Family Weekend

What a fun time we had last weekend! Matt had to go to a conference in Little Rock, so the kids and I tagged along and we all were able to enjoy spending some time with our families! While Matt was at his conference on Friday, the kids and I had planned to go to the zoo. We got a bit of a late start since Harrison decided to sleep until 9:30 that morning -- unheard of for that early-bird!
We loaded up and headed for the zoo once Harrison was up and at 'em. Mimi and Grandad went with us and Sugar and Stewart joined us there! It may not be the best zoo ever, but we had a great time and the kids were so happy to spend the day there!

They were all set up for Boo at the Zoo, and they had some fun decorations and things to do. Harrison's favorite thing was this hale bale maze.

Charlotte was enchanted by all of the animals, but I think the lions were her favorite. We actually saw them "playing" up close which was really neat!

And, these giraffe's were having some kind of a fight! It was funny to watch. :)

I think the penguins were Madeleine's favorite. They were so playful and we had such a good time watching them.

Our final stop was to feed the koi fish. This was a hit with everyone! They each had a handful of food and loved watching the fish scramble to eat it.

Harrison found himself a spot and fed them one piece at a time. :)

Even Charlotte got in on the action!

We ended our fun with some good eats at Purple Cow -- our favorite -- before meeting up with Matt and heading up to Searcy for the rest of the weekend.

One of the reasons the kids and I tagged along and we decided to make a weekend of it, was that this was the HU baseball reunion weekend. Every year we've heard about the alumni game too late and each year Matt's commented that he'd love to play in it. Well, when I saw it pop up on Facebook in September, Matt decided to go and signed up. It just worked out that he also had to be in Little Rock that friday for a conference. After spending Friday evening with Grammy and Pops and getting some good rest, we were all excited to get up and head to the baseball fields on Saturday morning!

While Matt got ready, the kids and I walked around and checked out the fields.

Poor Charlotte -- all she wanted to do the entire time was climb the stairs in the stands. The concrete, steep stairs. And she didn't want any help -- she was none to pleased when I put a quick stop to that and threw her biggest fit yet! Hard to believe moments later she was her sweet self again. That girl!!

The kids were SO excited when it was Matt's turn to bat and even more excited when he got a hit and got on base! Harrison was running around yelling, "that's my daddy! that's my daddy!" It was so sweet -- melted my heart! Matt told me later that it was so strange getting up to bat like he'd done so many times in the past, but this time hearing "daddy, daddy, daddy" in the background. It made it all the more fun for him.

Grammy and Pops joined us at the field that morning. Charlotte spent a good part of the time hanging out in Pop's lap. :)

And, Madeleine and Harrison were content to explore the stands and nearby. Since this was an alumni game, it was very family-oriented. Kids were coming and going from the duggouts and playing all over the place. :) Once Uncle Ryan, Aunt Jamie, Emery and Garner joined us, Madeleine and Harrison were quite happy playing with their cousins.

Here we are hanging out with Daddy in the duggout.

After the game there were lots of pictures taken. :)

They let the kids run the bases...

Madeleine took this picture. I have a similar one of us from Matt's last game....over 11 years ago. I have to say, it was so fun being back there that weekend for this. I know that we missed out on a lot of fun events back home, but this was such a fun thing for our family and especially for Matt. We did a lot of reminiscing that day -- I spent many hours out there when we were dating and it was fun to go back and remember that time.

I'm not sure that the last day Matt played -- April 2000 -- I'd ever have dreamed we'd be back with 3 kids and such a full life. I felt so very blessed that day!

After the game, we headed back to Grammy and Pops for some late lunch and to visit with everyone. The kids had such a fun time playing with Emery! I know they're already looking forward to being together again -- as are all of us!

Uncle Matt and Garner. He is the cuddliest baby!

Uncle Ben and Aunt Pat and Trish were able to come over and join us for awhile and it was so good to see all of them! I am so thankful that I married into such a great family! :)

All in all it was the perfect weekend! We came home tired, but happy, having made a lot of wonderful memories. It's a weekend that we're already planning to make an annual event.

Pizza Night -- Round 2

After the fiasco of the last pizza night, I decided to give it another go. Last night Matt had to work late, so we tried out a new method of homemade pizza. This one was a hit! It was super-easy, yummy and the kids loved making their own pizzas.

We used a can of Pillsbury Grands Biscuits for the dough. The each had several biscuits and the pressed/rolled them to a crust-like thinness.

What kid doesn't like playing with dough???

Then we topped them with sauce (a squeeze bottle of sauce, Contadina Brand was super-easy) and topped them with cheese and pepperoni.

Popped them in the oven and -- voila! -- easy yummy dinner! Harrison actually ate 3 of these things and I added carrots & broccoli on the side to make it more healthy. :)

These will definitely be making another appearance at our house!

Corn Maze Craze

I'm so behind on posting all of our fall fun, but I'm hoping to catch up this week!

A couple of Fridays ago, we met up with some of our "bestest" friends, the "other W" family at the Ozark Corn maze for an evening of fun. This is the same corn maze that we went to last year so the kids knew what to expect and were super excited about going and even more excited that we were going with some of our good friends!

Our first stop when we got there was the petting zoo, which was mostly goats. Harrison wasn't too sure about them, but Madeleine went right in and had herself a good ol' time!
See here -- you can see Harrison hiding behind Matt. :)

Little Miss Fearless was enthralled with the goats. I think she would have been happy if that had been all we did the entire evening.

Just off the entrance they had a HUGE pile of dirt/mulch for the kids to play in, which was a hit! I think I could just bring a chair sometime and sit and let Harrison play in that pile all day long. :)

Next up was the corn cannon. We didn't do this last year, but Madeleine was excited to try it. Harrison decided he didn't want to do it -- and Madeleine was happy to take his turn! Harrison was more than content to sit nearby and pick up corn kernals from the ground and stuff them in his pockets. I found several cupfulls of corn at the bottom of my dryer the next week -- thankfully they didn't "pop" in there!

