A Zoo Kind of Weekend

I always have an idea in my mind of a relaxing weekend. This would include staying in pajamas until lunchtime, playing games, laughing, watching a movie and just simply relaxing. But let's face it-that's just not my personality. I wish I could "hang around" more and I envy the people who do. Maybe one of these weeks I will get there. We will have that pajama party soon.

Instead we went to the zoo.

Pictured above is my niece, Lyndsey (12 yrs), Keaton (5 yrs) and Averie (3 yrs). Cameron (1 yr) decided he was not available for this photo opportunity.

I was reminded again this weekend of a great life lesson that I learned from my children. They teach me things all the time without knowing it. It happened while we were in the middle of a very crowded zoo and waiting in a very long line. It seemed like the parents were the impatient ones. Especially me. Keaton refused to get out of the single file line that wrapped the entire length of the zoo so he could get candy. So we waited and waited. Here is a picture of them waiting about one hour in:

Notice they actually still look happy.

After a while I found myself saying, "Let's just go buy some candy at the store, any candy you want you can have!" That did not work so we waited. Two hours later they finally had their chance to trick or treat. How they waited that long I will never know. My memories from the zoo experience? It was set up all wrong, the line was beyond ridiculous and there were way too many people.

If you ask the kids about the zoo they would say they saw animals and got candy. They loved it. They didn't care about all the other stress factors. They were just living in the moment and having fun. I need to try that more often.

I would love to get a picture of all three of them in full costume. That will be the ultimate goal this week.  


This picture captures these boys perfectly. Cameron is always trying to do something and Keaton is always trying to stop him

 Other stories from this weekend include

Staying up way too late
Eating too much candy
Jumping in leaf piles
Playing with cousins

 Trick - or - Treat?  You decide!

Dena

Shop until you Fall

It was discovered that at only three years old, my daughter Averie can indeed shop for 8 hours straight. My sisters cheered in delight. It's not many that can keep up with us but we had high hopes. I am not saying that typically my daughter goes with the flow. Usually she is doing one or all of these things:

crying
looking for her blanket & bunny
fighting with her brothers
looking for her baby doll
taking her pony tail out

But there really was not much crying to be had at the fall festival and the pink icecream helped too...

I asked her if she was having fun at one point and she said no. I was horrified but only for a minute because after all she's three-we have many more shopping outings yet to come.

Other stories from this week:
The Great Pumpkin was found on a chilly Saturday morning trip to the pumpkin patch. This time we did the hayride and all. I asked myself when we got home why I take three kids to the pumpking patch by myself. The answer: memories for the kids. I always have a vision in my mind of how blissful each outing will be. It never really ends blissful for me but if the kids have fun it's worth it.

Averie told me last night she wanted to move to Far Away. She said that this is where her cousin Kenny lives. You're right Averie, Colorado is far way.

Averie and Cameron were banned from Keaton's second to last soccer game last night. It seemed we could not even control them in a park setting last week so they stayed home with Dad. I was able to see Keaton score his first goal! And yes, it was even the right goal. The best part? I was able to sit down for an entire hour.

Keaton apprently was so shocked I packed a chair for the soccer game that he had to try it out first and sit down for himself. Something he rarely does either.


And as for Cameron, he is the typical boy, 19-months old this week and running just as fast as we will chase him.

And for me? I went to the vitamin store and bought a very large bottle of B-12 so I can continue to keep up with these three. I might become their best customer.

Dena

The Great Pumpkin

We experienced it. The first weekend in October. The reality that summer is probably not coming back for several months, the start of stuffy noses, the leaves out the back window that are no longer green and the request to find a pumpkin at 6 am.

I knew that it was going to be an exciting Saturday.

My husband opted out of the pumpkin experience as he had a fall chore list a mile long and a pressure washer in his hand. So late in the afternoon after 75 requests all three children got in the car and we ventured out to find a pumpkin. A simple thing really.

Somehow I had a feeling that the experience would not end well with a five, three and eighteen-month old so I did not even pack a camera. Big mistake. I turned into a pumpkin patch at a local farm. There were several barns full of pumpkins but only one pig pen and one pile of mud.

The owners of the farm saw my distress at manuvering three kids and their pumpkins and decided to help out. This is about the time that the eighteen month old ran around the front of the car. I screamed and he fell in the mud/questionable substance.

"Do you have wipes?" I was asked. No I didn't and I don't think any amount of wipes in this world could have helped me with that one.

We are still on the search for the great pumpkin. My five year old son has made that clear.

Other stories that top the list for this past weekend:
Graham crackers in the toliet
A train derailment as a result of Hurricane 18-Month Old
A soccer game of 5 year old boys trying to figure out which way the goal is
A nice but loud family dinner where my husband noted..."It only gets easier from here."

I am looking forward to a shopping trip with my daughter, mom, sisters and niece this weekend.

She has quite the style sense at three years old. I have also never had a weekend just for us. So if the stars align we shall shop, eat and enjoy one of my most favorite weekends of the year in Galena, IL at their Fall Festival:
http://www.enjoyillinois.com/getaway/viewGetaway.aspx?gta=124&etb=3

And below is a picture from this weekend of the hurricane...

The cute before the storm.

Dena