Halloween

For Halloween this year I thought it would be fun for the kids to dress up as “Gilligan” and “The Skipper” from Gilligan's Island TV show. I figured costumes would be pretty easy and most adults would recognize who they were even if the other kids didn't. I had shirts and pants for both kids and just needed hats. My amazing friend, Holly (who is also a photographer, and dental hygienist) is a seamstress as well. She agreed to make hats for both the boys. And she made a white collar to go on Kyler's red polo shirt.

I decided Kyler would be Gilligan because he had a long-sleeved red polo shirt already and Caden would be The Skipper because he had a short-sleeved blue polo shirt. So Holly made an adorable khaki hat for Kyler to wear and a cute little blue sailor cap for Caden. They were awesome!

"The Skipper" and "Gilligan"

During lunchtime, Caden and I were at the hospital where Greg works and were in the cafeteria. Caden was dressed in his costume except for his cap (which he refused to wear at that time). So he is in a blue polo shirt and khaki pants and blue shoes which doesn't really look much like a costume. Caden walks up to a random lady who was there and says, “I'm the stripper.” The poor lady got this shocked and surprised look on her face. There was a long pause before she said, “You're what?!” I came to her rescue and said, “He is “The Skipper” from Gilligan's Island, the TV show.” She immediately looked incredibly relieved and said, “Oh!” It was quite hysterical from my point of view. That was not the first time Caden referred to himself as the stripper as opposed to the skipper. I kept trying to correct him and he would get it right for a short time but then revert to the stripper. But this was the first time he walked up to a random stranger and announced this. I got a good laugh out of it for sure! :)

We decided to go trick or treating in downtown Walla Walla instead of going around our neighborhood. All the businesses there provide treats for the kids in the afternoon from 3-5 pm. So, there are hoardes of parents and children dressed up and lined up from one end of Main Street to the other. It was a little crazy to say the least! I'm not sure what was going on with Caden but he was super grumpy today also. So we only got a little ways down the way before he started crying about something. He had a tough time the rest of the way. But Kyler was enjoying it so much I didn't want to short-change him. So we stuck it out. I'm not sure I will attempt doing it again by myself next year. If I do go, I want Greg or another parent to be with me. Might make it more fun for everyone.

We survived trick or treating, came home and the kids had some candy after I made them take a few more pictures in their costumes with their pumpkins. It was a very long and busy day!

Kyler's pumpkin lit up

 Caden's pumpkin lit up

Kyler's Class Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Tuesday, October 30 was the 1^st/2^nd grade class field trip to the Country Mercantile Pumpkin Patch in the Tri Cities, which is about an hour away from Walla Walla. This wasn't just Kyler's classroom, it was all the 1^st and 2^nd graders at the school. Most of the kids rode the bus, but several parents drove as well, either taking some kids in their car, or taking siblings along. I drove our car with Caden on the way there. And on the way back, I brought Kyler home with me.

After we arrived, we went on a hayride out to the pumpkin patch where the kids each got to pick out a pumpkin to take home. Then the hayride brought us back to the haystack where the kids could climb around and go through tunnels and down slides. It was great fun until they had to move on to the petting zoo and Caden wasn't ready to go yet. He threw a huge old tantrum which lasted the rest of the time we were there. 

 Enjoying the hay ride

The boys with their chosen pumpkins

After the petting zoo, all the kids in each classroom got together for a group photo. Once those were all done, everyone got to run through the hay maze. Even Caden decided to do that, despite his grumpy mood. After being able to run through the maze several times, the kids were then taken to a covered shelter where they got snacks. When snacks were done, the tour was over and it was time to leave. 

Caden in the hay maze

From the Country Mercantile, the bus took the kids to the Playground of Dreams in Kennewick. Here they all ate their lunches and then got to play on the huge, wonderful playground for several hours. Even though it rained while we were there, the kids didn't seem to mind being wet. 

 

When it was time to leave, I took Kyler and Caden home with me. It was an exhausting day. Fun for the kids but tough for me since Caden was so grouchy. It made it hard to enjoy the day to the fullest.

Hedgehogs!

For the past week and a half we have learned a lot about hedgehogs. Kyler's class is studying the desert in their science class. Each student was assigned a desert creature. They had to create a model of their animal in its natural habitat and answer some questions for an oral report.

Kyler was assigned a hedgehog. He was supposed to do all the work for making the model with very limited help from me. And they had to write down the answers to the questions on a sheet of paper. Then he had to practice giving a report on it.

He did an amazing job making his hedgehog. I gave him the idea and he made it happen. He dipped over 250 toothpicks in three different colors of paint. He dipped both ends in paint and let them dry in between.  After they were dry, he cut them in half to create over 500 spines.  Then he painted a foam “egg” and stuck the toothpicks into it for the spines. Then I helped him hot glue on eyes and a nose. Then he drew a desert backdrop with cacti and made several cactus out of pipe cleaners and stuck them into styrofoam I hot glued to the cardboard box. I think he did a great job!

