Autumn Days

 It finally has started to cool down around here and feel a little like fall. Here's a few things we've been up to lately...

We went on several field trips with our homeschool group. The first was the annual field trip to the farm. We all roasted and couldn't last the full two hours because it was so hot (as you can see by Eliza's bright red face). But the kids did all the fun things and each got an ear of corn and were excited to take it home to feed the chickens. 

I stole these photos from our Homeschool group Facebook page because this year I didn't follow my kids all around and take pictures. It takes a village. 

A couple weeks later we went to an ostrich farm and learned all kinds of interesting things. We learned that the males are black and the females are brown. This is because the males sit on the nests at night and the females during the day. They can run really fast and they stick their wings out to help them steer while they are running. They have a sharp claw on their feet that can poke through tin, the owners showed us proof of that. They are the very definition of bird brains, they have gotten their heads stuck in the fence before and pulled their own heads off. Yikes... They also will swallow anything; one once tried to swallow a whole apple and almost choked to death on it. When Mariah heard we were going to an ostrich farm, she asked if we could buy one for a pet. She had changed her mind by the time we were done with the field trip. They cray cray. 

They were super nervous to stand this close to the fence for a picture, all the stories of how aggressive the ostriches can be probably had something to do with that. And that egg was surprisingly heavy, they are more dense than a chicken's egg because the yolk is much bigger in comparison to the whites in an ostrich egg. 

Every family got to pick out a feather to bring home and our kids decided the longer the better...even if it had a big chunk taken out of it. And now you know more about Ostriches...you're welcome. And yes, some more stolen pictures. 

We celebrated Gus's second birthday. I never in all my life thought I would make a birthday cake for a dog...but my children were so excited that I got swept up in it all and before I knew it I was helping Chet make a sugarless, pumpkin cake complete with whipped cream and dog treats for decorations. Never say never people. I did put my foot down when they asked if they could decorate the house and put up our Happy Birthday banner...I do have some pride. 

He was a good boy and waited for us to finish singing to him before he dug in and ate the whole cake, to the delight of all the kids. There was lots of giggling and smiles which made the whole eye roll worthy experience worth it. Next year we'll have to get him a birthday hat...

The cousins got to spend a day with us and everyone played so hard in the beautiful fall weather. There was lots of fort building going down and we even made time for a tea party. 

Everyone tried their best to have British accents with their "spot uh tea". 

Even though it was just me with ten kids the day was so easy. The big kids spent most of the day outside, the three year olds get along so well and the babies took nice long naps. But we all felt a little like Jack by the end of the day. 

Although at the end of spring I told myself we wouldn't do it again, we played soccer this fall. Austin played as well and that meant there were a lot more games. Eliza and Vivi were such good sports tagging along to all the soccer games. 

Eliza took the picture of Vivi and Tanner and I really love it; she captured the way Vivi feels about her daddy so perfectly. 

The last games of the season were on a really cold, windy day. Eliza, Vivi and I only made it through the first thirty minutes and then had to go to the car for the rest of the time, where I then entertained the girls with renditions of Old McDonald and There was a Tree. 

I accidentally signed Austin up in the wrong age group so he was the youngest by 2 years, but he did great. I didn't realize he was in the completely wrong age bracket until we were more than halfway through the season or I would have switched him. The coaches were really patient with him and he loved the treats at the end of the games. 

Mariah and Chet were on the same team again and Chet was the youngest on the team but did great. He scored a goal in a game and learned so much. Mariah has become a great defender and is so kind to everyone on the field, always checking to see if people are ok after falling down and trying to talk to people. They are now playing on a bigger field with actual positions so that was a new challenge for them. So although by the end I was once again muttering that we're never doing this again, I'm sure amnesia will have kicked in and I'll be signing them back up come springtime.  

Eliza has never loved getting her hair fixed and it was getting to the point where I could barely get her to brush it. So I asked if she might want her hair cut short and she was so excited to do that. 

She was so serious during the hair cut and would barely even talk which made me think she might be sad about all her hair getting cut off. But right after leaving the salon she was beaming and has loved her new 'do. She kept saying she looked like Morgan, Mariah and Chet's piano teacher, and was thrilled.