"Fall Free Days"

Once again, I must giggle at the title. As I am aging, I can't quite remember if that is what we called the break at OBU, or that is just what I called it when I was at OBU. Nonetheless, my mom and sister always fell out in the floor when I said that instead of "Fall Break" and harrassed me unmercifully!

Enough rambling about things that humor only me..."Fall Break" couldn't have come at a better time. The boys and I desperately needed some down time, and the days off definitely provided that! To start off, the Lord provided some GLORIOUS weather throughout the entire break.--It. Was. Perfect. Add to that lots of outside playtime, eating, and cousins and you've got yourself some GOOD TIMES! For a play-by-play, keep reading...

On Wednesday, the boys and I stayed in our jammies most of the morning. We made muffins and painted pumpkins. (Notice I said "painted".--Can't do the carving thing. Not talented or strong enough and have an aversion to the texture of the goo inside. The smell's not so great either!) Over the years, Joshua has gone from painting normal jack-o-lantern faces to Frankenstein and spiders, to football helmets. So, this year's pumpkins came as no surprise...That night the whole big family met at Applebee's to eat together and support Kirk during his radio show. Afterwards, we all went back to Nana and Grandaddy's and played and took baths, etc.

Thursday morning Lucy and I took the kiddos to the donut shop to eat breakfast and to let Karson pick out/order her birthday donuts.--Hard to believe she's going to be 5! When we got back to Nana's, we decorated a real gingerbread haunted house, did Halloween crafts together, jumped on the trampoline, and just had some good play time.

It was game night for Union, but we were playing in Choctaw, so the boys and I didn't travel. Instead the whole family went to eat at On the Border and came home to listen to it on the radio. We bathed the kids, put the little ones down and listened to the Redskins swat the fire out of the Yellowjackets! Joshua and Karson were so good to play by themselves the whole game!

Since we had a long weekend and an easier opponent, Daddy was able to come home by noon on Friday! What a blessing! He spent most of the afternoon in the backyard smoking some unbelievable ribs, chicken and brisket. Because he had to keep watch over the cooking, the boys had him all to themselves outside all day! That night, the big family came over and enjoyed a great meal together, compliments of "Pit Master"! (Oh, Daddy did come to the front yard long enough to put up the boys' inflatable scarecrow. JT was most excited!)

It was so great to wake up Saturday morning and have Daddy at home. The day was gorgeous and we took advantage of it! We scootered and played basketball, passed the football and frisbie, played on the playground and just had an all around good time.

To top off the great weekend, we all got showered and dressed and headed to the TU game. We got there early and ate out on the lawn. What a festive atmosphere and a great game! It turned cool and the Hurricane turned it on! It was so fun to be there as a family, and the boys were great.

Just to show how relaxing the break was for me...Kirk was able to convince me not to wash off the boys' TU tatoos before church on Sunday morning! Oh, Fall Free Days...

One Hump or Two?

Before I post, I should explain the humor I find in the title...I can't exactly remember the story in perfect detail, but it goes something like this: My grandmother and grandfather were riding along in the car and my grandmother insists that she saw a camel! (This is where my memory fades.--Was it walking along the side or what?!). Anyway, my grandfather NOT having seen the camel and in total disbelief, begins to harrass her. She is quite adament and is getting frustrated with him. In trying to act like a supportive husband he asks, "Well, did it have one hump or two?" You may not find this funny, but we are warped and found it quite humorous and have used this phrase many times over the years!

Now the point of my post...The boys, Nanny (Kirk's mom) and I went to the pumpkin patch over the weekend. The boys were most excited about it, and it did not disappoint! Here is a brief photo synopsis:

We saw rabbits, chicks, roosters, hens, turkeys, pigs, donkeys, and KANGAROOS!

He are the boys looking at the goats. Notice who is standing closer...one goat stuck his head out and almost bit John Thomas' hand! He still patted him later! (The big boy...not so much!)

I felt like I needed to sing the OBU alma mater when we saw the bison!

John Thomas' horse was named Cherokee. JT thought this was great fun even though the picture doesn't look like it!

Here is Joshua on "Stormy". For the first time, he was excited and anxious to ride! He did great!

To answer the question...One hump! How crazy is this? My boys rode a camel! They both loved it!

Oh yeah, we picked out some pretty great pumpkins while we were there too! (That is a stuffed scarecrow behind them, not me!)

Whatever Works...

I have always been a big believer in putting up one thing before you get out another. Both boys know this, and it has been taught and reinforced since "day one". Nonetheless, this morning I made an exception. (Yes, I actually was flexible about something!) The reason for the exception to the rule: MY. HOUSE. IS. A. PIT.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On non-preschool days, John Thomas and I have gotten in the habit of playing for long periods of time in the game room after taking Bubba to school. This morning was no different, however, after shooting nerf guns, making a fort, and watching parts of Nemo (for the 100th time this week!), I HAD to get at least the upstairs cleaned. Thus, the "whatever works" title.

As I diligently scrubbed both tubs and all three vanities (I love all the bathrooms until it's time to clean!), I kept poking my head in and checking on him. Every time I did, I noticed more "stuff" was out. I was so tempted to use my mommy voice and inform him of the rule and commence to guiding him to clean up. However, the nastiness of the rest of the house outweighed the game room mess by a mile, so I didn't say a word.

About 40 stuffed animals. 63 hotwheels, Bubba's basket of Star Wars guys (shhhh, don't tell JK!) and 10 footballs later, I have my head in a toilet when JT comes and asks me to push the button on his stick horse (it plays the Lone Ranger music and a trotting sound). I turned around to see this:

He still had on his Superman jammies, but had added a TU stocking cap and Tulsa Drillers sweat bands! --Ride 'em, cowboy...or Superman, baseball player, TU fan boy! All I could do was giggle. He was happy, I got to clean...whatever works!