I think I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

We almost didn’t get out to a pumpkin patch this year, but the weather surprised us and we revisited the farm Kyla had gone to for her kindergarten field trip last spring. 

I can’t recommend it enough.

We spent 4 hours (okay, and $18 for all-access bracelets for the kids ($6 each), dollars here and there for cocoa and snacks, and far too much for pumpkins we never carved), and it wasn’t enough time. 

There were play sets and hay mazes (corn maze was extra),

 

a cow train and pedal go-karts,

 

swings, slides, slide, slides,

 

a giant corn “sand box”

 

baby animals, duck races, pig shows,

 

the giant bouncing pillow,

 

a hay ride,

 

beautiful grounds,

 

farm cats and dogs

 

and lots of family fun.  There are dozens of pumpkin farms within a 30 minute drive, but this is the one we’ll go back to next year.  Join us?

It had been 5 weeks since we had been to the cabin (and since I last held my camera, which I had left there), and I had strong cabin fever.  In this case, it meant I wanted in, not out.  

But once we got to the island (and I swear it was sunnier as soon as the ferry docked), we decided to delay heading to Heartsease and went Maxwelton Beach before the sun went down.

 

This late harvest light is golden—as precious as these childhood moments.

 

Driftwood fort + charcoal from beach fire = “let’s paint this house black” with remainder coal dust left on faces.

“Hey, kids, I found a jelly fish!”

“So cool!” “Can I touch it?”  “I’m stepping on it!”  “Look, you can poke a stick through it!” “Yeah!”

 

 

Ah, feels like home.

The Ringling Brothers came to town (well, Everett) and Dwayne and I were so excited that we decided to use the kids as an experience to go. 

We (yes, us!) got there an hour early for the preshow, where we go to to go behind the red curtain and experience the circus a little more close up.

Hey, Pipes, smile.

 

I could totally run a circus. 

 

Everything was exciting…including the price of cotton candy.  If you count $12 as exciting.

 

Love this shot!

Our neighbor’s cat had kittens.  Eight kittens.  Very cute kittens. Very smelly kittens.  Dwayne wanted two.  Piper wanted them all.  Kyla and Wesley liked the idea of two.  I wanted to enjoy them from afar.

So now I have the pleasure of introducing Tommy White foot

 

and Rosie Gray foot. 

 

They are adorable, stinky, and only a slight pain.  And they are indoor cats until next summer (which may start really early this year on my personal calendar) when they are big enough not to be immediate prey.  However, the best argument Dwayne gave for having two kittens was that one was for the raccoons (or cougars or bobcats) and one could pal around with Smokey. 

That makes Dwayne sound cold-hearted until you realize who bought it. 

 

And just so you don’t get tempted to purchase your own wildlife bait, these to “free” kittens will cost us $800 plus food for one year. 

The family that roller skates together, falls on their bum together.  -Ancient non-Chinese saying

 

It’s a rainy Saturday morning—let’s go to Little Kid skate at the rink! 

 

And if I can just preen for  minute—my kids all have enough daring-do and lack of self-preservation that all my kids can actually get out in the rink and skate…no walls, no parent, no hurry.  They may spend 15 minutes to do a lap, but darnit, they are going to finish!

 

A few years makes a huge difference. Kyla doesn’t need a parent at all, except to help her figure out which is her left during the Hokey Pokey!

 

The grin says it all (because her bruised bottom isn’t photogenic)

 

You go, my boy!

 

Fortunately, we have many rainy Saturdays ahead.

Hint, it’s not the preschooler.

My old vacuum has only half worked for several months and a little while ago, I actually noticed.  My earlier hot affair with my muscle-y vacuum had soured and my eye began wandering.

 

I still have a pretty hot affair with my Shark steam mop, so I found a Shark vacuum that weighs only 12 pounds and had the service send one over.  We’ve been together ever since.  Sure, it might just be a rebound relationship, but I’ve got strongly attached to this little sucker.  And the fact that my 3 year old can use it, well, I’ll admit, I don’t mind sharing.

 

Don’t worry, Wes, you will always be my baby.

My favorite go-to blog is http://momastery.com/blog/. I’ve read her book, Carry On, Warrior, aloud to my family, and she actually makes me want to give up writing (even though I really just write an annual Christmas letter) because she is so good and says everything I want to say better while making me wet my pants.  Who can compete with that?  And, she might even be more liberal than I am, and there are very few published Christians I can say that about.  I love Momastry. 

Today’s post gave me my new mantra, “I am Suzanne” (click here to read in full, but check your diapers first).

But here’s the real gem of today’s wisdom:

This summer, twelve minutes into the first day of summer- Craig walked into the kitchen and two of my three kids were crying and we’d already run out of fun summer activities. In twelve minutes. And so I looked at Craig and said, “You know what is so much better than just like summer camp? ACTUAL SUMMER CAMP.”

I know they say money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy ACTUAL SUMMER CAMP and after a week I was unable to detect any difference.

 

Here’s how it applies to my life:

I know they say money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy SEVERAL PRESCHOOLS and after a week I was unable to detect any difference.

Wesley goes to two preschools:  Monday & Friday morning at one (while I volunteer at the girls’ school), and Mon-Thursday afternoons at a Montessori, with Piper, after she is done with morning Kindergarten. 

On any given day, this means anywhere from 2-3 drop off times, and 3-4 pick up times.  It also means 2.5 hours a day all to myself. Between this and some supplements my voo-doo doctor put me on, I’m a pretty happy mama.  And even a content Denise. 

 

Walk up and down (hilly) neighborhood street several times carrying tools back and forth to worksite, where Dwayne and I are move the neighborhood sign out of the trees.  Get dirty.  Haul 100 p0unds of kids home.  Feed kids.  Change clothes to go on date with Dwayne.  Do yoga in the theater in an effort to contort my body away from the horrible pictures on the screen.  Decide to choose a musical for our next date.  Sleep soundly.

[Yeah, only two are mine.  Our neighborhood is finally becoming what I dreamed it would be ten years ago when we moved in, before we had kids of our own.  There’s now one more family with kids close in age to ours, and they just run and ride back and forth between houses and play on the street and in the islands on the way there.  When Dwayne and I spent most of the afternoon on the opposite end of the street from our house, I gave Piper the home phone so she could call me if she needed anything.  The only thing she ever needed was permission to get a snack.  Which means she probably already had the snack out and was eating it when she called to make sure it was okay.  We are getting to the easier side of parenting!]

Piper lost her first tooth!  Just like her big sister, she asked me to yank it out, and then proudly cleaned up all the blood.  That’s m’girl!

 

Kinda cute in braids, too.  (Note to self:  just keep her back half looking cute, as that’s usually the side I can get a picture of!)