfect way to end our fall day.

Sickies

Last week, and even into this week, the children have been passing around a cold/cough. It started with Hampton, then moved on to Thatcher, then Ellie....and now back to Hampton! Oh my, we are over this sickness, but tis the season I suppose. Everett has somehow managed to escape it (I think). 

When you feel sick, play with play dough! We made this pumpkin spiced play dough a couple weeks ago. It smells so good!

 Feeling kind of puny. And that is his artwork on the wall behind him. Took a lot of scrubbing from the Magic Eraser to get that out!

 Helping cook. And by cook I mean scooping dry rice in and out of the bowl. 

 My little helper. 

Movie Night: Frozen.

I just love family traditions and family movie night is definitely becoming one of them. The other night we decided to watch Frozen. We had not seen it in awhile. I stacked 3 jumbo size marshmallows on top of one another and called it "Olaf." Thatcher watched bits and pieces here and there, but mostly wandered around the playroom. Hampton talked through the entire movie. And Eleanor clung to her Frozen tea set and sang here and there to the lyrics she knew. It was a fun time!

Autumn Photo Shoot Part 2

Autumn Photo Shoot Part 1

I really wanted some updated photos of our family this Autumn and so in order to save some money, decided to take them myself. After church last Sunday we headed to one of our favorite spots, the arboretum, with camera in hand. We were already dressed from church so it was very simple. We had packed a picnic lunch and then I took some photos throughout our walk. It was so fun and I am pleased with how everything turned out! We even had a man passing by snap a shot of our whole family! 

Backyard Fun in the Fall

It really is the Fall time when we start venturing outside more. The summer heat gets to us all, but Fall weather is perfect. Cool, not too warm. And the crunchy leaves and acorns galore just add to the fun. Eric mowed our back lawn the other day and we moved our play set from the deck. There was also a slight chill in the air. The children took care of the rest-between playing pirates, collecting acorns, kicking a ball around, and just plain running, they had a blast! 

 This is Eleanor walking around just singing. 

 Thatcher Reid in the "forest" part of our backyard.