Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend our church took a group to a farm outside of town called, Country Pumpkins. It was a HOT October day. Here are some pictures from our visit.

 

The Bears go to Buffalo Park

Last Wednesday Jack took his first field trip with his class, The Bears.  I was lucky to be able to chaperone, and we went to the Buffalo Park in Tupelo, MS.  I drove with one other chaperone, Debbie Smith, and 4 children, Jack, Madeline, Bella, and Chloe.  When we arrived we got to ride a bus and got a "safari-type view of some of the animals roaming on the property.  Then, we got to see several more animals in a more traditional zoo setting.  After seeing the animals, we had a picnic and finished up by picking pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

Getting ready to leave.

Jack and Madeline

Jack and a buffalo

The bears with a bear

Bella, Madeline, and Jack

The Bears with Mrs. Valerie

Pink Fire trucks

Joe has started walking well in the last couple of weeks. He took his first step or two in early September, but didn't really put more than two steps together until the middle of the month. As soon as he got the hang of it, he has taken off! (He has a little ride-on football toy that he used as a walker for a couple of months. He practically jogs when he uses it, and for a while we thought we were going to have to take it away in order for him to learn how to walk.)
He LOVES to be outside, and he enjoys "mowing" the grass. Sometimes he gets stuck, and when I try to help him, he take my hand and pushes it off the mower...definitely becoming more independent.



Yesterday one of the local fire stations hosted the "Pink Heels" touring fired department. They are a group out of Florida who have pink fire trucks and the firefighters wear pink gear. As you can probably guess, the idea is to raise awareness of breast and other cancers that tend to affect women. They allow survivors and their loved ones to sign the truck.

 

There's no place like home!

Brent and I went to the LSU-MSU game in Baton Rouge on Saturday, September 18. (The boys stayed in Lafayette with the grandparents.) We had a wonderful time, eventhough the game wasn't very exciting (LSU won 29-7).

Brent and his childhood friends, Kirk Graham and Shane Seyfarth

Trina, Jodie and me! GEAUX TIGERS!

Happy housewarming and happy birthday!

Todd and Rebecca moved to Memphis from Minnesota a year ago. In August they finally got to move into their dream home! We went up for a visit and were able to celebrate Todd's birthday while we were there. The house is amazing, and we are just thrilled that Todd and Bec are close enough to visit often!

Fall semester: Back to school & Tailgating

Every year the university president hosts a cookout for faculty to kick off the new year. Jack has been terrified of mascots until recently; last year at this event he did not take his eyes off Bully out of fear that he might approach us. (He wouldn't go ANYWHERE near Bully, he didn't even want to jump in the jumpers because Bully was near them.) What a difference a year makes!

Some friends of our from Jackson, the Copelands, came up and tailgated with us before the Memphis game. Andy and Margaret have two girls, Margot and Madison. I remember when Margo was Jack's age, and now she's a teenager! (The boys and I didn't stay for the game.)



Emily, Joe and Jack