My Little Nature Guide

So, WHAT does Carter do while Kelsey is at school and he is off on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Well, he does many things...among running errands with dear old Mommy to the grocery, dry cleaning, post office, to get gas, etc.... He also plays endlessly in the playroom with Mommy. We play legos, build trains and tracks, build cars, put puzzles together, play veterinarian and school, and even play shopping with Kelsey's real cash register. We have fun!!

But when last week we woke up one morning to find an overcast sky and a cool breeze, we decide to make the most of our day outside. We dropped off morning carpool at the school and headed off to get some grocery items and then over to get an early lunch to go. We took it to the park , had a picnic, and then I got treated to one of the most fun nature hunts I have ever been on!!

I was treated to my very own Nature Guide to take me on this nature hunt. To see the the world through a child's eyes is a must for everyone. These are the moments I hope I NEVER forget.

Stranded at the Drive-In....

Now under most circumstances, we would never take the kids to an opening weekend movie. They just don't have it in them to stay into the movie long enough for us to get there early enough for a good seat, trailers, and then the length of the movie. However, they have been anticipating several new movies due out this Fall.

This last weekend, that "never" turned into an "okay...let's try it and see!". So we did just that. We took the kids to an opening movie weekend to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs......at a drive-in theater. Yes, I did say "drive-in". Not far from out here in Cypress, Texas a man who owns ranch land and had a hankering for a good old fashioned drive-in, decided he would build one. And it is fantastic fun for kids of all ages.....oh, and Kelsey and Carter loved it too.

It's Almost Hallowhat?

Finally!!! The searing heat has lifted after several months of blistering heat, water rationing and a few spits of rain, we have had a week long of mid 80's for the high and cooler mornings and evenings. For South Texas, this is the feeling that makes us realize that Fall is in the air. Or maybe it's just our imaginations getting the better of us, either way, we are ready for it when it finally decides to hang out for a while.

All of us, especially Kelsey and Carter, are so excited about Halloween this year. It's already in the stores and so we are thinking about costumes and decorations. We have always done the cutesy decor since they are so young. But this year, we may ease out a bit and into the big scary stuff.....witches and ghosts. Oooooooooo. Kelsey and Carter both have decided that witches are scary and and ghosts are supposed to be, but more than not, they are cute. Kelsey wants to be witch this year and Carter is still deciding but leaning towards Batman.

With all this Halloween talk, they ask me EVERY day when we can make jack-o-lanterns. Soon I keep telling them. Although we have pumpkins at the grocery already, I am in no mood to carve a pumpkin this early only to pick it up in 2 weeks because of flies and odor to find a rotten out bottom on the front porch. Maybe in a few weeks.

Anyhow, in all our Halloween hype, I came across a website,.www.thepumpkinlady.com. There are so many ideas, there is no way a person cannot find something they like. Last year we saw so many different carvings. Some had the traditional crazy smile and crooked teeth, and tohers had anything and everything from Marilyn Monroe to Fred Flinstone carved into them. I prefer the traditional and not too perfectly carved goofy teeth and scary eyes jack-o-lantern. For the creatively challenged, this is a great site to get some unique ideas for jack-o-lanterns...complete with free carving templates and all.
We have a few patterns that are ready and picked out to try, but the kids are going to have to narrow it down from the 33 to about 3 or 4.