A few things we did over Fall Break

1. We took a trip to the Zoo~..those are the most beautiful pearls I ever did see!!! I didn't take my camera on this trip to the zoo (shame..I know!)...but Denise got snap shot or two for me. Thanks Denise!! The boys have been in school the past three times Rissa & I have gone to the zoo, so it was extra fun to have them with us! We went with three other families, so the boys had friends to play with. The weather was nice, the animals were all out and the ICEE man was open for business so it was some good times had at the zoo!
I do need to mention two little things. Brant, Colby & Caleb were inches away from catching a couple of turtles from the zoo lake...I'm sure that would've gone well! I was the mean mom who 'stopped' them! I figured one of two thing's would happen; they would leave the zoo 'fingerless', or they'd be hauled off to prison for attempted 'turtle napping'! I wasn't down with either, b/c I'd either be writing out someone's homework everyday or I'd have to cash out a 401K to haul his little booty out of jail, and neither of those were gonna happen!! Brant was slightly bummed when I put my foot down ('cuz I'm that kinda mom--ain't no kid running over me! hahahaha)but when he heard 'the tone' in my voice, he willingly let Mr. Turtle go. (Actually--truth be told, it wasn't until I threatened him with no video games-that he walked away from him dream of owning turtle!).
The other thing that I wanted to write down was that Jacob, at one point went MIA! I ran all around the farm trying to find him. Denise took off looking the opposite direction at the same time. I finally stopped and said to myself, If I were JACOB, what would I be looking for? (A question I haven't had to ask myself too much lately since he has been doing so well). Then it hit me! I took off and started running toward the park where we ate our lunch. As I'm running towards her, Denise yells, Tiff here he is!! I got over to Jacob and said, "Jacob, where were you going? What were you looking for?". "I just wanted that chick egg, Mom. I need to take it home and take care of it until it hatches. Then he can be my little baby chick!". I was right! When we were leaving the park to go to the farm, there was a nest on the other side of the fence with a little egg laying in it. He wants a baby chick so bad and has for a really long time (hence the reason eggs go missing from my frig!!) maybe one day, my little Jacob...in the next lifetime! So far I've done a dog that I hope lives forever, snails that eat each other, fish that live a really long time, fish that die the next day, the winning snail that won't die, Hulk-the blessed hamster (God speed little Hulk! We miss you!...and I hope you weren't bothered that we had to throw your little body in a dumpster when you died!-a story I will have share some day in another post) plants that look like butts (really, ask Dawn...she gave that most interesting plant to me:) ) frogs in a bucket....and we can't leave out the whobbly crippled pigeon that lived in the bush by our front porch..the one who taught me to love all of God's creatures...really, I just can't do the whole cute baby chick thing...maybe one day...in the next lifetime. Love, mom
Some other things we did over Fall Break...

2. We Enjoyed Homemade Breakfast
Brant woke up almost every morning and made us homemade pancakes!! Thanks Brant for sharing your cooking skills with us!!!

3. We Got BOOED!! Whoever left this bucket of yummy goodness is super fast!!! I happened to be expecting someone and so I got to the door pretty quickly after our doorbell rang....The kids and I ran out the door and didn't see a car or anyone...well, we did see a car pulling U turn and then it drove right in front of our house but we didn't recognize the car or he driver....hhhuummmm. Thanks to who ever you are!! We LOVED the popcorn balls and we were all really excited to get the surprise!!!


4. The Weather's Nice-So Pull Out the Potter's Wheel!!!Over break we also pulled out my pottery wheel! I love this time of year b/c I can get on the wheel outside and enjoy the cool air! I don't have a kiln, so I can't fire any pieces that I make, but it's fun to get on it and play. The kids love it, too!...all of them...including the ones that don't actually live with us :) As you can see, Jacob loves to do some 'clay dipping' and pretend that he's the Sand Man..from one of the superhero's movies!!