A soggy Halloween

It rained tonight - not just a light drizzle - it poured! But honestly, I don't think the kids even noticed. We headed out for a little trick-or-treating and a good night was had by all! It really didn't seem to matter if feet were soaked or costumes were drenched, as long as the candy kept filling up the buckets, it was all good. Here are a few pictures of my little trick-or-treaters!

 

Kendra, the black panther.

Owen, the soccer player.

Jocelyn, the kitty cat.

They needed to practice so they rang our door bell!

The finished pumpkin creations.

An afterschool apple trip

I know that this beautiful fall weather we've been having is  going to eventually end so I figured I better get my apples before it gets cold and wet.  We have a 5  year old boy in our house who has to have applesauce on EVERYTHING that he eats for supper, so making my own applesauce is a bit of a no-brainer!

 

We headed out after school to Willowview Farms.  This is a wonderfully cute place to go with kids and a great way to spend the afternoon.  There is no admission fee, a petting zoo, a playground, a great little store and lots of different kinds of pumpkins and apples to choose from.

 

So, we grabbed a wagon and headed off to the orchard to find our apples.

Luckily, we had a great navigator.  Give him a map and he is happy for hours (kinda takes after his father that way!).  He quickly found the right aisles and we began to pick!

Once we loaded up with apples, we headed to the pumpkin section to pick out the perfect pumpkin.  They each found one to take home and carve out sometime in the next few weeks.

I really don't know how people get perfect pictures of all their kids smiling and looking at the camera.  At least in this one they are all looking in the same direction! :)

Finally, we went to the barn for awhile to check out the animals.  Some chickens, a few turkeys, a couple of goats and rabbits and pigs and 1 miniature horse.  This is probably as close as my kids will ever get to living on a farm!

All in all, a great few hours together, enjoying the last of the fall sunshine!

Kid's room art

Another summer home project was switching the kids around in their rooms.  I will do a post on that when they are all finished.  (Kendra's room is just waiting for her desk to be made).  So, with new rooms, I decided it would be fun for the kids to make some new art to hang on their walls.  I have seen this art done before but had never tried it with the kids.  They thought it was quite fun and loved how they turned out.

 

 

Step 1:  I picked up a value pack of small canvas's (sp?) with my Michael's coupon.  Using painter's tape, they each taped off their own design on their canvas.  We made sure to wrap the tape all the way around the edge of the canvas. 

Step 2:  Once they were happy with the design, it was time to paint!  I used acryllic paint from the dollar store.  Each section was painted a different colour.

 I did the older two kids first while Jocelyn was napping but once she woke up, she got in on the action too.  I was quite happy that I did the kids somewhat separately!  It might have been a little crazy with all three  painting at the same time!!

 Step 3:  Once the paint was dry, they could carefully pull off the tape, making sure to pull off the pieces in the reverse order of how they were put down. 

 Step 4:  Hang the art on the wall and enjoy their masterpieces!

Minter Gardens

Last week we had a wonderful day out at Minter Gardens.  This is one of those places that you often drive by on the highway and think, "I would like to go there sometime".  Well, that sometime was now.  We went with Oma and Opa.  It was a birthday gift for Oma and she treated us to birthday lunches.

This really is an amazing and beautiful place.  There are obviously more flowers than you can imagine but the entire setting of the place is very peaceful and serene.  It was a great time to go as all the flowers were in full bloom and vibrant with colour!  We arrived right at 10:00 (opening time) and we almost had the place to ourselves. 

The kids posing in from of the Canada Flag.  They thought it was pretty cool made up of flowers.

One of many little water features around the gardens.

The kids had a great time here too.  There were so many paths and little trails for them to explore, but without going too far or geting lost. 

Oma and Owen

Checking out the old water wheel.

It was a wonderful day spent with Oma and Opa.  We truly are blessed to have them as part of our lives.  They love spending time with our kids, even if they are exhausted by the time our kids are done with them! Thanks, Oma and Opa, for a wonderful day together!

Me and my buddy!

And finally, a few shots of some of the flowers!  The creativity and artistry of God was so evident today!

Jocelyn just couldn't make it to the end of the day without falling asleep!  Good thing for Daddy's shoulders!

Mount St. Helens

One of the other day trips that we took on our camping trip was a drive to Mount St. Helens.  This was amazing to see!  Seeing how much of the mountain erupted and came crashing down through the valley below was unbelievable.  We spent some time in 2 of the visitor centers, reading about how it happened, how fast and  powerful it was and reading some of the amazing survival stories.  If you ever have the chance to see this, it is well worth the trip off the highway!

"Look, I see it over there!"

"We're up here!"

In spite of all the devestation that occured over 30 years ago there, it was very cool to see all the regeneration of life that has and is happening there now.  Many species of both plants and animals are again thriving there.  We really do serve an amazing Creator God!