That was a First and that was Fast

We set to carving our pumpkins yesterday.  I think we missed carving them last year - we got them picked, but not carved.  So, we decided to take a bit of time yesterday to working on the kids' creations.  This was the first year that they essentially did everything on their own.  Daddy was a great supervisor and instructor (he did provide a bit of assistance with the power tool....), but otherwise, the kids were on their own.  They did everything from cutting the top off, to scooping out the pumpkin guts to designing the faces and finally, cutting them out.  When all three are working at the same time, it really didn't take very long either.  To finish out our pumpkins, Chris and Hannah worked on separating out some of the seeds and we had a treat of roasted pumpkin seeds last night - yum!

 Chris putting his supervisory skills to work.

 Luke getting started with the top.

 Chris bought an attachment for his drill a few years ago that helps detach all the stuff inside.  It works pretty well and is always a fun tool to use!

 I'm going to brag on my Andrew for a moment.  His pumpkin had not fared as well outside and the bottom had rotted a bit.  Chris ended up cutting it off.  There was still enough left for all the things involved with carving.  To Andrew's credit, he never once complained about it, but just went with the flow.  He did a really good job!

Elementary School Tidbits

Oh, the things my kids come home with.....

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Andrew has been thoroughly enjoying a series of books.  He loves it so much that he's been using the last name of the main character in place of "Robey" on his class assignments - so much so that one of his classmates thought that he'd actually changed his name.  Thankfully, his teacher laughed and then put a stop to that....

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Hannah had a poem writing assignment about a manatee.  I thought hers was pretty cute, but I can not imagine reading an entire 4th grade class of manatee poems.....

My manatee will play and play
My manatee can eat all day
My manatee will never be caught
My manatee has been taught
My manatee is mature
My manatee is pretty....sure
My manatee is very fast
My manatee is never last

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Luke came home from school today telling me about band today.  His teacher told them that if they needed to remember something he'd written on the board, then they should take a picture with their phones.  He's 11 (barely!) and in 5th grade. I guess he'd better use the brain that God deeply blessed him with because he won't be using a phone.

Waves of Mercy - A Book Review

If I could give this book more than five stars, I would!  It was a fantastic book that made me want to come back for more and more of it.  I had been looking for a fiction book with a twist without the standard story flow and this was the perfect fit.  I highly respect Lynn Austin's quality writing and this book did not disappoint!

Unlike some books, this book has two main characters.  Their lives are 50 years apart, but Lynn Austin has told their stories in such a way that they blend and intertwine so well.  She added a variety of twists and did not even wait until the end of the book to reveal some of them.  Her timing was perfect in keeping you coming back for more.   Her characters are also well developed as well as the setting.  The characters are so well developed that it is very easy to imagine them as actual people that had these stories to tell.  I really, really enjoyed this book and would love to see a sequel....

I received a complimentary copy of Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin from Bethany House Publishers.

Apples, Pumpkins and More...Oh, My!

We took full advantage of one beautiful day and the day off from school to do a bit of apple and pumpkin picking.  These are always favorite activities.  The kids were most excited about the apples and it might possibly have to do with the fact that we missed that one last year.  Honestly, we nearly missed it this year.  We were at the very, very end of their season, but we still were able to find a few treasures still on the trees.  After the apples, we headed to the pumpkins.  Since we didn't have the finest selection of apples, I did want a descent selection of pumpkins before their big pumpkin festivals this weekend.   We finished off our time with a bit of pumpkin checkers, pumpkin tic-tac-toe, and chicken chasing.  However, we didn't leave before picking up a dozen of their famously delicious apple cider donuts!

The apple picking pole was a huge hit this year.  It did come in quite handy to pick the better apples at the top, but it was also quite the novelty since we'd never gotten to use one (I still haven't used one - my helpers did a pretty good job on their own!)

 We did find a few within out reach, but the pole was just so fun!

 One of my favorite and one of my last shots of the the orchard before my camera battery died.... I was sad, but thankful that had my phone - just not the great quality of my camera.

 On the hunt for the perfect pumpkin

 Their treasures

The finale of our fun time!