Pumpkin Patch 2015

Last Friday the stars aligned just right and the kids and I were able to go to the pumpkin patch.  The kids had early release, Cam didn't have football and it wasn't raining!  We haven't gone in a few years and I wasn't sure if some of the kids were too old for this kind of fun.  Turns out, you are never too old!!

My favorite pumpkin patch is Maris Farms and they have lots of fun things to do. The kids enjoyed the activities, looking at some animals, and picking out pumpkins. 

The corn maze was fun for the older three kids but Lucy HATED every minute of the maze and cried through most of it.  When I asked if I could take her picture she turned running and screaming.  I will take that as a NO, I don't want my picture taken!

 

Cameron was a good sport and took a ride in Betsy for me.  He thought he was too old to ride around in a circle but I convinced him anyway. :)  It is hard when your mom doesn't want you to grow up!

 

 

Did I mention...

that I took a trip to Washington D.C. ? 

Yeah...it was awesome!!!

Even looking back on my trip it is unbelievable that I went.  It all started in early September when Laura texted me that she had found cheap airfare online to D.C. and she was going September 22-27th.  My mom and Katie were going with her and it was too bad that I couldn't come.  Then I started to think, was it even remotely possible for me to go with them?  I talked to Mitch and he said, "YES, GO!" We would figure out how to make it work later.  (Have I mentioned that my husband is awesome? He really is!!)

When I was ten years old my grandparents served a mission in the Washington D.C. temple.  While the temple was closed for cleaning that summer my parents took us there to visit.  I have never forgotten what an awesome experience that was.  It so happened that we were there on the 4th of July, talk about unforgettable! Even at age ten, I understood the importance of the things that we saw.   I was SO EXCITED to go back as an adult and see the sights.

Going to D.C. was a trip NOT a vacation.  A vacation is when you go somewhere to relax, sleep in, eat out, and hang out.  This was NOT that.  This was an itinerary filled, get up early, eat whenever you can fit it in on the run,  jam packed days full of sightseeing.  We left on a Tuesday morning at 6:00 am and got to D.C. at 10:00 pm that night.  Our flight took us from Seattle to Oakland, CA to Kansas City to D.C.  (I told you the tickets were cheap!)  We spent Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in D.C and then flew home by way of Wisconsin on Sunday.

Can you see all of Washington D.C. in four days?  The answer is YES!  We saw pretty much everything and we walked almost the entire thing.  We walked so much that we were in pain most of the time.  The first day, Katie's Fit bit said we walked 14 miles.  I would say that we walked the same or even more on the other days.  The week we were there, the Pope was in town.  This had its ups and downs.  One of the downs was that most of the roads were shut down to traffic so in order to go anywhere you had to walk.  I have never, NEVER seen so much security in my life.  Literally at every corner there was FBI, police, and security guards all ARMED while all sorts of weapons.

Our Hotel was on the other side of the river in Virginia so each day we took the Metro (Washington's subway) into D.C.  Riding on  the Metro is an experience in itself.  I was amazed at all the young 20 something kids that worked in D.C. that commuted via the Metro each morning and night.  I have to say that it restored some hope in the future.  There are 20 year olds out there that have good jobs,work full time, go to school and are actively trying to make a difference in the world and don't still live with mom and dad!  We got pretty good at navigating our way through the Metro but when I got home I was sure glad to see my car. Mass transit is definitely different.

Before we left we sat down and made an itinerary of everything that we wanted to see so that we could make sure to fit everything in.  Due to the Pope being in town we had to rearrange some of the things we saw, but we stuck to the list and saw everything we set out to see.

Our map was our lifeline while there. At times we definitely looked like a bunch of tourist trying to figure out where we were and how to get to the next place.

**The itinerary**

Wednesday-
National Archives
Ford's Theater
National Portrait Gallery
White House
The Mall and Monuments
~Lincoln, WWI, WW II, Vietnam Wall, 50 Signers, Korean War, Martin Luther King, FDR, Jefferson, plus other small monuments

Thursday-
Washington Monument
White House Visitor Center
American History Museum
Supreme Court
Holocaust Museum
Arlington Cemetery
Pentagon~ 9/11 Memorial

Friday-
Bureau of Engraving
National Art Gallery
Capital Building
Library of Congress
Watch Senate and House
National History Museum
Iwo Jima Monument
More Arlington Cemetery

Saturday-
Mount Vernon
Washington DC Temple
Monuments at night

**More to come...

The Weekend

 This was a nice quiet weekend.  Mitch was gone all Saturday at an invitational and by some miracle we didn't have very much homework.  Natalie had a soccer game and scored the only two goals of the game!  We also had Stake Conference... meaning we didn't even have to drive far for church or teach.  The only downer of the weekend was the Seahawks.  Oh, what a bummer.

