Papas Pumpkin Patch Pummels Parent; "Please Protect Progeny!" Protests Participant

Sometimes, I do things which seem brave only to realize later that they were crazy or stupid. I took all the boys to Papas Pumpkin Patch in Bismarck again. Alone.

Badlands Boys

My Sister-in-law Rebecca and nephew Kaleb drove sixteen hours to spend the weekend with us. That's some serious love and dedication. Kaleb is a nature lover so of course we headed out the Badlands. As a result, you get to endure yet another series of North Dakota nature photos. Sorry, can't help. I'm in love with this place. This time I just took pictures of the scenery and human wildlife but we did see prairie dogs, bison and turkeys. At one point during the drive one of the boys mentioned that two prairie dogs they saw must be married. Kaleb broke the news that prairie dogs don't get married. My boys were aghast, "Then how do they have babies if the don't get married?!?"
Luckily, we have recently read a book about the facts of life with our boys. It was very frank and straightforward and as a result certain children have been looking at us funny when Marc and I kiss or hug. Anyway, I responded to the question with, "Remember the book we read about how babies are made? Prairie dogs make babies the same way but they just don't get married first." Understanding dawned on David John's face. "Oh!", he said, "I see. They just have to spend time together!" Rebecca and I tried really hard not to laugh. You can now add "spend time together" to your list of euphemisms. You're welcome.

First Snow

We got our first snow early this year. October 11th. Tobias and I went outside to catch snowflakes and marvel at the lacy crystals. They were just beautiful. I showed Tobias how to catch them on his tongue which was pretty much the funniest thing ever. I'm not ready for it to snow every day yet, but I didn't really mind. It's funny how perspective changes when you love the place you live. Even a place where it sometimes snows October through April.

Tobias was so excited!

Family Pictures

Family pictures are always a little insane with six boys who don't really want to be there. At least the biggest one is cooperative. So, anyone who takes on our family for a photo shoot deserves special praise. Amy Nash did the job this year and she did it beautifully. Here are a few favorites from the shoot. Thanks again Amy!

Blue Hawks

Every year, our local college has an event called "Meet the Blue Hawks" where all of the college athletes come in uniform to meet kids from the community. They serve free hot dogs (the pink kind of course- this is North Dakota), chips and soda and each child gets a free Blue Hawks t-shirt. The athletes usually bring markers so they can sign your shirt for you. Our boys really enjoy this. Some of them tend to migrate towards the women's sports teams. There's nothing quite like having the college volleyball team telling you how adorable you are and signing their names in multi-colored pen. Just ask Tobias. Anyway, this year it started raining during the event so everyone went inside but our boys thought it would be more fun to stay outside and run laps around the track in the rain. I love these pictures that I got of Gabriel and Tobias on the homestretch before we told them they had to stop and go home. Pure joy.

Chalk Walk

Dickinson had its first annual chalk walk on Friday. I really liked it. The parks department provided a million pieces of brightly colored chalk and people from the community came and colored. They also had food trucks and some entertainment. David John didn't want to go but the other four boys and I went, colored and came back with some kettle corn. I'd call that a success.

This was a collaborative Tobias and Mommy project. I took the lines he drew and tried to form a coherent picture. It's a dinosaur holding a fish . Tobias was pretty proud of it.

Selling Summer

My children were marching around the house in a parade of discontent chanting, "We hate summer! We like school!" I am glad they like school so much, truly, but it was making me feel bad that I had somehow failed to make summer fun enough for them. I guess they had already forgotten the awesome trip to Ohio and all those swimming lessons and trips to the pool. Anyway, in an attempt to beat back the summer blues, (Is that a thing?), I busted out a secret weapon. The slip 'n slide.