Fall Frolic

Family photos


The caped crusader doing his best Batman pose.

Flying with Daddy. Does Batman fly outside of the Batmobile?

Ella, Xavier, Lucy, Brooklyn, and Katie doing the conga down 5th Street after a festive supper. They were too cute!

Last Friday was the annual Fall Frolic in "Historic Uptown Marysville." The kids enjoy trick or treating at the local businesses and decorating pumpkins. Ellie got lots of attention in her black tutu borrowed from Brooklyn. Xavier did NOT want to dress up this year. We informed him, "no costume, no candy" and he was quickly persuaded. The weather was great compared to the monsoon last year. We ran into our neighbors and decided to end the evening with a family dinner at Fiesta Grande. We put all the kids in one booth and the adults in another. I think we scared the waiter with all the chaos!

Pump it up!

We attended a birthday party last Wednesday for the kids' first experience at Pump-it-Up. They're still talking about it! They jumped and bounced for well over an hour before cake and ice cream. I'm thankful for the order of events! Brooklyn's favorite was the giant slide and Xavier didn't care as long as he was running or jumping. They slept well that night! Andy had to wear my socks(and they were pink, of course!) because he didn't think he was going to participate. All it took was one bat of an eyelash from each kid and he was bouncing with the rest of them. Thanks for a fun evening, Grays!

Gymnastics

We enrolled the kids in a preschool gymnastics class at Integrity Gymnastics. They love it! Xavier gets to expend some pent up energy and learn how to listen and follow directions. His favorite thing to do is knock the pom poms off a cone while swinging on the bar. Brooklyn seems to have some major flexiblity. I honestly have no idea where that came from! She seems to rise to every challenge and try even if she's scared. For all of you who know Brooklyn, that's a major accomplishment! Her favorite thing to do is the bars. Sorry about the dark pictures, my camera was in a funk!

Family Time

Andy had to work second shift last week. The kids really enjoyed having him home during the day. It was like a week of weekends! One of the days we went to the zoo and enjoyed spending some unrushed time together.

Where are the chickens?

Some friends of ours decided to try their hands at raising chickens. We went to their house a couple of months ago to meet the baby chicks. The kids loved petting the fuzzy yellow babies and feeding them chicken feed. Fast forward to October 6th...We were invited to their house for a harvest party and chicken tasting after the chickens were "processed." We had such a great time! Xavier was able to sit on a huge tractor which made his evening. Afterward, Mr. Martig took them for a spin(slowly and gently, of course!) on the 4-wheeler. But, the kids wanted to know what happened to all the chickens? Um, ah, what do you say to a five and almost three year old? Thankfully, they took the news pretty well and there were still a few chickens left to visit. Thanks for the fun, Martigs!

Kindergarten Field Trip

Brooklyn's class.

Ella, Xavier, Lucy, Brooklyn, and Lauren

Brooklyn's first kindergarten field trip was a couple of Fridays ago. I'm still recovering! After meeting at the front gate of the Columbus Zoo, we were free to wander the zoo for almost FIVE hours. Our normal trips to the zoo usually last only a couple of hours at most. By the time it was time to leave, everyone was fighting over a spot in the stroller and we had lots of grumpy faces. I skipped the trip to the fire station the following week. We'll see how Leed's pumpkin farm goes...

Drumroll Please...

It's a BOY! Xavier is thrilled! Brooklyn is coping. She really wanted a sister, but she's surrounded by girl friends who love girly things. Poor Xavier is stuck playing the prince every day! I'm hoping the boys will be buddies and they'll watch out for their big sister.
The doctor said everything looks normal and perfect. She also said this guy won't be any six pounder. Everything measured big. Imagine?! Xavier #2...? Brooklyn will have her own built in bodyguards...unless they're the ones picking on her!

Family Fun Fest

The Honda Family Fun Fest was much more fun this year than last. It was inside! Last year, the kids were miserable in the blazing heat and long lines. It was crowded this year but not unmanagable. The kids wanted to ride every ride that went in a circle. Yuck! Xavier loved all the inflatables(slides, jumpy things, etc.) and Brooklyn enjoyed the helicopter ride.

We're off to see the Wizard!

