Out to the mission field!!

John Mark left this morning with a group from TREC International headed for India.  This is his third medical/mission trip with them.  This trip is planned to be more like the first one- a two shower trip!  One shower when he lands in India.  Then up into the mountains.  Another shower before he leaves to come home!  (Thank goodness!) He was excited to go, and I am more relaxed about him leaving than I have ever been.   Let's just pray that it is a fast 9 days!  It will be...with all that is on the calendar between now and then!

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

We had a great family day today.  Our first stop was the The Grand 'Ole Pumpkin Patch in Canton, AL. 

 

 The girls were really excited about going.  Their favorite part of the pumpkin patch is playing in the hay stack, riding the ponies, and jumping in the inflatables.   The actual pumpkin patch is just pictures for Mom that they endure for the fun!  Lyndsey was such a big girl.  She kept pace with the big kids without missing a beat.  She loved the ponies and watching the helicopter land and take off.  Maybe next year we will she JM and Tyler ride in that helicopter!  

 

We ate lunch ate the pumpkin patch before driving east to the Corn Maze.  We had seen this advertised in a parenting magazine so we decided to give it a try!  It took us a while to get there and we almost lost Lyndsey since it was past nap time!  All the kids enjoyed running through the maze until we found our way out.  It was quite simple to navigate through.  It was not the challenge I faced 5 years ago with my mom, Tyler, Corynne, and infant Lauren in Pennsylvania!  I thought I would be lost in that maze until the rescue squad came in at dust!

Again, the maze was not the highlight of the afternoon.  Lyndsey loved the animals.  They had a goat, pig, calf, rooster with hens and ducks.  Lyndsey would sit and "oink" at the pig.  She pet everything, including the hen who "pecked" her pack.  That was so funny to see.  She was completely taken off guard that the hen did not want her to pet it!  The girls enjoyed to feeding barrel of corn kernals to bury themselves with.  John Mark and Tyler's favorite thing was the shooting range with an airgun that propelled corn cobs into targets.  

Needless to say by the time we finally got home, the kids graciously took baths and were ready for beds.  We were all exhausted from fun!

Take me to the AL National Fair! All my friends go!

 

This is what we have heard for a couple of years from Tyler.  This year we decided to give it a try on Family Faith night which was a Thursday. We did not get out to the fair until 6:30pm so we were glad that the girls did not have school on Friday and Tyler was going on a field trip!  It was the perfect night.  The crowds were minimal and continued to decrease as it got later.  The kids enjoyed the rides, animals, and food.  We closed the rides down at 11 pm.  Time to get home, baths and bed!

 

Fall has arrived!

We are enjoying the cool fall mornings here in Montgomery this week.  It has actually been getting down to the low 60s.  Wow!  The cooler weather makes entertaining in the car (at carpool and after school activities) so much more relaxing!  

Lauren's class went to the zoo on Wednesday to see the animals while they studied the letter A.  It was a great trip on a beautiful day with gentle breezes.  The kids had a great time.  Oh, no.  They gave them ice cream at the snack shop!  My kids did not realize that you could get ice cream at the zoo!  That could be a problem in the future!!!

 

John Mark is having to work a lot lately, but we are finding ways to get away!  He was off last Sunday, so we borrowed a boat from a nurse at the hospital and went to the lake for the day.  We had a great time.  The kids loved getting to ride in the boat and swim beside it in the middle of the lake.  We had a wonderful day together, but got home VERY late for a school night!

 

A week of parties and fun!

Lauren's class had a pajama party with popcorn, pizza, pretzels, pudding, pineapple.  They watched the movie Peter Pan.  Even the teachers wore pink polka-dot pajamas with pig slippers.  I bet you will never guess what letter they were learning this week!  They kids all had a great time.  It was quite strange to drop your child off at school in their pajamas carrying a pillow! (For all the family reading this blog, Thomas Treadwell is in the 2nd pic.  He is 2 over from Lauren.)

Corynne (and grades 1-6) have been preparing all week for the ultimate field day.  Friday was Olympic Field Day at ECS.  All the kids are divided into teams and given names from history like the Athenians, Titans, Trogans, etc.  They compete as teams to accumulate points for the ultimate prize-1st place.  My favorite award each year is the sportsmanship award.  It is great to see every team cheering for themselves and THEIR OPPONENTS in hopes of winning this award.  Corynne's team, the Titans, places 2nd in the competition.  They also tied with the Trogans for the Sportsmanship award!  Yeah, Titans and Trogans!

Weekend Fun

John Mark was off this weekend.  Of course, we had a list of places to be and things to do but this weekend in all its business was relaxing and fun.  We started off the weekend with the girls having friends over after school to watch the new Barbie movie and play.  We included a cookie cake to celebrate Lyndsey's birthday with friends!  The girls had a lot of fun.  

On Saturday morning, Tyler played in a novice tennis tournament here in Montgomery for a little extra practice.  He played very good.  He was excited to place 2nd in the Intermediate Division.  

 

John Mark helped me do a little fall decorating on Saturday night.  He really has got the kitchen decorating for fall and Christmas down pretty good!  He can do it in record time now! 

Oh, John Mark also observed Lyndsey "decorating" her face.  Lynsdey fell off the couch with a clean eye landing right into the corner of the coffee table.  Oh that will be pretty on Sunday morning...and Monday...and Tuesday...beauty just gets better with time!

 

We wrapped up the weekend with a church class family swim party.  Hot dogs and s'mores are always a recipe for success at our house!

Time for another week of school!  We are looking forward to another weekend of fun!!!

Happy Birthday Lyndsey!

 
 
Lyndsey celebrated her 2nd birthday today.  It is hard to believe that she has been with us for 2 years.  Time is flying by way to fast!  She started out the morning with a 2 year checkup (and a shot).  Just as we expected, she is a tall and lean 2 year old hyper machine!  Dad cut away from the hospital long enough for dinner, cake and presents this evening.  Lyndsey loved blowing out the candles.  We did it a few times!  She also enjoyed opening presents.  "All Mine"  was her theme for the night!