Pumpkin family, part 3

I guess I had forgotten how gross the insides of pumpkins are, because I was really excited until I opened it up. Courtney was the master pumpkin carver.
Here is what they looked like outside. We'll let you guess whose pumkin is whose.

Family Night: Part 2: The Pumpkin Patch

So our very astute children asked after last week's Family Night, "Where do baby pumpkins come from?" Well, we certainly weren't ready for the birds and bees question, and I have no clue about pumpkin anatomy, so we did what any parent would and took them to the source.
It wasn't gross at all. In fact, it was kind of fun.
Warning: the following post contains graphic, real pictures of where pumpkins are made.
You start out at a play area with inflatable slides, pumpkins, etc. Best part, kids two and under were free. This was inside the big, inflatable pumpkin. Kind of eery, but cool too. Emma Jane was mesmerized by the pumpkin face at first, but then decided not to jump anywhere near it.
Then you go to the petting zoo/pony ride. Couple turns for a buck. Emma Jane never would have gotten off if I hadn't run out of singles.
Then you take a covered wagon ride to.... well you know, "where they are conceived".
side note to Nana: speaking of conception, this is the town where we picked up Daisy. We drove right past the street.
The kids wanted to pick up every pumpkin in the patch, including the rotten ones. It made for good pictures. Court and I just sat back and watched.

He got it about an inch off the ground before dropping it. I think it weighs more than he does.

Tag team. It's funny watching both of them run.

Video of the day: I don't think she realized how high and fast this thing went until after this first run, becuase after that she only wanted to go with one of us.

Some Funny Pictures

So, this is what happens while I am at work.

I went to close the door to Emma Jane's room at 10pm, and this is how I found her sleeping.

My cute little bama fans. Oh, these kids are hard core. They love to say "Roll Tide". All Emma Jane had for BAMA wear was her little dress, and she wanted a "roll tide" shirt like CJ. She begged me for weeks. I would put her to bed. And when she woke up, she would ask for me. And Carl or my mom would tell her I went to the store. And she would light up and say "tell her to get me a roll tide shirt." I finally succumbed and saw the happiest little face in the world.

Halloween FHE

We kind of stumbled into this idea, but it ended up being pretty fun. We were shopping for pumpkins and randomly ended up getting four of them. When we got home and started FHE I was trying to come up with a lesson. Emma Jane picked the "I am a Builder" primary song about working to build our families and the idea popped into my head to build a pumpkin family. And then we talked about ways to "build" our family. Next week we're going to carve them and put a candle in them and talk about not letting your light be hid (in a pumpkin).

Nana's Visit

It was a blast to have Nana the past weekend. The kids were ecstatic and didn't leave her alone the whole time. Thanks for the wonderful weekend! Here's a couple pics she sent us.

He's a John Deere man...

Fun at the McWane center. We found out at the doctor that CJ is in the 17th percentile for height and 33rd for weight. It makes him very easy to pick up and toss around. He and I love it.

Lowes.... let's build something together. We love the every-other-Saturday workshops. I got to stay home this time to work on a hot water pipe that was leaking (scroll down for story), but the kids had a great time making a mini ball toss. Emma Jane obviously has her own style.

So Friday I get a call from Courtney while I'm at work, saying we got a pipe leak. Fortunately it was leaking into the crawl space and not on our hardwood floor. So I came home to see what was up (did I mention how much I love working half a mile from home). I shut off the hot water so they at least had some water (no showers or baths) and went back to work.

That night I cut out the wall and found that when I was putting on the baseboards the nail gun sent a nail through the copper pipe. That was months ago, but it jarred loose this weekend. So, Saturday I went to Lowes, got the parts, cut the pipe, fit it all together and find out I have no clue how to solder pipes together.

I'd seen people do it, so I tried and tried, then I gave up and called someone. Too expensive. So I leave for work and Court and Nana are like 'what about the hot water?!?' I asked Court to borrow a bigger blow torch from some friends from church. I tried again during my dinner break, but now there is water in the pipe, so there is no way to solder it. And it's halfway soldered so I can't take it apart and drain it. I called my dad on the way back to work, adn he says get a "gator bite".

Best invention ever. It's engineered so you can pop the pipes in and it just locks. No solder. No leaks. So, Court goes to get some, but they don't have all the right pieces. Crap. No way around soldering at least some of it.

I get home just before midnight, sit down between the washer and wall and say a little prayer. Then I hear a still, small voice whisper 'suck the water out with a straw.' I turned my head and there was Court on the stairs. I guess my noisy attempts had woken her up, so she came down stairs with a good idea. It did the trick. I was able to solder it (not well, but it hasn't leaked yet) and put a gator bite on the rest of the joints.

Voila! Hot water is back on and Nana finally gets to take a shower, just in time for church (the kids got eight pots of hot water the night before). I celebrated with a long shower at 2 am. Hot water never felt so good.

Day at the park...

It was a gorgeous day outside (two days ago) so we ventured over to the park. The kids LOVE being outside.Emma Jane can now climb up and over the huge ant. Had no idea.

Pinkalicious wanted to show off her bike with newly-inflated tires (finally found the pump). She was so excited to ride it at the park.

Obviously I had more fun with the chalk, but I kept Emma Jane's attention though her first name. CJ was just happy to be outside.

My favorite parts are Emma Jane's purse full of chalk on the handle bars and CJ cheering with his arms while I cheer for Emma Jane. Anytime you cheer for anything he will do this.