Fall Fun

It's been a busy month.  Once we got past all 5 kids getting a stomach bug within 48 hours, it's been smooth sailing.  Here are some of the fun highlights:

Michael is hard to keep track of some days...and nights.  Between school, playing ball with his friends, going to dances and camping, he is one busy freshman.

Michael, Quinten & Ade at a Stake Dance

Trevor has been busy with school projects which have included oral reports on the Mormon Migration, West Virginia, and his favorite, the Sweet Potato Harvest.  Last spring his class planted sweet potatoes as part of a science project & were able to harvest them this month.  He brought home 9 pounds of sweet potatoes for me to cook up & bring to school for a Sweet Potato Sampler day.  The majority of the remaining hundreds of sweet potatoes were donated to the Houston Food Bank.  Definitely one of the best projects they've ever done!  

Trevor & his friend Grant enjoying the fruits of their labors.

This month Hayley won the award for number of field trips.  I was able to go to one of the trips to a local college science lab where they did a few hours of hands on science experiments, including making lip gloss.  Hayley won the Character Star of the week at school last month for being kind and cooperative.  She also made her broadcasting debut doing the morning pledge at school during the morning announcements.  It was fun to hear her over the loudspeaker.  This week Hayley got her hair cut, so a picture of the new 'do will be coming soon!

Hayley with her neon green test tube

Jake has had a great fall.  He loves school and has made lots of new friends.  A quick game of tag after school with his friends on the playground is mandatory before we can leave most days.  It's fun to see older siblings join in on the game too.  Jake was able to go to his first "school friend's birthday party" this month.  What could be better than a party at a firestation.  They got to climb all over the truck and get the tour of the station too, followed up by pizza and cake with ice cream.  It was the perfect morning with his friends.

Jake with his kindergarten buddies at the fire station.

Luke is just lovin' life. He mimics all his older siblings and friends, and thinks he is as big as they are. If they can play it, eat it, or in my case, cook it, so can he.  During the school day, he keeps busy with the 2 kids I babysit, but his favorite time of day is always when everyone comes home from school.  We just love his fun smile and easy going personality.

 Luke discovering a love of Play Doh...especially playing with the containers.

We can't recap the month without a mention of Don's birthday.  We had fun playing and partying together, and of course, eating the delicious Texas Sheet Cake with Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Good times!