This is my view from the cowtrain. :) I sat in a seat with Harrison and I think my knees are just now recovering.

Finally, it was time for the big maze! Last year we wondered in there for a good hour, but this year we actually finished it really quickly. We even split up at one point and then found each other again and finished it all together. More corn was collected here. :) My camera batteries died at this point, so this is the last picture I took.

We finished up the maze and headed over to DQ for some treats. The kids had a great time playing on the playground and were wiped out when we headed home! I'm so thankful for this sweet family!

Banana Pudding Mess

One night we last week we had banana pudding for dessert. This was Charlotte's first time to try it and it was quite a hit! She cleaned her bowl -- some in her mouth and some in her hair. Matt's taught her to take her food and put it in her hair when she's done with it. This gets her a good laugh from Madeleine & Harrison, so of course, she does it all the time now!
Madeleine loves her some banana pudding too! Check out that toothless grin. :)

Since Matt taught her to use her food as hair gel, he gets to wash her hair on messy-food nights. This night we had some fun with her shampoo! She was laughing it up in the tub. This girl is such a HAM!

Beautification

A few Saturdays ago, we spent the entire day working in the yard and getting out flowerbeds ready for winter. It was a gorgeous day and we all enjoyed being outside!

Matt was hauling the old mulch to the back and he found some helpers on the way! Charlotte thought she was such big stuff riding in there!

The kids pulled out their bikes and scooters and we got out Harrison's old firetruck riding toy for Charlotte. She loved that toy and I'm very sure that Santa is going to be bringing her a girlie one this year. :)

Of course, Harrison had to have a turn as well. Charlotte hitched a ride again, too.

It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday as a family! I love projects that we can all work on and have fun too!

The Truth About Today

Sometimes I let myself think I have it all together. I smile and give myself a little pat on the back because I think I've got it all figured out.

I once had a friend tell me that she wanted to come to "Rachel Bootcamp" because I had a clean house, good kids and it all seemed so easy. At the time I laughed about it because I so do NOT have it all figured out. I don't have a clean house and my kids can be the biggest stinkers there are, trust me. And, those times I do let myself think I've got it all together, I'm always quickly reminded that I don't. Lest anyone should ever again think I have it all together, let me recap the past 2 days.

Harrison cried at preschool dropoff yesterday. I still don't know why, but he cried so long & hard that I had to get him and take him home. Put a big wrench in the stuff I was going to get done yesterday.

Matt's supposed to come home early-ish on Tuesdays, but it was bedtime before he got home last night (and the night before, and tonight). And, when he did get home, he excitedly told me that he was going to get to go to a conference soon. In Indianapolis. For 5 days. Yay.

We've eaten dinner on paper plates for the past 3 nights. Tonight they had pizza and cookies which is oh, so, nutritious. Last night they had hotdogs (ok, actually turkeydogs). This week's healthy cooking goal: F.A.I.L.

Charlotte screams 90% of the time that I'm not holding her. Not kidding at all. Bless her heart, I love her so much and someday when I have to have hip replacement (on my left hip, her favorite) I'm sure she'll come and wait on me hand and foot. Seriously, the crying is about to make me pull my hair out...or maybe it will just fall out again. I've never NEVER had one of the other kids cry this much unless being held. WHY????? My only consolation is that I know I'm not alone in this -- thank goodness for good friends that can empathize and sympathize. :)

Last night I let Charlotte cry in her bed for a good 15 minutes while I helped Madeleine with her homework. And, Miss Charlotte let us know she was not at all happy about that by screaming for most of the 15 minutes. I'd tried to hold her while Madeleine did her homework, but she kept grabbing at the paper & pencil and being a pill in general, so off she went to her bed. It was a tough 15 minutes on all of us, but I reminded myself that it's important to Madeleine to have that attention and thanks to the big district-wide literacy push, she actually needed my help (main idea, details...I've forgotten so much!). Thankfully, we all survived.

I let Charlotte eat an entire bag of yogurt melts yesterday afternoon because she was quiet for 10 whole minutes while she did it. Then I let her unpack her diaperbag and my purse because it bought me another 5 minutes -- enough time to fold/put away some laundry.

Tonight I ate my dinner sitting on the potty (lid down) while Charlotte had her bath because she cried every time I left the room, but was happy playing in the tub while I was there. Not the highlight of my week, but sometime you do whatever it takes.

After the past 2 days, I'm thinking the week can only look up. Thankfully, days like this are few and far between, usually. But, even on the bad days I wouldn't trade being home with my kids for anything....although I could occasionally use a few hours out of the house.

Sunday Conversations

I want to remember this, so I'm writing it down...

This morning during communion at church, Harrison (who was sitting cuddled up next to me) looks up at the slide with a picture of the cross on it and asks me in his "whisper voice" so I'm sure everyone around us heard it too: "Mommy, did Jesus already die on the cross?"
Me: Yes, Harrison.
Harrison: Before I was born?
Me: Yes.
Harrison: Before you were born?
Me: Yes.
Harrison: Before grandad was born?
Me: Yes.
Harrison: That was a loooong time ago, huh?

And then he got quiet and pondered this for awhile before moving on to his next question.

Harrison: Mommy, I want to hold God's hand. If God is real, why can't I hold his hand?
Me: Because you can't see him.
Harrison: Hmmmp! Well, I want to. I reeeeealy reeeealy want to. Hmmmmp!

Thankfully by this time it was time for Children's Bible Hour. Having a theological discussion during the middle of communion wasn't quite what I'd planned. But, it reminded me that little ears are always listening and paying attention.