 All the girls have their costumes ready for Halloween. The only one that isn't ready is Cameron.  This weekend we got serious about finding his costume.  We had a good time at the store.  At the Goodwill, Natalie felt the need to ride the car. I think she is a bit big.

 Lucy found her new trick of treat bucket.  Not really....but can you imagine?  Ha Ha

There were so many outfits to try on and finally when we got to the piece of pizza she was done humoring me.

Here is a little preview of Cameron's costume.  It is going to be fantastic.

I pretty much took a break from cooking this weekend after spending ALL day making apple sauce on Friday.

Dinners consisted of Hoagies and Chips on Saturday and may or may not have consisted of popcorn tonight.

At dinner I told the kids to put some chips on their plates.  Lucy put "just a few" on hers.

Mitch and I are in search of some new pillows.  That is easier said than done.  Mitch was killing me "trying" them out. Seriously though... where do you go to buy some decent pillows that don't cost a million dollars?

Lets face it, the biggest time waster of the weekend was when this catalog arrived.  We will take one of everything.  :)

Shuffle Steps

Have I mentioned that Lucy's dance class is adorable?! Today they were learning shuffle steps in "tap shoe dance class."

Life Issues

Today Lucy and I were reading some of her library books.  There was a label on two of her books that made me laugh out loud!  I am glad to know that I am starting her at a young age about about life issues.  Who came up with these? I would love to see these on adult books.  Sadly they probably do have them on adult books, it is called the "self help" section at the book store!

Tahoma Bears #5

 Football season is in full swing.  Cam has had mixed emotions about it.  He isn't a starter, so for most of the game he has to stand on the sidelines and watch.  He was really hoping that he would be a starter but I think that he is just too small compared to some of the guys on his team. At the end of the game they play a 5th quarter and that is where non-starters get to play more.  I think he is learning quickly that in a game like football where you don't get to play the whole time it can be sort of boring at times.  He still loves football and has had fun but I have a feeling he won't be playing next year.  He sure is cute in his uniform though (That sure is a mom statement!)

Summer~ Week 9

Wild Waves

Wild Waves....oh how the kids love it.  There is nothing like an amusement park when you are a kid!  One of the top activities from last year was a day at Wild Waves so we decided with only a week left of summer vacation that we would go. Mitch and I must be in our late 30s because every ride we went on made us sick.  After 4 times on the roller coaster I wasn't feeling too good. 

Classic childhood pics!

Love this one of Cameron and Lucy

We kind of feel that although Wild Waves is fun, it is a bit trashy.  The photo below is a perfect example.  Since it is an amusement park and a water park all in one, most people are walking around in their swimsuits.  Lets just say most people should NOT.   There is a lot of flesh and tattoos.  Yuck!  There is also  a lot "culture" at a place like this.  At one point a big Polynesian transgender man/woman and I were standing together waiting for our kids to get off a ride.  Oh the fun and memories!

Back to School Shopping  

It is an interesting thing now that the kids are getting big.  We are having to buy shoes and clothes that are not in the kid section.  They are also not a children's price.  Julia's school shoes fit me.  I guess the good thing is that when she grows out of them, I can have them! 

 

Summer~ Week 8

Ohanapecosh

 This was our 7th annual trip to Ohanapecosh!  Unfortunately this was our only camping trip of the whole summer.  We planned on having a Stuard family camp out on Mitch's sister's property but we ended up cancelling it due to RAIN!  We love coming to Mt. Rainer and enjoy the beauty and peace that it has to offer.  Natalie was extremely brave this year and jumped off the cliff into the river! 

 It's hard to believe that they were this small when we first started camping there!

Moses Lake

 We took a short trip to Moses Lake to enjoy our favorite water park.  We love that our kids still have a great time and love going.  The weather was HOT but by the end of the day a huge wind storm moved in.  On the way home part of I-90 was shut down due to lack of visibility because of dust.  It was crazy!

I hardly took any pictures.... mainly because I was wet and swimming, but did take a few videos of the boys messing around on the diving boards.

Random Tidbits

 The girls put on a fashion show the week the Oregon cousins were in town.  I wish that I had thought to record it because it was awesome!

 Have I mentioned that Natalie's feet are ginormous?  She seriously has the longest feet ever.  This is a picture of Laura and Nat's feet.  Yeah, she is in 2nd grade!
 

 I took the kids to Lake Wilderness to work on an orienteering requirement for Cameron's scouts.  The girls loved it.  Below is Julia making her own orienteering course in our backyard the next day.  What a little cutie.