The Great Pumpkin(s)

This year our neighbor lent us her giant garden to plant our own garden in, this of course meant we got to plant & harvest our little own pumpkin patch. We haven't really been in to pumpkins the last several years since the kids were too young to get into it, so this year was special to have Phoebe excited to decorate pumpkins.  

Phoebe, of course, took the largest pumpkin and went to town, she LOVES anything artsy. The twins didn't participate this year as they would probably only eat the paint. Here are our lovely pumpkin masterpieces:

Cory's had to be way elaborate; it would be an insult to his painting skills to paint a normal face on his pumpkin.

Phoebe's has every color of the rainbow on her and then some & she was very proud of it!

 

I always have more ambition then skill, so this is what you get from me a slightly upscale girly pumpkin face.

All of these masterpieces can still be seen sitting on the table outside our front door, because I am never sure when to get rid of pumpkins that still are perfectly good.

First Snow Fall

A couple weeks ago we had our first snow fall of the winter which is always exciting.  This year we were especially thrilled to see that our new tree stayed upright and did not snap from the weight of the snow.  YEAH FOR US!

I love the holidays and tend to start celebrating early, something my family always mocks me for, but for me snow means it's holiday time!

Short Lived

Towards the end of October we finally got to enroll Phoebe in her very first swimming class. This was something we had planned to do the day she turned 3 since nearly birth.  Phoebe has ALWAYS been our water bug with no fear of the water at any depth, something that is a bit nerve racking for us as parents.  Phoebe did really well for the first 20 minutes of her swimming class, but then things went south fast as she became so cold that her teeth were chattering and her little body was shaking from the cold.  If there is one thing Phoebe hates more than anything it is to be cold.  She quickly became hysterical trying to run from the instructor and crying. That class unfortunately ended in tears and from then she insist she didn't like swimming. 

I brought her to one more class after much pep talking, but one look at the instructor and she know it was back to the cold water and she flipped out.  I tried to get her back to the pool and she lasted about one minute...that was the end of Phoebe's swimming lessons. We are currently looking for a pool that keeps the water warmer, because I really think deeep down inside she still is our water bug.