Painting the hedgehog body

 Dipping all the toothpicks in paint

Coloring the backdrop

 Showing the finished project

Isn't he a cute hedgehog?

Then, on Monday, October 29, he gave his oral presentation to his class. First he read the report with the answers to all the questions about hedgehogs. Then, one of his classmates got to give a compliment about his presentation. Last, he got to ask the class a “quiz” question to see if they were listening.

Kyler giving his presentation

There were 7 kids who did their presentations on that day and I think he did the best job that day. There were two other days of presentations and I didn't attend those but for the day Kyler presented, he did amazing! I am so very proud of him! Not bad for a 1^st grader.

Pumpkin Carving

I was so not in the mood to carve pumpkins with the kids this year. So I was thrilled when our college-age friend asked if she could come over and do it with the kids. It was a win-win-win for all of us! I didn't have to do the carving, Kathryn got to carve pumpkins, and the kids got to carve pumpkins also. Yay!

Kathryn is a friend from Sacramento who is a freshman at Walla Walla University this year. She babysits for us when she has time. The kids love her and she does lots of fun activities with them. She brought her friend, Jeff, with her and they had a grand time.

Kyler was so funny. He would NOT put his hands in and remove the slimy seeds from the pumpkin. He definitely has some sensory issues where that is concerned. But he really wanted to use the knife to cut the holes which caused some concern when he was careless and came close to cutting his fingers! 

When it was Caden's turn, he also was not interested in getting the slimy seeds out. He really wanted to just watch as Kathryn and Jeff did all the work with the seeds and the carving. He was pretty excited when it was done though.

It was fun for me to sit and watch as they carved pumpkins together. Thank you Kathryn for doing fun stuff with the boys! :)

The finished product

Klicker's Pumpkin Patch

Friday, October 26, I went with Caden's preschool class on their field trip to the local pumpkin patch. The kids got to walk through the corn field and the pumpkin patch while the owner talked to them about different things.

Learning all about corn

Caden with the scarecrow 

After they finished their walk, they got to have snacks before going down the huge slide down the hay stack! I thought Caden would be scared to go down a slide that was so long and high. But he apparently didn't feel the same. He climbed right up to the top and slid down without a second thought. It was so fun to watch him!

I also “dragged” him around the field of pumpkins with me and took a few pictures of him. He was less than impressed at this activity and didn't want to cooperate very well. But I managed to get a couple pictures of him anyway. 

It was a fun day with the kids but by the time we were done at the pumpkin patch, Caden was tired and cranky and I took him home and put him straight down for a nap. He was too tired to even eat lunch. Poor thing!

Firetruck

Caden's preschool had the local fire department come to school one day to show them their firetruck and to talk to them about fire safety. It was on Tuesday when he doesn't usually go to school (he goes Monday, Wednesday & Friday). But I thought he might really enjoy it so I asked his teacher if I could bring him to see the firetruck. She told me we could absolutely come. :)

So we showed up in time for him to climb around on the truck and take some class pictures. But he decided he didn't want to stay for the talk on fire safety or to see the fireman put on his gear. Even so, he had a great time and he was so excited to be able to explore the truck. I'm glad we were able to go. Thank you to Teacher Melissa for organizing his and for letting us come.

Corn Maze

After we took family pictures on the 21^st, we went to the local corn maze. We thought the kids would have a really fun time going through and finding their way from beginning to end. It was quite cold but we had a good time.

 

We just let the kids lead us whichever way they wanted to go. We didn't give much input in regards to which direction we should go and just let them decide. They loved it!

Next year will probably be even more fun for them, I think. Even with letting the kids lead the way, we made it through relatively quickly. It was a fun way to make some memories together as a family. 

Family Pictures

It has been almost three years since we have had some really nice family pictures taken. We've done a couple sittings at JCPenney, but it's not nearly the same as having gorgeous outdoor pictures of your family by a wonderful photographer. We finally had the chance to do it again.

My dear friend, Holly, is a dental hygienist in Walla Walla. She was also one of my college roommates and it's been fun to be living in the same town again. She has always enjoyed photography and has recently begun doing pictures for people. She has a natural talent for it and takes amazing pictures so I was excited to have her take our family pics.

We went to Whitman Mission, near where we live and did a ton of gorgeous pictures. I will only post a couple here as I don't want to ruin our New Year's cards when I get those sent out. But I am so happy with the results! If you want to do family pictures or anything like that, and you live in the Walla Walla area, let me know and I can put you in touch with Holly! 

I'm a lucky girl to have such a wonderful family!  I'm so happy to have these precious memories of the four of us.  Thank you Holly!