Josh Goes to the Pumpkin Patch

The day before Halloween, I got to accompany Josh on his class trip to the pumpkin patch.  Whether it was because it was late in the season or what, there were far less classes there than when Emma's trip last year, which was nice.  Two of Josh's teachers, Mrs. Lois and Mrs. Christine, rode to the pumpkin patch with us and Josh could not have been more excited!  We had to wait a bit for our turn for the ride to the pumpkin patch so the kids started off their day with a little play time.  When they called our group, we all boarded the trailer and headed to the patch where the kids got to find their perfect pumpkin.  Josh may be quite indecisive when it comes to picking out a toy but he zeroed in on his pumpkin quickly and that was that.  Once everybody was happy with their choice, we headed back to the play area and had some more play time before lunch and heading home.  Josh and his friends definitely had a fun day and I know Josh crashed hard when we got back to school.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween 2012

It felt like Halloween went on and on this year but I guess we got our money's worth out of the costumes.  This year we had Janga Fett and a cute little witch.  Originally we were going to do Jake and Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates but finding the costumes proved to be a task.  Ultimately Josh selected his costume based upon the gun that went with it, which he carried for all of 10 minutes the first night.  There was also a mask that was worn just as much.  We kicked off the holiday about 1 1/2 weeks in advance with a trip to Boo at the Zoo with some of Emma's friends from Grace.  The kids loved the haunted train ride, which Josh thought was "smooky."  We did some trick-or-treating and rode the carousel before Brad and Josh headed home.  Emma and I stayed a little longer with her friends and the girls rode the carousel again and then did some dancing until it was time to go home.  Definitely a fun night and we chose the right weekend since the following weekend was cold and rainy.

The Sunday before Halloween, our church held a Trunk-or-Treat.  Josh's friend Ross and his family joined us for some fun that included trick-or-treating, roasting marshmallows for s'mores, a wagon ride and pumpkin painting.  They boys had a great time together.  We tried to get a picture of the two but they were too busy chasing each other around.

 

 

Best buddies!

 
Finally Halloween arrived.  Our original plan had been to trick-or-treat with Libby and her family but it ended up that they couldn't be in Little Rock after all.  Instead we made our visit to our friends, Win and Rita's house and then did some trick-or-treating around there before hitting a few more in our neighborhood.  We ended the night with our neighbors on either side.  Emma and Josh had a bucket load (literally) of candy and Emma was so excited that we got to go to more houses than last year.  Remarkably, they have both been pretty good about not indulging in their candy.  I definitely do not have their restraint.  It was a successful Halloween for sure! 

Coach Brown's Team - Fall 2012

In addition to soccer, Josh has been playing basketball this fall.  There really wasn't supposed to be much overlap but due to rain, soccer season ran a little long.  Thankfully basketball is Wednesday and Saturday and soccer was Sunday so we didn't have to devote one whole day to sports; I'm sure those days are coming.  Basketball got off to sort of a rough start.  At the first practice, I pretty much had to be next to Josh the entire time and he wasn't too happy about participating.  He did come around a bit until the first game the following Saturday.  At that point, Josh's team only had five boys but on that day, they really only had four since the little redhead sat in his Mommy's lap the entire time and would not get on the court.  After that, we decided to see how it would go if I stayed away.  Lo and behold the next couple of practices and the next two games went great.  Josh got out and ran up and down the court.  At the last game, Brad said that he got the inbound pass at half court and dribbled it down to the basket where he ultimately got mugged by the other team but he tried.  Unfortunately Josh's team only has one kid that can make a shot but they are definitely learning some of the fundamentals and unlike the other teams they have played, Josh's team actually tries to dribble the ball rather than picking it up and running with it.  Thankfully, at age 3, every game is a win for Josh and he is really starting to enjoy being out there.  This coming Saturday, I am going to go watch so let's hope that he puts in the effort he has been without me.

Wordless Wednesday

Soccer

We decided to let Josh give soccer a try this fall and signed him up for the 3 years and younger Fireflies program through the Arkansas Soccer Club.  In this program, one parent is on the field with the child and they focus on playing fun games to teach skills.  Some of the games included running out and picking up as many jerseys as possible.  They would also run out and kick over cones and then have to put them back up.  In addition, there was learning how to "tick tock" the ball, kicking into the goal off the tee and running an obstacle course.  The program was six weeks long and the first two weeks, Josh got off to a slow start, playing his shy routine.  I missed the third week and by the fourth week, he was a whole new player.  It was amazing to see how far Josh came over the six weeks.  Josh has great coordination and is really good at running and kicking the ball at the same time.  He also loves to score a goal!  At the last lesson, Brad had two separate coaches ask how old he was and say that they would really like to see him in the Little Kickers (3-4 year old program) in the spring.  One coach told Brad what a great job he was doing.  Best of all, Josh really enjoyed playing and is looking forward to the spring.   

Bo Brooks Visit

On October 11th, Emma got to go on her first field trip at ECS to the pumpkin patch.  I am not sure if she was more excited about visiting the pumpkin patch or riding the school bus.  I made sure to get out the patch in time to see her get off the bus.  It was definitely a highlight for most of the kids.

There are three preK-4 classes and fortunately we were the only school group out there that morning.  They kept us divided by class so it wasn't too crazy.  Emma's class got to go on the hay ride first.  We saw scarecrows, ghost, witches, Santa Claus (yes, that's right, Santa Claus). 

After the hay ride, it was time to play in the hay maze and corn pit.

Next it was our turn to go out and find a pumpkin.  The owner tried to give us a lesson on making pumpkin pies using real pumpkin but despite his efforts, my pumpkin will continue to come out of a can.

Once the pumpkins had been picked and Mrs. Hill took them on a little tour of the patch explaining how the pumpkin grows, we got to go see the animals.

Mrs. Hill's PreK-4 Class 2012-2013
Row 1 (L to R): Noah, Kai, Emory; Row 2 (L to R): Mrs. Towe, Tate, Juliana, Blake, Gwen, Mrs. Hill; Row 3 (L to R): William, Lainey, Heidi, Cameron, Gwen, Anna; Row 4: Caanan, Emma

Finally, it was time for a snack and back on the bus.  We had a great morning and it was fun getting to see Emma with her new friends.

Spirit Week

It took maybe six weeks of school before Emma got bored with her uniform.  They are and I quote "boring."  I reminded her that everybody wears the same thing and she responded that they're all "boring."  Thankfully, Spirit Week gave her a little break at the beginning of October.  Monday was dress as a food day; Tuesday was dress in a holiday clothing day; Wednesday was wear pink day; Thursday was hula day and Friday was spirit day  We only got photos from Day 1 where Emma was a strawberry.  I think all the spots that I painstakingly cut out and applied front and back lasted about 30 minutes if that.  I tried!