Much Ado About Autumn

Today we went to an awesoe fall festival at Talbot. It was put on by the student council and we had so much fun. The kids really enjoyed the caramel apples.

Sky was so happy about the caramel apples. I was glad that they cut them up since she doesn't have any top teeth and her bottom teeth are very loose.

There was an awesome dj who kept the kids dancing and hula hooping all night long. Brad went and played games but Sky (and Lila) danced and really enjoyed the music.

Below, Sky paired up with a friend to dance.

There was a petting zoo (which we unwisely visited AFTER eating the caramel apples).

Needless to say, everyone had a bath when we got home. And it was a late night. Hopefully Sky will be able to function at school tomorrow!

They even had a llama!

Knotts Berry Farm Fun

We had a blast at Knotts Berry Farm tonight. We rode some rides that we hadn't been on before. Can I just say that Sky is absolutely fearless???!!! She rode a pretty crazy roller coaster (the Jaguar) 4 times in a row, the swings twice, the pirate ship, the spinning hats, and the wild rapid ride. She was unbelievable! I know grown ups who won't go on those rides.

There are some seriously weird things at Knotts Berry Farm and I think this would qualify as one of them.

Sky wanted her picture taken by this waterfall so that she "would always remember this great day".

Heritage Park

There's a beautiful park nearby called Heritage Park. It is an island modeled after Revolutionary War period Philadelphia. Unfortunately that area was closed today due to renovations. We managed to have fun anyway.

The swings are Brad and Lila's favorite.

You can see Independence Hall in the background of this picture.

Brad performing a sneak attack on the pigeons.

Lila enjoying the pigeons and quacking like a duck.

There are loads of turtles at this park and Brad was able to get up close and personal with a few of them.

In the background of this picture you can see a covered bridge and a statue of Nathan Hale.

I couldn't believe that this turtle let Brad and Elizabeth get this close.

But then they got even closer!

I was sure that it would jump in the water at any moment but it didn't. We totally could have picked this guy up and brought him home with us!

Risking salmonella danger, we loved on this turtle for a few minutes.

Camelot

Camelot is actually a real place! It's in Anaheim. There's mini golf, an arcade, and much more. We went there with our friends after school on Wednesday.

Michael, Brad and Timi thought the knight was pretty cool. Sky liked the castle.

Let's just say that the mini golf was rather challenging especially for Sky. I tried to help her but she was in a rather foul mood. It was hot and she was tired and so it got a bit ugly.

The boys however LOVED the mini golf. Brad declared on the ride home that he wants to be a golfer when he grows up.

Lesson learned: Don't try to pack an exciting afternoon in after a school day. Sky really does need time to decompress after school.

Somewhere along the way, Sky lost her ball and couldn't find it. That was a bummer. Thankfully, Brad shared his.

Timi tries to hit the ball into the volcano. They had some really cool holes here! We made it to hole 13 out of 18, I think. We didn't keep score. It was just exciting when anyone hit the ball anywhere near the goal.

This was a whack a mole game but with alligators. Brad really liked it although he was a little scared of it too.

Brad's First Day of Preschool

Today was Brad's first day at a local preschool. He will only go 2 days a week in the mornings but I think it will be good for him to have this time to play with other kids and learn some new things. Above he is putting a puzzle together and below he is playing with some action figures.

He hasn't really wanted to go to preschool so I was worried that he would be upset but he did great. He was a little clingy before I left but when I picked him up he said, "I didn't even cry!" He also said that he had fun. Yea!

With Brad in preschool and Lila at home napping all morning (while Ken hangs out at home writing and researching), I am now available to help a bit in Sky's classroom. I'm really looking forward to that. It also frees me up to take some water aerobics classes as well.

In the first 5 weeks of preschool, Brad will be learning about colors. I warned the teacher that he may be color blind. Here you see him with his painting of a yellow sun.

Let's Ride!

It works better when your feet are touching the ground, Lila.

Or you could get your big sister to push you around...

There we go!

Hullabaloo

I got a free pass to a play place called Hullabaloo and thought I would take Brad there to play today. At first he was scared of everything:

The karaoke stage (which Sky would have LOVED) with flashing lights

The jump house and slide

The high tree house which I had to climb up with him

He finally warmed up to the motorcycle riding toy

And he eventually went into the bounce house when I went with him

He never did warm up to the slide although I went down once with him but he did end up having fun.

The First Day of First Grade

Sky had a fabulous first day of first grade. She is in Mrs. Wright's class (last year she had Mrs. White). Mrs. Wright is also a strong Christian and was even awarded the teacher of the year award for the district last year! When I picked Sky up from her class today and asked her how her day was, she said that first grade is even better than kindergarten! And Sky loved kindergarten.

The new classes were posted outside the school at 3pm yesterday. So, we drove over to see who Sky's new teacher would be. Sky was excited to get Mrs. Wright as a teacher, but even more than that, she was ecstatic when she saw that her best friend Victoria was going to be in her class again. Above is a picture of the 2 of them outside their classroom.

Below is Sky with Victoria and her first grade teacher, Mrs. Wright. One down side of the day was her class size (all the classes are bigger than usual due to California's financial crisis): 29 students! And, yes, her teacher wears a microphone set so that everyone can hear her better (she's a bit soft spoken). With Ken's research leave this semester, I'm hoping to volunteer in Sky's class for a few hours a week.