Pumpkin Farms

I love everything associated with apple orchards and pumpkin farms...hayrides, picking my own apples, wandering through the pumpkin patch for that perfect pumpkin, feeding the farm animals, pictures of the beautiful fall scenery, etc.  Well, last month, the girls and I went to an Apple Orchard in Lexington with the homeschool group...it is hands-down my favorite place to go in the fall!  The place is huge with so much to do...and it didn't hurt that it was a gorgeous day!

The huge wooden chair at Boyd Orchard

One space for each of them on the cutout train

Our group getting a little lesson on apples

Rose and her buddies: Amelia, Ceci, Rose, & Catherine

The 3 year-olds, John Paul & Madeline, hitching a ride

All the girls

Ava searching for 3 perfect apples

Madeline and her pumpkin

Ella intrigued with the bunny at the petting zoo

The huge haystack they love to climb

The ginormous slides at the playground

Even Ella got to try them out via Mary Rose's lap

Ava on the smaller slide

The girls on pumpkins eating their treats that they picked out

Yesterday, we went on our annual family visit to Gallrein Farms and unfortunately, we weren't as lucky with the weather.  Although we still had a good time, our visit was shorter than usual due to freezing little children.

Please excuse my hair...it was SO windy out!

Ella did NOT want to sit on the hayride

Freezing on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch

Rose riding Big Peanut

Ava and Madeline waving to each other as Ava's horse passes by

Madeline on Little Peanut

Ava riding Tigger

Ava LOVED feeding the animals!

Madeline was happy to watch :)

My autumn feels fulfilled now that I have gotten my pumpkin patch fix.  Now it's time to carve our pumpkin!

Fancy School

As you all know, my girls can't get enough of the Fancy Nancy books.  They love them so much that I turned one school day into "fancy day" where they got to dress up fancy and learn how to eat at a fancy restaurant (table setting, manners, and all).  At the end of the day, I gave them each a new Fancy Nancy book.  It was a fun break in the every day routine!

Anyways, Rose has been studying the Fancy Nancy books lately and saying "I am getting a lot of good ideas from these books!"  One of the ideas that she came up with was to have "fancy school" where she would teach her not so fancy family how to be fancy...just as Nancy does in the original Fancy Nancy book.

So she started by making a sign to advertise (that's a fancy word for tell people about something, as Nancy would say :) and stuck it on the fridge.

We all met in the school room and she started the lesson.

She put at lot of work into her fancy school.  She made signs that either said 'fancy' or 'plain' and put them by different objects to help us understand which things were fancy and which were not.

At the end of the lesson, we had to put our learning into practice and put together a fancy outfit for ourselves.  Here is what a few of the students came up with.

That night, to celebrate our new "fancy" family, we dressed up and went out to dinner (just as they do in the book) to our local El Nopal restaurant for some exquisite Mexican cuisine.  They were excited they got to do things just like Fancy Nancy!

My 3 little movie stars!

The next Fancy Nancy idea that Rose decided to recreate was her Fabulous Fashion Boutique in the front yard.  She used the Kool-Aid stand that our neighbors so generously gave to us, gathered some accessories, hung up a few signs, and Voila! the boutique was in session.

The little diva showing off her work!

Some sweet neighbor kids (and Ava) bought a few things from her...enough that she deemed her boutique a success.  She was just tickled with herself!

Her next Fancy Nancy project...an Explorer Club.  This girl always has an adventure up her sleeve!

Klinker Tradition

If you know the Klinkers, you know that they take excellent care of their vehicles.  Not only do they know how to fix many problems on their own (thanks to the example of their father), but they have the cleanest cars in town!

When we first got married, Paul couldn't wait to own a house so he could easily wash his car whenever he wanted.  And I have to say, most Saturday mornings when the weather is decent, that is where you will find him...outside washing and/or waxing one of our cars.  Our neighbors used to joke that his car was clean enough and asked if he wanted to clean their cars instead.  They even made a t-shirt for him with the nickname of "car washer" on the back.

As soon as our girls can walk, Paul lets them help him wash the car.  It is one of their favorite pasttimes.

Here is Rose washing the car at 21 months old

I love to watch them out there next to him, so little, but scrubbing like little pros!

Here Rose is almost 5, Ava is 3 1/2, & Madeline is almost 2

My friends often comment about how they can't believe how clean my van is.  But I can't take any credit for it.  In fact I don't think I have ever washed the outside of any of our cars since we have had a house...maybe even since we have been married.  (I can't believe I am admitting that...that is terrible!)  But in my defense, that is Paul's domain.  He enjoys washing his car and I don't want to take that away from him :)

All the girls helping 'Daddy' in September

Ella's first time washing the car

Rose is an old pro by now

I am very thankful that Paul keeps my van clean inside and out...which is a big job when you have 4 kiddos!  I love that he includes the girls in something that he enjoys.  It is fun Daddy-daughter time and teaches them a skill at the same time!