We went to La Comedia dinner theater on the last day of their production of the Wizard of Oz. What fun! The kids behaved perfectly and sat through the entire show. One of the "munchkins" sat at the table behind us. Brooklyn was starstruck. She went over to the girl during intermission to let her know she'd done a good job. As the curtain was closing for the final time, Xavier yelled out "Bye Witch!" We were able to meet the characters after the show. I was surprised that Brooklyn was brave enough to get her picture taken with the Wicked Witch of the West. Xavier wanted nothing to do with the Green Meanie, but wouldn't let go of Dorothy's hand!

Oh, how I love to go camping!

After reading the King's blog, I'm thankful we attempted camping in a much safer(those raccoons could have been rabid!) environment...a friend's backyard. We've wanted to go camping with the kiddos for quite a while, but weren't sure how they would handle the great outdoors. We decided to try it out in the Marshal's backyard. We set up three tents and hoped for the best. After a great grilled out supper and birthday dessert for Charis, we sat around the most wonderful campfire a subdivision could have! We all decided s'mores were out of the question due to the rich dessert and sent the kids to bed...in one tent! We hoped they would settle down and go to sleep. Fat chance! We let them giggle, wrestle, and get really sweaty before we sent each kid to their own tent. They each had a parent with whom to spend the night. I'm not sure how Andy fit into the child's two-man pup tent, but it actually went surprisingly well! I think we're ready to try the real thing!

Get on the Bus!

Brooklyn had her first official bus ride last Friday. She was more excited to ride the bus than go to school! It was an uneventful trip that seemed like a dream come true for her. She talked about the ride for days and can't wait until she has to ride again. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering. Her kindergarten class is reviewing colors for the first three weeks and they are asked to wear a specific color every day. It's been nice to know exactly what she is going to be wearing every day. I'm almost an advocate for school uniforms! I've been dressing Xavier in the appropriate color hoping my almost 3 year old will finally learn his colors. We're close, if only he would stop calling red, green.

Maybe if I don't post this, it didn't really happen...

It's official. Brooklyn started kindergarten on Wednesday. It was much more difficult that I expected. I had no problem sending her to preschool, but this seems much more permanent! We decided to send her to Trinity Lutheran School because of their kindergarten reputation and Christian basis for teaching. She will attend school for half days for the first nine weeks, then go all day for the rest of the year.


This sticker was sitting at her desk when she arrived on Wednesday.

During the "meet the teacher" event on Tuesday.

Posing with the class guinea pig, Brown Sugar.

Brooklyn's locker. Is she really old enough to have a locker?

Outside Mrs. Wolfe's classrooom.

Best bud Avery is just down the hall.

Brooklyn already has two friends in her class...Her friend from preschool, Taylor and our neighbor, Lucy. Good luck to Mrs. Wolfe trying to keep those three quiet!

The wannabe kindergarteners, Xavier and Ella

The day got off to a rough start with huge thunderstorms beginning at 3:00am. We were all awake through the continuous thunder and lightning until 6:30 when we finally gave up trying to sleep and got up for the day. Andy took a half day to see Brooklyn off to school. I'm not sure if Brooklyn or I needed him more! We dropped her off at school(in the pouring rain, of course) and headed toward the exit. She was fine! I made it to the stairs before I started crying. Three more years until I get to do this again. We're all adjusting well, but I know Xavier misses her bunches. Tomorrow is the first day she'll ride the bus. It's always something new!

Ohio Balloon Fest II

We went back to the balloon fest on Saturday and the sky was filled with balloons! We asked some poor man to take our picture and I think it took him a half hour to figure out how to push the button! We had a good time and it was nice that we could bring Ellie along. She was quite the popular dog! I can't say we'll be rushing back to the fest next year, but it was a fun family evening out.

Ohio Balloon Fest

We decided to take Xavier to the Ohio Balloon Fest last Friday night so he didn't have to feel left out that Brooklyn was invited to a High School Musical 2 party. Unfortunately, it was too windy so there were zero balloons. We made the best of it by allowing him to jump in the bounce houses and sit in the fire engine. Eventually, we did spot a pretty neat octopus kite in the sky. Most importantly, Xavier got some alone time with Mom and Dad.