Halloween 2011

Okay so I am really behind on our family updates blog. :( But better late than never. So here are our Halloween pictures. Isabella wanted to do a scary pumpkin & after looking at many different ones online, she chose one that was throwing up it's seeds. Daddy, Jackson, & I chose designs that were a little less scary. :) Isabella also chose the costumes this year. She wanted Jackson to be a dog so a dog he was (& a cute one at that!). She wanted a really scary costume & after looking at many costumes (& some that I thought were scary but were not scary enough for her) she chose a "Soul Reaper" costume. She didn't want to wear the mask b/c it hurt her face... so a little less scary. ;o) But I think the part she really liked was the heart that you pumped with your hand which made the green skeletons pulse out of the chest. We took the kids to Grandma & Papa's to trick or treat (I'm still pretty particular about the sweets the kids have) & then Aunt Laura & Uncle Miguel came by our house later with cupcakes. Isabella & Jackson had a fun night passing out candy to the trick or treators & at the end of the candy they didn't want to go inside!

Pumpkin Patch

We took a trip to the pumpkin Patch and had lots of fun! The kids loved the petting zoo, the hay ride, the hay maze, slides, hammock, and picking out pumpkins! We then made a stop by Pops which Isabella & Mike love. :)

Brendan's climbing birthday weekend

For my nephew's birthday weekend in October, we all went down to Mt. Scott in Lawton for a camping trip & Mike took us climbing. The kids had a blast camping and playing outside all day for nearly three days. Isabella did really well on her first try at climbing and I even got to climb which I haven't done in over 5 years!!! The only rough part was sleeping... Jackson is still at the age where he only sleeps well in a crib. But we survived & I think Brendan had a fun weekend!

Homeschool Preschool

In September, we started preschool at home. Isabella has soaked up so much information, it has been quite amazing to watch! She is really good at memorizing information when it is put to a song. She now knows our address, phone number, days of the week, and months of the year. We are using a letter of the week curriculum that I found on a blog and we really love it. There are lots of activities to go with each letter and the whole curriculum was only $10 (you can download each individual item for free but I wanted to speed the process up and have everything at once). We are not 100% consistent yet with our homeschooling but I think this is the benefit of starting with preschool... you figure out what works and what doesn't before you really get into the serious stuff.

Family Fun Night @ the zoo

(This is a little out of order!) We went to the zoo's family fun night in September. The kids had a fun time and Isabella got to pet a few different animals including a lizard and a snake!

Slow Food Picnic

For the third year in a row, we attended the Slow Food's local food picnic the first part of October. This year, my sister, Laura & her husband, Miguel joined us & it was lots of fun! The food was really good (and yay for all of it coming from local farms & cooked by local chefs!) and the weather was perfect. The kids enjoyed the children's activities: pony rides (Jackson rode his first pony!), petting zoo (although this has been better in years past), and face painting. Isabella did not want to leave! We look forward to going again next year.

The Great State Fair of Oklahoma

I'm really behind on updating the blog... so here are our pictures from our visit to the fair in September. Isabella LOVES the fair, the rides are her favorite! We had a really fun day and even took Jackson on the ferris wheel (he wasn't too sure about it!). Isabella rode ride after ride & wasn't afraid of a single one! She especially liked the little roller coaster she went on by herself.