The Giant October, Halloween, Uncle Dan Post

I decided to just put all the stuff I have left for the month in one post. SO there are tons of pictures.... but hey you don't have to look if you don't want to(I'll never know).


Uncle Dan arrives... and Avery climbs all over him as he tries to sleep
And then she pretends he is her cave for her animals...
Avery's class went to an assisted living home to sing and trick-or treat
Uncle Dan came too (he didn't know he was coming for a super hectic week)

Being cute...Being grumpy because the residents thought she was just a butterfly when in fact she is a monarch.
I put Dan to work... making a bean bag toss for Avery's school party

While I worked on finishing this costume.

Harrison's school parade (he would be the giant one)

Here is the 2nd grade

Uncle Dan reading to Avery
Avery ready for her orange and black day partyUncle Dan's super bean bag toss is a hit.Avery decorating her cookie (this one is a little blurry.)

Pumpkin timeHarrison carved his on his own this year. He did great.
Uncle Dan did pretty well too.
Pumpkin heads
More pumpkin heads...I look tired:)
Ready to go trick-or-treating.
Dan and Will manned the cooler and wagon
Kim and I - it was hot and humid...
Kids swarming a house
Sir Harrison (love those big green eyes)
Checking out the loot
So sad - Uncle Dan heads homeWe love it when we have uncles around.

Greenmeadows Petting Farm

Avery had her first field trip this week and she was thrilled. She is so excited to be doing things she has watched Harrison do for years. Even taking her lunch was thrilling.

I was slightly concerned she was going to try to steal this chicken, she really loved it. I was the calmest chicken I have ever seen in my life.
Riding a pony ( I think she has been spoiled by the horse rides at Uncle Scott's because she wasn't that impressed with the little pony - she wished it was a unicorn)
The cow

She wanted to milk the cow right up until she actually got to, then was less enthusiastic (she got milk on her shoe.)
Avery and Katie

She sees Cyrus and off she goes - I get tired just watching her(but would love it if I had a running stride like hers)A "Zorse" named Tigger. He's a zebra and horse mix.

Huh? I love this expression
An ostrich
I always notice how tall Harrison is but seem to forget that Avery is just as tall as he was at her age. (the boy on the far right is Katie's older brother - he is 2 yrs older than them)
She thought this was hilarious.And then they got to pick out a pumpkin...it was a long process to find the perfect one.
That is her teacher Miss Sherrie who she adores.
And the perfect pumpkin - which she carries around the house and talks to.

Kennedy Space Center

We went on our first 2nd grade field trip last week to the Kennedy Space Center. I have been there but not since I went as a kid with my parents. It was fun and I was excited to get a little mom and Harrison time. But it was really hot. Record highs this week made it a little tiring to walk around outside all day. Here are some pictures! (and next week Avery has a farm field trip so more are coming)
Here is the entire second gradeExcited about the "Rocket Garden"Not too excited about astronaut ice-creamIn a rocketIn a space suitAnother rocket acting silly
Mars RoverMission Control
Mars Living
The cool rolling ball of constellations
Astronaut memorial

Painting it Red.

Or I guess I could have called this "Christi feels like painting" I've wanted to paint my bathroom red for quite some time. Most of you know I tend to be quite..uh...picky when it comes to colors, so my bathroom had been covered in squares of different reds for a while because it wasn't "quite right" and if you're going to go red then it had better be the right one. SO I finally found it and painted and I love it.

Avery helping (and dancing in the mirror you can't see)

(the dog wouldn't be helpful and move so please excuse the dog bum, and if you are wondering what is going on in the middle of the other door that is the dog door to outside that he refuses to use)

And then I decided to work on Harrison's room. I painted a 16 sq. ft. section of his wall first with magnetic primer than covered that with chalkboard paint. It was not as easy as I had hoped (and deciding to put up crown molding the same day left me very sore and a little cranky) But he loves it, he has spent more time in his room drawing on that wall than I could have imagined.

Our Personal Roller Rink.

A big perk of having a Dad who builds buildings is afternoons like this. Who else has a huge clear area to skate in (that they don't even have to share) and they are getting pretty good. Now most of the falls are Avery's and done on purpose for a little added drama.

A visit with Aunt Morgan and Dean.

Morgan and Dean came down to visit Will's mom and we were lucky enough to get to spend some time with them. Saturday they met up with us at Aquatica, no pictures of course. And then Sunday we went to Grandma Neenie's to hang out and swim. The swimming got delayed over and over because of storms but it cleared up enough right before we went home for the kids to get a quick one in.

School...

So we are over a month into school and I feel like we are just starting to settle in. Harrison is doing well. He really likes his teacher and I do too. Second grade is so much different than I remember. In second grade at his school they start taking violin and he thinks this is really fun. He is also starting his 4th year of Spanish and his second year of Chinese. It is really humbling to have a hard time helping your 7 year old do his homework. Let's see, what else? He has a field trip coming up to the Kennedy Space Center and he is really excited. I think Will is going with him so I am going to have to trust him to take pictures:)

On to Avery. Here are a few pictures from Avery's class. We were celebrating Miss Sherrie's birthday.

(Miss Sherrie is in the middle next to Avery and Miss Julie is her assistant on the right - Love them)

And this is them "going on a bear hunt" which is her very favorite thing.

So far Avery LOVES school. The first day of school she was off with no tears and barely a backward glance. And it has been that way every day since. She is going to a different school than Harrison this year so she is doing half days and I think this schedule is perfect for her. She always leaves wanting more and is so excited to go the next day. She is having a great time and making new friends. Such a great time that she sometimes forgets that she needs to stop talking, but I have a feeling that is going to be pretty normal for Avery. Her teacher is wonderful, I really like her. So far so good for pre-k!

International Peace Day Assembly

(I know, I know I am behind again. I will post later about how school is going and all that fun stuff.)

Today Harrison's school celebrated "Peace Day". They had an assembly and released doves and made a ton of pinwheels that they had surrounding the school. The second graders had to write a journal entry talking about what peace means to them. Harrison was one of the four chosen to read his aloud at the assembly. He is getting really good at speaking in front of crowds. So this is the video of him reading, it's really hard to hear so I will post the words once he gets home.



They were allowed to wear their peace day t-shirts.

Watching the birds being released.