Pumpkin Patch and Visits from Family

SOOO...it has been two weeks since I have updated this. Where does the time GO? *at the end of the year we will have a contest to see who can guess how many times I have written THAT in here!*

In thinking back on the last couple of weeks, as usual, so many things have happened. Grami & Papa Jorgenson came to visit us the weekend of the 10th. On Friday night Dad, Noah, Kennedy and I made homemade pizza and a feeble attempt at constructing a haunted house out of graham crackers, frosting and candy. Dad and I did most of the building as Noah managed the project and Kennedy inspected all of the building materials for possible flaws. Ironically we had many flawed pieces so she and Noah "disposed" of those. Needless to say our house did not make the homeshow as it was more of a little shack....I guess you could say it WAS scary so maybe we were successful after all!

Saturday morning Grami & Papa came over bearing Halloween candy and gifts for the kiddos as well as dad and mom! We played and talked for awhile before heading out to Giesler Farms which is just a few miles east of Ankeny to pick out the most perfect pumpkins. The farm has a corn maze, games and fun things to do for kids of all ages. We all started out in the maze but as nature would have it Kennedy needed to use the potty. Grami tried to introduce Kennedy to nature but she wasn't sold on the idea. I am a teeny tiny tad bit thankful because I had visions of Kennedy out in the yard next summer....I wasn't sure how I was going to explain that to the neighbors.... Anyway, I took Kennedy back to the shed so she could use the indoor plumbing facilities and then we played with the games until the rest of the family found their way out of the cornfield.

We made our way out to the the pumpkin patch in search of (Noah's words here) BIGGEST pumpkin EVER. It took a lot of walking in circles but the kids finally settled on their pumpkins. We ended up with three pumpkins totalling 51 pounds! That is a lot of pie! (Don't get your hopes up...my pies come from a can generally). We loaded them up and headed out for a light lunch and then home to rest and play before going out to dinner that evening.

That evening we all went to Aparre to meet Derek and his girlfriend, Nicole, for dinner. Aparre is a Japanese Habachi-style restaurant that I highly recommend to those with children. Not only did we get to sit and eat together as a family but we got to talk and the kids were highly entertained! It was heaven! The food was wonderful and the kids even mastered chopsticks. Ok...so they may not have 'mastered' it but to me it looked awfully professional considering I have difficulty at times eating with a fork. (Not REALLY for you literal people reading this--my eating skills are quite up to par, thank you very much!)

On Sunday, Grami & Papa J joined us for church while the kids attended Sunday School. We then rushed off to Noah's last football game. Noah had a GREAT game. For being one of the smallest kids on the team it always amazes me how he just hangs right in there. Boy can he throw! He was fast and got right in there with the bigger kids intercepting passes and even taking down his opponents by grabbing their flags. It always makes us nervous to watch him but he has such a good time and seems to really enjoy it. Afterwards we met his team and the other parents at a pizza place in Ankeny to celebrate. I know some of you can relate to this but being in a very small room with 15- 7 year old boys was an eye-opening experience. There isn't enough Tylenol in the world that could have saved me that day but seeing the kids laugh and be boys was so worth it. It actually got me thinking about when I was that age....It doesn't seem THAT long ago that we were kids does it? There are memories so vivid for all of us that it just doesn't seem possible --(let's say it together now...) WHERE does the time GO? I am not sure if it is the whole pregnancy thing that has my mind working overtime or the reality of adding another candle on my birthday cake this weekend but some days I look at the kids or think about the last few years...last 10 years...last (gulp) 20 years and just shake my head. Makes you wonder WHAT you have been doing this entire time, doesn't it? Or rather, what HAVEN'T you done?

Anyway, the party went well and everyone had a great time.

Kennedy had dance and gymnastics as usual the next week and Noah continued with his chess club. I am thinking more and more that Kennedy would rather have 2 nights of gymnastics versus the dance class but dance will help her with gymnastics later on. She is finally breaking the shyness (yes, she can be shy...) at dance and I am able to leave the room for her entire class. It is so much fun to watch the 8 little girls in there dancing around in their pink outfits...clumsiness mixed with innocence...sooo cute! Gymnastics is what it is--for Kennedy it is a lot of bouncing, rolling, jumping and climbing.... For Mom, a lot of closing of the eyes ever-so tightly and prayers. A little girl broke her wrist the last time we were there so I have been plotting ways to inconspiciously wrap her in bubble wrap before class. Suggestions welcome!

Noah has a chess tournament on November 22. We think it is so cool that he is enjoying chess..learning strategy and tactics. I picture him at Harvard one day in his little uniform playing chess in the library sipping hot cocoa.... Hot cocoa all over his top lip and trying to confiscate his teammates' marshmallows... I know he will read this someday and be utterly embarrassed but I just think it is cute. Speaking of strategy, he is learning that homework, which WAS fun and tolerable for awhile, is something that is becoming a daily ritual and he is trying to strategize ways to get out of (so it begins...). Dad has come up with a great solution for his math homework though to make it a little more entertaining. Noah's army guys have become regular visitors at the kitchen table during homework time to make it more bearable. As you may have guessed it Noah is loving the 'subtracting' of army guys the most. So, this seems to be going over very well! Way to go Dad!

On Friday the 17th Kennedy had her first slumber party at Aunt Trisha's and Uncle Steve's. Apparently she did not sleep so well (go figure...*sigh*) but it sounds like she had a good time! We picked her up on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day running errands and playing. On Sunday I ran the half marathon. Although I had the worst time ever I finished and I couldn't have asked for better weather. I have not been training like I should but it was still nice to get out and be around other people like that. Another girlfriend of mine from the mom's group I am in is also pregnant and has committed to sticking it out with me through the cold weather. She is about 2 months behind me and definitly feeling the tiredness but she has been a trooper. The accountability is something we both need right now! Regarding the pregnancy, I am 17 weeks now and have been feeling the little peanut do cannon balls... I forgot what an amazing feeling that is! The next appointment is on Monday and I am hoping for an ultrasound just to sneak a peek but I have a feeling that it will be at the next appointment instead. That appointment we find out the gender. Don't expect to find it announced on here though...we are keeping this one a secret! (sorry grandma's!!)

The week has been tame as far as activities go...Kennedy was sick with a virus on Tuesday and Wednesday... Dain and I finished our parenting class on Tuesday which by the way I recommend reading/viewing ANY material by Dr. Kevin Lehman - http://www.praisestore.com/kevin-leman/ The class we took through our church was fun, informative and most definitely helpful. He speaks about relationships, parenting, children in general, marriage and is God-centered in his lectures. The next class we are taking that starts in November is called Fire Proofing Your Marriage. This class is based on the movie Fire Proof that is still in a few smaller theatres. We are excited to take it and although have only seen bits and pieces of the movie we heard it was EXCELLENT and highly recommended.

I had been trying to set up a slide show of pictures at the bottom of this blog but for some reason the picture publishing program is not communicating correctly. Neither is the calendar program that I set up through google which will have activities posted, etc. I will continue working on it though!

More to come!