Boo!

After I downloaded the pictures from my phone to my computer, I discovered that Wyatt wore his same "Boo!" shirt 4 days this week!!! Geesh. I suppose it makes sense though...we had a very Halloweenie Week! :0)

We decorated a Halloween House...





And also ventured to the pumpkin patch...





It seems we go to a different pumpkin patch every year now...however, I love it when we go to Bates Nut Farm. It is a lot farther of a drive than the other pumpkin patches we have visited in the last few years, but it is my personal favorite. Every single year when I was child, that was the pumpkin patch that my parents took us to. I don't remember them having the pony rides, the hay maze, the "Life of a Pumpkin" story time, nor the hay ride...but there was ALWAYS pumpkins!...and there was ALWAYS a trip into their general store for a bag of candy! This year, we shared the experience with my nephews and niece...





And many other families from my Mommy & Me group...



Wyatt got chosen to participate in the story time...



And then we picked our pumpkins...





This week we also got to celebrate the holiday with our MOPS friends at our annual Pumpkin Party...



That was it for our Halloween activities. But somehow the "Boo!" shirt also got rocked at our playdate with Lindsey's family...





And at my nephew Brady's guitar recital (SOOOO proud of Brady!!!)...





In other wardrobe selections, lol...we had a surprise playdate with our niece/cousin Samantha...









The kids often get to spend one-on-one time with their cousins, but up until this point, it has always been their older BOY cousins. We all LOVED having another little girl in our home! Samantha is such a funny little kid...everything about her is LOUD! When she isn't talking LOUDLY, she is playfully squealing or screaming...she had us laughing constantly!

This week, we put or browning bananas to good use...



We sorted things Big/Medium/Little...





Learned about the letter "L"...





Wyatt caught me working on some homemade Christmas gifts...



I had a Sugar Shack order...



Wyatt continues to go to his Kid Fit class at the YMCA every week...



We found a beautiful bench at the mall that looked perfect for pausing in our tracks to take a few pictures...this adventure resulted in mostly silliness, but silliness is worth capturing on a camera too...







One of my very favorite things we did this week, was read this book...



When I was a young girl, someone had given me the book, "Pilgrims Progress." I wish I could remember who gave me that book, becuase it made such an impact on my life. My copy was a lot smaller, and it was a paperback. I remember laying on my stomach on my top bunk bed, reading this story for hours. I was captivated by it. I remember trying to make the connection between the characters in the story, and the issues I faced in my daily life. A couple of weeks ago, at the MOPS garage sale, one of my friends was going through the boxes of items that would be for sale, and she brought the book over to me, and asked if I thought Wyatt might like it. Tears immediatly came to my eyes, and I was so grateful to have a copy for him! Wyatt can obviously read this book on his own, but I was so excited to surprise him with a new bedtime book for us to go through together...just him and I. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been going through it section by section. We have both been eager to keep reading and reading and reading it, but I had been mindful to pace ourselves. To let the stories soke in. To savor this time together. There have been many instances throughout the time when I have been a mom, that I could not wait to experience something special with my children...only to have them CARE LESS!, LOL! But I am so grateful that things were different this time. I had written a note to Wyatt in the front cover of the book before I gave it to him, and from the moment he read that inscription, he was so THRILLED for the upcoming journey. This experience exceeded my expectation. We finished the book this week. :0)

This weekend we got to travel up to Los Angeles, to celebrate my nephew, Nathan, turning 5 years old!



A clown came to the party, and did some magic...





And then the children waited paitently for him to make them balloons...





Then Buzz Lightyear showed up!!!...



And the kids decorated spacey cookies...





Good enough to eat!...



In our study through the United States, we made it to the 6th state...Massachusetts! What a FUN state, rich in history to learn about!

We learned that the world's first computers were built by scientists at Harvard & MIT (colleges in Massachusetts)...



And that Theodor SEUSS Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Suess) was born and raised in Springfield, Mass. Like most children, our kiddos are huge fans of this rhyming author! The kids chose to write and illustrate books of their own this week...







We also learned that Massachusetts is a leading producer of cranberries. At one time, this state was the world's (not just "country's") top producer of cranberries, but now it is second to the state of Wisconsin. We made lemon cranberry bread for a snack...





With the extra berries, we had read that cranberry farmers bounced the cranberries to determine whether a cranberry was a good one or a bad one. We of course had to try out the theory. Sure enough, our cranberries BOUNCED!...





And finally, we ended our week of learning with the state dinner. It was tempting to make Boston Baked Beans, and Toll House cookies (the accidental recipe was founded in Massachesetts), but instead, I went with homemade New England Clam Chowder...



With homemade saltine crackers (these tasted great, but for looks purposes I would abandon the directions, and try to make them a different way next time)...





And for dessert, I made none other than the Official State Desseret...a Boston Cream Pie...





We are looking forward to another week of fun and learning THIS week (she says as the chocolate ice cream is churning in the ice cream maker...to be continued)! :0)