Veteran's Day 2010

Well, it's high time I try to update my blog. I'll do my best to show all that we've been up to the past 3 months.

Elliott's school has the 1st graders do a Veteran's Day program every year. It was neat for Elliott to be able to participate in the program. I think it's great that they introduce the importance of Veteran's Day to the children at such a young age. The kids learned several songs that they performed to their parents and many veterans. They did a great job! There were probably at least 50 veterans in attendance. It was great to be able to honor veterans for all they have done for our country. In the video, Elliott is 2nd from the left on the front row.

Happy Halloween!

The boys eagerly participated in the pumpkin carving this year. At first when I asked Derek if he wanted to touch the inside of the pumpkin he said No. Then Elliott said he wanted to take the insides out. Once he started, Derek decided he wanted to help too. They did great. It was nice to have helpers. Usually I do it myself and it's not my favorite thing. Elliott designed the pumpkin on the right. They both turned out great and everyone had fun.

Derek wasn't so sure he wanted to dress up as anything. I bought a couple cute costumes and tried them on him, but he didn't like wearing them. So, I took them back. At one of the stores, the sales lady said to Derek, "You don't want to be a dragon?" Derek's reply was, "No Derek be dragon, no Derek be robot (the other costume I bought), no Derek be doctor." Well, he summed up his feelings on the subject. In the end I won with the doctor costume (leftover from Elliott). I figured he couldn't have many objections to it, since it's just like regular clothes. The night of Trunk-or-Treat, he wanted to take it off after I snuck it on him while changing his diaper. I bribed him with candy. It worked and he didn't complain anymore. He even let me put it on him again for real trick-or-treating. I was lucky Elliott decided he wanted to be a skeleton again. That was easy. He loved having his face painted.

Ward Trunk-or-Treat

School Halloween Parade

Trick-or-Treating

I took the boys trick-or-treating on Friday night. That was our township's designated trick-or-treat night from 6-8. Yes, they tell you exactly when you can go. I was a little nervous about the whole thing and unsure how it would go. It was really easy - if the house's porch light was on, they were giving out candy. It just seems weird to have trick-or-treating scheduled for a different night. They do it every year. I've heard it's so the kids aren't out on a school night. I'm sure there are other reasons. For the really ambitious, you could trick-or-treat 4 or 5 nights during the week of Halloween. Pretty crazy. After about 1 1/2 hours, the boys were done. Brent stayed home and passed out candy. Unfortunately, not many trick-or-treaters came here. Most stick to the bigger neighborhood across the street. Now I know for next year. All in all, Halloween was a success. The boys got plenty of candy. That's all we hear about from Derek. He doesn't eat meals well anymore (even though he doesn't get candy unless he does eat). Everyone had fun. I'm glad it only comes around once a year.

I love this face!

Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday we ventured out to a pumpkin patch. We took a hayride out to the patch and let the boys choose their pumpkins. Derek had fun looking at the animals - chickens, turkeys, goats, and cows. Elliott went crazy running through the hay maze. It was a fun family outing.

Fall is here

Fall is here. It is beautiful. We have enjoyed the changing colors of the trees. It is amazing to see some of the hues. Most pictures don't do it justice, but here's a little taste. The actual colors are so much more vibrant. It's fun to live somewhere with such dramatic colors.

Pioneer Day

On Pioneer Day, we were invited to our new friends, the Pococks, house for some pioneer activities. First we did a stick pull. Then the kids (and adults) shook cream to make whipped cream, which we enjoyed on some johnny cakes. The kids also made little button spinners. After the activities, the kids got wet in the little pool. It was great for them to cool off on such a hot day. It was fun to get to know the Pocock family and to celebrate Pioneer Day.

Our First Visitor

Back in the middle of July we had our first visitor, Uncle Daniel! It was fun to have a visitor, something we hope to have more of. As a bonus, if you visit you might even receive a special card like this. (You know you want one!)

Elliott wanted to make Daniel a card. He did it all on his own. It was very sweet.

On Saturday we went exploring, something we need to do a lot more of. We headed to a train station to ride a train. On our way there, we saw a sign for Crystal Cave, so we decided to check that out first, since the train wasn't running for a couple hours anyway. Derek was whining the whole time about wanting to ride the train. He had no interest in anything else. We toured the cave. It was okay, nothing too spectacular. It's kinda sad that it's been a tourist attraction almost since it was discovered, so there's a lot of damage to the natural features. They have even had weddings inside. So, not really well preserved, but it was still interesting.

After the cave, we ate lunch in the little "town". While we were eating, Elliott started screaming. He had the misfortune of being stung by a wasp. That put a damper on things. He eventually calmed down and then we headed to the train station. It was the WK&S Railroad in the village of Kempton. (That has a nice Pride and Prejudice ring to it :))The tracks were originally part of the Reading Railroad. The train took us up the tracks 3 miles to the Wanamaker Station. We got off while they switched the engine and then went back the way we came. There was some beautiful scenery. It was fun to take a ride on the railroad. We realized the seats in the passenger car could be pushed back and forth to make them face front or back. It was neat to be able to sit facing each other. We had a fun day.

Elliott was able to play the Wii with Daniel. Elliott loves playing and it was nice to have someone new to play with. We all loved having Daniel here for a few days. Come on over, we'd love to have you too. :)