I woke up today realizing that Halloween was two weeks ago, and Thanksgiving is in just over a week! I’m not sure where the time is going, but we’re having lots of fun along the way. The boys had another great Halloween. They grew up always going to a pumpkin patch to pick out their perfect pumpkins. This year was quite different because they grew their own. They enjoyed watching them grow over the last few months. We took out the dead corn stalks from our garden to create a fun display in our front yard. We even got a little snow before Halloween! Speaking of our garden, I really miss it. This was the first time we’ve ever had a large garden, and I can’t wait to plant those rows again in the spring. Do you want more ideas for fun crafts with your child’s handprint? I decided to share just a couple of our Thanksgiving decorations. Our older four boys had the best daycare provider. She’s responsible for the amazing turkey handprint on the tin pan. I don’t know how she did it, but I really love them. We only have one turkey hand on a hot pad.…

Fall is in the air. I love living where we have four seasons because you really do notice a difference when fall arrives. This is the first year we’re decorating for Halloween in this house, and I love it! Do you like to do fun crafts with your kids for the holidays? I always have loved any craft that involves my children’s handprints. Someone told me about the handprint bats and footprint ghosts years ago. I did it in 2010 when Jonathan was 7, Jeremy 4, Justin 1, and Joey 2 months. I then did it for Jacob when he was 7 months. It’s a fun and easy craft that we love to put up as a decoration! Have your children made cute art projects dedicated to fall and Halloween? We love to put them up on their bedroom doors as extra decorations. I LOVE to read, and I’ve tried hard to pass that down to my boys. We have hundreds of books in our house, and when we were first married I decided I wanted a Christmas tree dedicated to reading. We have a small tree with several baskets of books surrounding it. We then read Christmas books throughout…

We have so many versions of Monopoly. When the boys were little, we always played without the houses and hotels, just so they could learn the gist of the game. Now that they’re older…..it’s game on! Jeremy got Santa Clarita-Opoly right before we moved. It was in storage for a little while, and we decided on Easter to get it out and have some fun! It was pretty fun to play a game that goes along with your hometown. Being a 3rd grade teacher, I taught Santa Clarita History for many years. I was a little surprised at some of the sites/places that were included, and the ones that were left off. But, I guess that’s just the teacher in me. Instead of houses and hotels, you buy blocks and the key to the city. Since there were six of us playing, it was pretty hard to get a monopoly. My boys decided early on that they wanted to make things interesting. Justin and Jeremy wanted to trade some of their properties to make a monopoly. They added in some money to try and entice us. We all kept saying no, but Justin was pretty insistent. We both owned properties…

Do you ever hear a song, recognize a scent, or see something and it instantly takes you back to a different time? The scent one is strange. One time I was walking and was taken back to my dorm in college. It was a plant growing nearby. It was the same as ones outside my dorm building. One inhale of a faint scent and I was walking the pavement at Cal State Long Beach. Last week we introduced our toddler to The Wiggles. I put it on and walked into the kitchen. Suddenly, there was ticking and The Wiggles needed to wake up Jeff. I was transformed to our old house where I could see a two year old Jeremy singing and dancing in front of the TV. The kid loved them, and he had all of their routines memorized. I sat down and watched the whole DVD, smiling at the memories. He’s going to be 16 soon, and for a brief moment in time I yearned to hold that little boy again. It didn’t last too long, though. Those of you who knew two year old Jeremy get it. 🙂 So, there you have it. I’m sure you weren’t…

We used to play chess before we had children. Then the kids came and grew and I’d find chess pieces in with their toys. Some pieces seemed to be lost forever. Fast forward several years. Joey got this game for his birthday. It is a really good game. There are two sides to it. The easy side teaches your children how to play the game. Each player picks a card and has to move that piece. The card shows and explains how to move it. If they can’t move that piece, or that one was already captured, play moves to the next player. It wasn’t long before Joey was ready to flip the board over, not use the cards, and play a real game. We definitely recommend it!

We crammed a lot in during our last three days on the road. There’s just so much to see in this amazing country of ours. Honestly, if you’ve never taken a road trip with your children, you need to. Our first stop was Dodge City. We’d been there before, but it’s got some really neat history. The boys got deputized by the marshal. I was bummed they took the schoolhouse out. The last time I made the boys all sit at a desk while I stood up front ‘teaching’ them. The next day we stopped at Royal Gorge in Colorado. Whoa is all I have to say. The boys weren’t sure about going on the gondola, so we walked across the bridge first. It supposedly can hold 2 million pounds, but that doesn’t ease the nerves when you can see down to the bottom through the wood slats. After a slow trek, we made it. We watched a cool film in the theater about its history and the fire that caused a lot of damage in 2013. It was getting really hot, but the boys really wanted to go to the play yard. It was up a steep hill, and…

The younger four boys, my mom, and I took a vacation to see some family out of state. The boys were great, and we had so much fun doing many different activities. First was the splash park. We weren’t sure how the Jacob would like it. He loved it! It was really fun to watch him get soaked all while cracking up. We took a trip to the zoo on a day we thought wouldn’t be too hot……The tiger was up walking around, and the lions were both sleeping right next to the viewing glass. We got awfully sweaty, but the boys had a great time. After spending some time with their cousins, we took a trip to the small town pool the boys’ dad went to as a kid. They love diving in the water. It’s a really neat experience for them. It feels like going back in time. Since we were so close, we had to take a drive to Pawhuska, OK to see the Mercantile. The boys and I had already been, but my mom hadn’t. We did some shopping and had a delicious lunch. At the end of our visit, we took them to a fun…

There is nothing quite like hitting the open road and exploring all America has to offer. My goal is to visit all 50 states. I have been to 29 so far! I’ve been to every state west of the Mississippi River, except for Alaska, Arkansas, and Louisiana. I would love to take a cruise to Alaska, but since I have a one year old, that dream will have to take a back seat. The boys are the same, except they have never been to Hawaii. This trip has been a little different, since it’s just the younger 4 boys, my mom, and me. Our trip started as we headed north through Big Sky country. All I have to say is….beautiful! We’ve stopped at four National Parks/Monuments/Historical Sites so far. The boys are earning their Junior Ranger badges each time. I think this is a great incentive to get the kids involved at each of the sites. They get a book and have to answer questions, do activities, say the pledge, and get it checked by a park ranger. It’s been a fun adventure getting all of us involved in trying to figure out the answers. The Little Bighorn Battlefield book…

We live so close to so many amazing places. Yesterday, I told the boys we were getting some sandwiches and heading off to have a picnic. We were first going to find a place by the river, but there were too many bugs. So, I decided to keep driving. We found a back road that said it led to a boat ramp. We turned and found ourselves on a curvy road surrounded by forest. When the road ended, we discovered there was a really neat beach/picnic area. We opted to park above and eat at one of the picnic tables in the woods, with a view of the lake. The boys then explored some trails. Once on the road again, we couldn’t pass up the chance to get some yummy square ice cream. The boys think it’s the coolest thing (pun intended 🙂 ). It takes me back to my childhood when we would stop in at Thrifty. It was a fun day, exploring nature and spending quality time together. Ohhhhh! I almost forgot….at one point we stopped in the middle of the road to take in the beauty of a female moose! Have I said yet how much I…