Chocolate Pudding and Winter Clothes

The weather has gotten cooler here, so we've traded out the shorts and short-sleeves for the pants and sweaters. (Of course, now it's in the mid-70s...) The boys played in their room while I was changing out the clothes. For a long time they looked at books. Clayton looked up at me and said, "I sure could use a pair of reading glasses." "What? Reading glasses?" I said. "Well," he replied, "how else am I going to know what all of these words are?"
That evening we made home-made chocolate pudding. And boy oh boy did the kids enjoy it...the bits of it that made it into their mouths, anyway.
Happy October!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...

Don't miss it! Don't even be late!
It's dollars to donuts that our state fair
is the best state fair in our state!

Yes, I did sing the song on the way. And, yes, I did get looks from my family. Apparently they haven't enjoyed the musical...or seen it, for that matter.

On Sunday, we took a drive to the Virginia State Fair. Our neighbors invited us and we had a great time. Cyle and Clayton were able to ride all kinds of rides and Levi and I took in all of the sites.


We can't go to a fair without enjoying the fair food. Clayton couldn't get enough of a turkey leg!


Cyle and Clayton rode the Ferris Wheel 200 feet in the air. From the top, Clayton said, "The world is just so small."



After a while, the kiddie rides just weren't cutting it (for Cyle or Clayton) so they hopped on a roller coaster and then the Himalaya. Clayton loved them both and, as an added bonus, didn't get sick.

In one of the animal tents a baby bull had just been born that afternoon and they gave him a really great name - Levi!

Levi didn't mind that he wasn't big enough to ride any of the rides. He was content to sit on this lawn mower. I almost couldn't get him off.
We had a great day and are so thankful Rob and Karen invited us along.

A NEW VAN!!

On Saturday, well before deer season, we went van shopping. We've been looking on-line for a long time and really wanted to get one purchased before we make our annual trip to Jackson for deer season in November. Our little car just wasn't a comfortable ride across the country and really didn't hold all of our stuff. We were able to find a 2005 Honda Odyssey EXL and I LOVE IT!! It's got all kinds of great features: automatic doors, leather seats, great storage, stowaway seats, the optional 8th seat...the kids are comfortable, I'm comfortable, we are all much happier now that we've got some room!

A Museum Visit

Clayton's class is named the "Dashing Dinosaurs," so last week we visited the Museum of Culpeper History to check out the fossilized dinosaur tracks they have. We were also able to grind corn in a mortar and pestle, try on clothes from the Civil War Era and listen to accounts of Civil War battles on a light-up map. We were there for well over an hour and the kids were thoroughly entertained the the entire time.

A Honkin' Fish

Last weekend, Cyle took Clayton fishing in a neighboring pond. They caught this nearly foot-long hybrid. In Clayton's words, "It was a honkin' fish!"

Cyle captured this on his cell phone one evening. Even the rabbits in our yard get no peace. Maybe that's why we don't have any squirrels...

End of Summer

As the summer came to an end, the boys enjoyed playing outside. Levi, following Clayton's lead, has started climbing everywhere! (The little red bench, into the sandtable...) They also love casting their fishing poles out in the yard. We had such a great summer, but are glad fall is here!

First Day of Preschool

Clayton's first day of preschool was Sept. 8. He is going to Epiphany Catholic in Culpeper. His class is the Dashing Dinosaurs. He is a "dashing pteranodon." He is loving it! His favorite part of school is eating snack, of course. Levi misses him while he's at school, but is enjoying the one-on-one time with Mom.