It's (Slowly) Beginning To Look A Lot Like Fall

Being here on the west coast is way different than being in Michigan, where I grew up.  Seasons don't really change dramatically like they do back east.  We have HOT or COLD.  There is not much in between.  However, it is mid October, so we are trying our best to get our home into fall mode. 

William insisted that we put a ghost on our door, just like our neighbor.  So, off went the adorable tin scarecrow, and on went the tacky white trash bag ghost.  They both think it is great.  Me?  The thing scares me half to death every time I open the door. 

We took a trip to our local pumpkin patch the other day.  It turned out to be a hot day!

The flying tubs were their favorite!  Amazingly they were able to get them to spin.  And yes, William has his arms in the air! 

I remember the flying swings being my favorite ride at the fair, so I'm thrilled there are swings at our little pumpkin patch for them to ride. 

We made caramel apples.  I can now say I will not make them for little kids again.  I do not like picking stuck-on caramel out of little teeth. 

The mornings here have been a bit more mild (nevermind the 90 degree afternoons!) so we've been heading off to the park as much as possible.

Heat

It's been hot here.  Nice in the evenings still, but during the day it's toasty.  Because of that we are out early enough to enjoy the shade that we have in our front yard...then in the afternoon we are out back to enjoy the shade back there! 

The pool I bought last year has a leak in the top layer. Bummer.  That didn't stop the kids from getting a quick dip, though. 

Do-A-Dot

I have to admit.  I hate painting with my kids.  What a mess.  I think it takes longer to set the whole disaster up than for them to paint.  They love it, though, so I suffer through it.  I figure we're making memories, right?  That said, I have to say that I discovered the most awesome product today at of all places, TJ Maxx.  I never go there, and now I will have to change that.  (Along with my fine art purchase I got a new Hop Skip Duo Deluxe diaper bag on the cheap!)  Anyway, I got off topic.  My new favorite art purchase is Do-a-dot paint.  There is seriously no mess with these babies.  Shake, twist off cap, dot away.  There are books that you can buy specifically for Do-a-dot art, but there are tons of free printables online as well. 

This one is a penguin that I printed from the internet. 

It was easy enough for Abby to enjoy as well.  She knew exactly what colors she wanted and where.

This printable is from my favorite homeschooling blog, Confessions of a homeschooler.  I bought her Letter of the Week curriculum awhile back, and every letter has a Do-a-dot activity...several of them, actually.  I would usually use small pom-poms to do these activities, but paint, I assure you all, is much more fun!

Here are some of William and Abby's finished projects.  Drying time is super short because very little paint is actually used.  Score!  (I'm not sure why the letter "M" and "L" printed off, when I was clearly wanting to print off the "S" and "T" but whatever.  Technology isn't always my friend.)

To spice things up, we did some tie dying as well.  Using a coffee filter, decorate with paint dots. 

Then spritz with water, twirling the filter to allow the paint to drip in cool patterns.  Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the final product.  I will vouch that it turned out pretty neat.  

Shorter Hikes Here We Come!

John had today off, (tomorrow too! Yeah!) so we decided that we'd have a leisurely "family fun" day by biking/rollerblading in the morning, and hiking the Mentryville trail in the afternoon.

With William's help John pumped up his bike tires and my jogger tires. We ended up going several miles on the trails around our home. Since rollerblading and pushing a jogger is much more work than biking (in my opinion) and since there are lots of hills where we live I was exhausted by the time we got home. I've been keeping my eyes open for a bike trailer/bike seat either second hand through zwaggle/freepeats/Play It Again Sports or a good deal through a store. If any of you see anything let me know!


After William's nap we headed out to In 'N Out for burgers and a shake. William has found that he loves french fries and strawberry shakes! He's never been able to get anything to come out of a straw, but once we put the shake up to his mouth he "magically" figured it out!

Then we headed for the hiking trails! Wait for us William! (He was a little eager to get started.)


John lugged William on his back for several miles before we turned around. I was not thinking, and didn't bring William's sippy of milk. He started fussing a little, and we decided that short hiking trips are what we're going to be doing for awhile!


We all had a wonderful time! It was a great leisurely "family fun" day!