Finishing Up Fall

Kids love leaves.  HUGE piles of leaves.  Mine are no different.  I am sad to say good-bye to fall, but excited for Christmas that is just around the corner.  Just a few pics to finish up fall.

 

My Hallowieners

Well, 'tis the season for costumes and candy, pumpkins and parties!  Corwin had his school Halloween party this Friday.  They get to bring their costumes to school and wear them at the party, and they eat and eat and eat.

 

 

Then, they have a Costume Parade.  Each class lines up and the kids parade by the parents and other kids and show off their costumage.  Ninjas, withes, super heroes, princesses, animals, scary characters, cartoon characters, etc.  You name it, we saw it.  I am proud of Corwin.  He wanted to be a ninja for Halloween, and made this decision quite some time ago and told me he'd buy it with his birthday money.  Since money is tight, that made Mommy very happy.  (And Daddy too.)

 

 

Owen wanted to be Thomas the Train.  Thankfully, I found a cheap and comfortable costume for this boy.  He absolutely loves it!

 



That evening began Intramural Basketball.  This is Corwin's second year to play, and he loves it.  They played one game Friday night and two Saturday.  They've lost all three, but he either doesn't know, or doesn't care.  He's having fun, and I love the fact that he isn't pouting over the losses.

 

Saturday evening was the school carnival.  So, we loaded up our ninja, train, and little birdie (she was supposed to be an owl, but looks more like a general bird).  We enjoyed--well, the KIDS enjoyed--an hour and a half of carnival games and came home with a small collection of candy and toys.  Again, they offered to pay with their birthday money.  And, let me tell you, $5 of tickets goes a L-O-N-G way.  I mean L    O    N    G!

 

It was a fun weekend, finished off with some pumpkin carving.  I didn't get pictures of that, but will try to get the boys out there with their creations.  Have I mentioned that I love fall!??!

Pecan Pickin'

It's FALL!!!  My favorite time of the year.  Ahhh... the air is cooler, the breeze is swift, the trees are turning and losing leaves, the ground "crunches" under your feet.  Great sounds, great smells, and great feelings are in the air.

 

In this part of the country, fall brings the harvest.  Owen is a BIG fan of tractors and heavy farming machinery.  And, Jason just happens to have some farming connections through work.  :)  Corwin, Owen, and Jason went to a large cotton farm where they were able to get up-close-and-personal with the machines.  Owen even got to take a ride on the huge cotton picker!  He was one happy boy.

 

 

 Ella is growing, changing, and developing at lightening speed these days.  She isn't walking, but she is getting brave and taking steps, cruising around the furniture, and crawling everywhere.  She is into everything, and constantly chewing on whatever she can get her hands on.

 

We have been outside lately picking pecans.  We have 4 large pecan trees bordering our yard, so I started picking the little jewels up the other day.  Today, the boys were put to work.  Nana told them she'd pay them for the pecans they pick up.  I hope she isn't really hungry for pecans.  These boys are pathetic harvesters.

Ella loves it outside.  Here are a few pictures of her exploring in the windy afternoon.

 

Owen is slow, but he's probably more attentive than his older brother.

 

Corwin has speed on his side, but with physical speed he also has mental...speed.  He doesn't focus for long, so he misses a lot of the little camouflaged buggers.

A cold front is headed in, so gone are the 80-degree days.  :(  I'll miss being outside without a jacket.  But, the colder weather brings on new pleasures.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to crackin' some pecans.

Fabulous First Grader

Well, we're back at it!  Early mornings, quieter days, busy evenings, packing lunches....  SCHOOL!!!  Corwin was very excited to start first grade, to be reunited with all his friends, and to get back to work.  He came home not as enthusiastic, but was still hopeful.  I think he quickly realized that first grade is going to require more work from him.  And handwriting!  UGH!!!  Lots and lots of writing.  The boy hates writing.  But, I know he'll do well.  His teacher has told me that he is perfect--behaviorally.  That makes this mother very, very happy.

The two younger ones have adjusted, I think.  Owen usually asks for us to go get Corwin after we've had lunch.  Ella gets up and seems to look all around the house for Bubby and Daddy.  I'm still adjusting myself.  Having to get used to those early-morning workouts again, and trying to push myself to not go to bed at 8:30 p.m.

I pray Corwin and Jason have a great year.  God bless them both!

The Last Hurrah!

Well, summer is over.  :(  But, before we surrendered to that fact, we had one last water-themed hurrah!  We went to the Cave City Watermelon Festival, brought home cousin Jack for the weekend, and went to the Paragould Splash Pad.  The kids had fun with Jack here, and I think Jack had fun too.

 

Our intentions were to go the Paragould City Water Park, but we got there and found out that it was closed for the summer.  Boo!  So, they told us about this splash pad, which was a refreshingly nice, FREE alternative.

 

So, good-bye, summer.  HELLO, FALL!!!

