Happy Halloween 2016! - From my Ghouls to your Goblins!

This year we went back to our old neighborhood in Radford to do our trick-or-treating and we had a pretty good time.  We always stop to see our old neighbors Jim-Rose and Ms Rose & Mr. Robert and Ms. Connie, they love to see the kids growing and having fun! Although poor Aiden has been fighting some sickness, even the Dr. isn't sure what he has, she gave the green light for about an hour of Trick-or-Treating and we took advantage of every moment.  I got him started on his antibiotics tonight, but  he has still been running a low grade fever plus the Dr. wants him on prednisolone (IDK if that is spelled quite right...ooops) and she said that it could hype him up... sooo no school for Aiden again tomorrow, but at least he got some goodies to enjoy while he works on the homework I picked up for him today while I was at the girls class Halloween "party"!  There weren't any costumes at this school, but the Kindergartners at least got to do some Halloween art, play some Halloween games and Dance to Halloween themed videos on the active board!  Plus, their snack was bigger than usual including cookies, popcorn, grapes and a veggie tray, that many of the kids took advantage of! 

 

We got to see some great decorations...and a cute Pom dressed as a Skunk!

This was one of our favorites by far!

 

Of course, we saw some other awesome houses too! Plus, the kids were all wore out and ready for sleep...each complaining of sore legs and heavy bags... and after tripping over her feet twice Isabella came home with a cut and a band-aid, too.  All of them ended up happy with the way their night turned out and I was happy to see them happy! :0)

Last week we got to have some Halloween fun at the school Fall Festival too!

 

 There were lots of great games, fun prizes, bouncy houses, face painting and even a station to build at!  The kids played until the festival was over and it was nice to get to see them focus on the fun vs. focusing on the prizes.  

 
This year Josh won Best overall pumpkin at work with his Devil in disguise... there were horns under the hat and a little pitchfork tail too!  I thought he did a great job and we got a paid date night out of the deal too!  Thanks Aegisound!  

The first pumpkin we bought for Aiden, less than a week ago, started to rot before we could carve it so I had to exchange it... By the time I got back from Wal-mart we didn't have a lot of time so Aiden asked me to carve his pumpkin for him.   He picked the pattern. I did the carving and I think it turned out pretty great!



The girls decorated their pumpkins this year with the push in accessories...but I must say I did have to ask them if they were sure they didn't pick rocks when we broke a couple... lol... 


All-in-all I would have to say I have enjoyed the Halloween season this year and I am grateful for all of the great memories that we have gotten to make this year! 

Kindergarten field trips are fun! #SinklandFarms #Fall2016 #PumpkinPatch

Isabella                                             Emma                                              Julian

Last Friday I got to go to Sinkland Farms with the girls Kindergarten class!  These three were in my group and we had a blast!

We started our adventure with a Hay ride out to the pumpkin patch!

 

The girls were very picky when picking out their pumpkins, but eventually they found one that was just right!  The best pumpkins were dry, not too dirty, plump with lots of lines and not too heavy! (oh and the vines couldn't be too prickly!) ^^^^-- that was very important...if it pricked them back it went...lol

On the hay ride back from the pumpkin patch we took some fun pictures...

 

...and some fun selfies too!

Then we got to learn about how pumpkins grow and take some group pictures of the class.   The lady that talked to the kids about growing pumpkins did a great job of keeping the kids involved in the lesson by becoming the sunshine and rain that the pumpkins needed to grow.  She also had great pictures and real examples of the different stages of growing pumpkins!  I love how they had the side of the barn decorated for Halloween.  It really made an awesome backdrop!

 

Looking back on our day, we really covered a lot in a couple of hours!  After the group picture we learned that Sinkland Farms started as a Dairy Farm.  When the kids were asked what kind of cows the black and white spotted one's were they guessed: Milk cows, Dairy cows and Chick-fil-a cows!  Then even after being told several times that they are Holstein cows, when they were asked again they concurred that they were the Chick-fil-a breed...LoL!  Since the farm is no longer a dairy farm most of the cows are wooden or metal, but they are a tribute to how the farm started!

