The Great Pumpkin Patch

Carving our Jack-o-lanterns

New Salem State Park

FJ did not have school on Columbus Day, so we decided to take the boys somewhere fun. Abraham Lincoln's New Salem was the place we chose, and we had a great time!! FJ loves history, so this was the perfect place. They could run up and down the paths, look at the log cabins, and listen to us read all about the days when Abraham Lincoln lived in this village. We had a great time enjoying the sunshine and learning more about our 16th president.

Judah's Illinois Birthday

Since we visited Gran and Pe-pa in Texas a week before Judah's birthday, he ended up having two parties this year. Superman in Texas and Scooby Doo in Illinois. The Superman pictures are in the Trip to Texas slide show. And here are just a few of his Scooby Doo pictures. His birthday was on Sunday, so we celebrated on Saturday night with Grammy and Papa, and Aunt Trisha and Uncle Jeremy. Then I made the Superman cookie for him to take to church on Sunday night for his class. We had a great time celebrating Judah!!

Trip to Texas

Decorating for Fall

The boys and I decided to decorate Mom and Dad's mailbox for fall...it seemed like a good idea at the time, and after the fact, it was. But getting the cornstalks in my little car was an ordeal. As you can tell from the pictures, Judah was not very happy that the stalks were touching him and he did not like the noise they made when we were driving down the road. He covered his ears all the way home and ended up falling asleep about half way home. Anyway, after all the trauma of the stalks and FJ falling and scraping his leg while he was helping me decorate, the final product was beautiful!! I am glad that we decided to do it! It was a lot of fun!!

Preschool

FJ started preschool five days a week on September 5. He was so excited about school, but as you can see from the pictures, he was a little nervous by the time we got to school that morning.

The first month of preschool, they studied the creation story. At the end of the month, the students were asked to make "God made me special" posters and bring to share with the class. FJ and I had a good time looking through pictures and deciding what things best described FJ. I think that I have a very special boy, and I thank God that he gave me my FJ!!

Chicago - Day 3

Chicago - Day 2

Chicago - Day 1

Illinois State Fair

The Illinois State Fair has been a highlight of the summer for years! I remember coming to the fair when I was little, walking around, seeing the animals, eating the fair food, riding some rides, watching some horse shows...I loved the fair! And I still do! This time, though, it was even more fun because I got to watch my own children enjoy the fair! We started with riding the ponies, then the big slide, then we enjoyed a fried Twinkie!!! YUM! Although it doesn't go very far when you are sharing it with six people! After that we rode the Ferris Wheel and Bumper Cars. For dinner, we all (all six of us) shared Corn Dogs, a cheese burger, regular fries, and sweet potato fries. Then it was off to the FFA tent to pet some animals. When we were done there, we rode the Sky Coaster back to the gate. Before we left, we all shared an Elephant Ear, then headed home! It was a wonderful night. We had so much fun and wished we could have stayed longer!! (And tried some more fair food - like a fried Snickers bar!!!) = )

Illinois State Fair Parade

New Pool

Bath Time

Fireworks

Since it rained in Annandale on the 4th of July, we did not take the boys to the fireworks. We thought it would be too wet...they did fireworks anyway. I felt so bad that we didn't take the boys. I don't think they have ever been to fireworks, and I thought they would really enjoy them. Because of all that, we decided to buy some fireworks from one of those roadside stands and do them on our own. We did some of the fireworks the other night, but the boys didn't like them as much as I thought they would! FJ thought they were too loud and Judah didn't like them at all! He kept asking if we could go inside. Thanks, Uncle Jeremy, for your help with the fireworks! I thought it was fun! = )

Fishing at Grammy and Papa's

Papa showing FJ how to cast
Judah watching his bobber
FJ's first fish
My "baby" fish
Judah got the biggest fish of the night and the liveliest! It flopped around and hit his arm; and he wasn't very happy about that, as you can tell by the picture!!