 

Pensacola Paradise

I realize this is quite late, but I am just now getting to posting our Pensacola Beach vacation pictures.  I apologize.  Anyway, vacation started in Mobile, AL at the USS Alabama battleship.  The boys were amazed and loved every minute of it.  Unfortunately, time did not allow for them to go inside the ship to see the sleeping quarters, galley, etc.  But, they don't know that they missed anything.  :)

 

That afternoon we headed to Pensacola Beach, and ultimately to our townhouse on that beach.  Traffic was TERRIBLE because we chose to arrive the day of the annual "Red, White, and Blues" weekend.  This traffic was like being caught in Dallas rush hour for 3 hours!  But, we made it just in time to see the Blue Angels do their thing.  They are absolutely amazing!

Owen thought they were neat, but way too loud.  He later chose to take shelter indoors with Aunt Kaysie (who'd taken Ella inside because she, too, didn't like the noise).

The kids absolutely love the ocean.  Even Ella.  The sand and salt water didn't bother her one bit!  She was a lot of work, mind you, but a joy nonetheless.

 

Corwin played SO hard!  He boogie boarded, snorkeled, jumped, flipped, etc.  He spent nearly all day, everyday, in that water.  The boy LOVES the water!

Owen started out loving the sand and cautious with the water.  Thankfully, we were blessed with very calm surf for 2-3 days and he learned to brave the waves and eventually love them--as long as he had his ring on.

We also checked out Fort Pickens one day.  Corwin was amazed!

And the kids enjoyed lots, and lots, and LOTS of cousin time.  They all play so well together, thankfully.  It was a great week at one of my most favorite places on earth.  I hope to go back again soon.



Cleats, or No Cleats?

Well, the Davis Motors T-Ball team's season came to an exciting halt last night.  We didn't know if Corwin was going to get to partcipate, or not.  I told Corwin to put on his Crocs and get in the car because I thought his cleats were in the van.  And, they were in the van... before Jason unkowingly took them out and carried them into the house.  So, we got all the way to Williamsville (about an 45 minutes away) and realized we had no cleats.  We started to head back to Poplar Bluff to buy some cheap tennis shoes before we realized that we wouldn't get back in time.  So, we decided he'd have to play in his Crocs.  Fortunately, one of the other mom's asked around the crowd and found a pair that fit him perfectly!  He was so relieved to have real shoes to play ball in.  Needlesstosay, he was not happy and his father was furious!  Oh, well.  It all worked out!

All that to say:  Corwin and his team played in the championship game of the t-ball tournament, but sadly lost with a score of 22-21.  His team won all but two of their games this summer (including the tournament final).  They did an excellent job, and had a lot of fun in the process.

Corwin played in the outfield for this last game.  He did an excellent job stopping the ball.  The opposing team was comprised of some power hitters, and this particular ballfield does not have an outfield fence.  So, it was his and another boy's job to stop the ball and, in turn, stop the opposing team from getting several home runs.  He did his job perfectly!  They didn't have one single home run scored!

Owen loves Bubby's games because he gets to play in the dirt with Maddox.  Maddox just turned 2, and they get along fairly well.  There are some serious moments, though, when they both want the same tractor or truck.  :)

We won second in the season and got second in the tournament.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  The kids didn't seem to mind so much that they came in second.  The parents, however, were not as cheerful.  :)  I didn't know t-ball games could be so tense!

Corwin did a great job.  He has really improved with catching and fielding the ball better this year.  He has a lot of friends on this team, and he really enjoyed himself.  I enjoyed watching them, too.  It helped that we had a winning season, too.  But, I'm glad it is over.  Now it's time to really enjoy some time off.  Until next year!

Busy Summer Days

Summer is in FULL swing at the Morris Abode.  We have been very busy with Jason's baseball games (of which we have only attended one), Corwin's t-ball games.  He is in the midst of a tournament right now.  It is obviously very exciting for him.

The kids have enjoyed a week split between Grandma and Grandpa's house and Nana and Pa's house.  I spent a week at Camp Niangua playing in a praise band, and Jason was busy with baseball.  So, we shipped the kids off for some grandparent time.  They loved it, and I thoroughly enjoyed a week's "vacation".  Playing piano, singing, and serving others was a ton of fun for me, but I was sure ready to see my kiddos by Friday evening!

It's hot here.  I bought Ella a little pool at Aldi the other day, and we busted it out at 9 a.m.  It was already almost 90 degrees.  Any later in the day would have been too hot!  She likes the water!  I have a feeling all three of ours will be little water bugs.  Corwin LOVES it, and Owen does too--as long as he has his swim ring securely around his waist.

We have a couple weeks and we'll be headed off to Pensacola Beach, Florida.  I can't wait!  It will be an exhausting trip with two rowdy boys and an infant, but we have lots of hands to help:  Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Shelby, Aunt, Kaysie, Ethan, Emerie, Eliza, and our friends:  Lisa, Bob, and Shayden.  My next post will probably be pics from the white sand beach!  I hope you're all having a nice summer.  We sure are!