 

We did get to see and pet some real animals in the barn!  There was a peacock, some turkey, pigs, brown quail, rabbits, a huge brown cow, a horse, some donkeys and a couple of other types of animals.  There were hand sanitizer and hand washing stations provided right outside the barn to wash up after making friends with the friendly animals in the barn!

 

Before we went into the Corn Maze we learned all about corn from a gentleman that specializes in horticulture.  He talked to the kids about corn being in food, drinks, gasoline, different types of corn and so much more.  It was a very interesting lesson and he had some good visual aides to show the kids and keep their interest.  Then he went over the rules of the maze, gave us a map and wished  us luck!

 

There were 12 pumpkins to find in the maze....

 

...and we took a few wrong turns...

 

...but we worked together to read the map...

 

...and although we may not have quite gone in order...

 

...we found all 12 of them and we made it out of the maze after all!   The girls were sad that they had to go back to school after their trip, but their teacher was excited to talk to them about their morning and to see each of their pumpkins...so they went back to school and I took advantage of the time I had to run some errands!  

I am so grateful that I am getting the opportunity to be around for my kids and go on field trips with them.  It's so much fun to see them really enjoying themselves and I love getting to know their friends too...On Monday, Halloween, I am going to help with the girls class Halloween stations! ....Even though I will be going back to an office job when we move I hope that I am still able to schedule some vacation days for field trips and class parties!  

   

I have been weaving up a storm! #NewShawls #SomethingSpecial

 

Pearls in the Sand                                                         Chocolate Milkshake

I have been weaving like crazy to get ready for some upcoming festivals and to build-up some stock on Etsy for the holiday season!  The shawls above are still in the works, but Mom and I have gotten several XS and Small shawls completed and they will debut at the pumpkin festival in Rockbridge County tomorrow!  The shawls below range from 40-50 inches across the top and 20-24 inches in length.  To see additional pictures and pricing information please visit Something Special on Etsy and make sure to "Favorite" our shop to keep up-to-date on our ever changing selection! (I am still working on getting all of these listed, but hope to have that completed this weekend!)

 

Cooling Winds                                                         Chocolate and Barley

  

Autumn Sunset                                             New Leaf

  

Party Time                                               Pink Parfait

Sprucing up the Something Special Homestead! --check out what we found in the weeds!

The railing and columns on the front porch at the Homestead have been looking rough for awhile, but we just haven't had time to get them repainted until this week...

...and we are almost done!  This picture shows how much of a difference a coat of paint is making.  We are painting White Rustoleum on with foam brushes and it works okay, but multiple coats are a necessity...so we sanded and painted and sanded and painted...and then we cussed the people that designed swirly bars, leaves and acorns on a porch rail that would ever need to be painted...and we sanded and painted some more!  We are satisfied with the rails at this point, but the columns still need another coat.  After we painted the columns with the brush we got out a giant pizza box to catch over-spray and we started applying spray paint to them for better coverage.  Since it was a cloudy moist day, we didn't finish it up today...but I will try to remember to post a picture once it's complete!

After painting as much as we could on Tuesday we changed directions and moved to the orchard.  Mom and I had intentionally let the weeds in this part of the orchard grow to hide a different watermelon that we harvested a week or two ago. (The chickens and ducks massacred the ones we managed to start growing in the garden!) 

Much to our surprise this beauty was hiding in those weeds too!  I really don't know how we missed this monster melon!

 

It weighed in at a whooping 36.2 lbs!

The kids were amazed by it's size and ready to devour it!  They said "Grandma grew that ?!?" and insisted on seeing if they weighed more than it did!   Isabella was the closest, of course, and weighed 5.6 lbs more than the melon! 

I did get the orchard finished up today and it looks so nice again!  I used the lawnmower to clean up all the weeds we pulled and then mowed the yard again. *fingers crossed* Maybe this will be the last time that needs to be done this year.  Then I moved 20 wheelbarrows full of mulch from the pile to the orchard!  It took awhile, but the effort was well worth the end results!