Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm 2018

We went back to Maxwell's as a family during the middle of October. It really is such a great place for fall fun, and I see this becoming a tradition that the kids will look forward to each year. We went on a beautiful night after a week of cold and rain, which meant that half of Amarillo was also there, but we still had fun and were able to do everything we wanted.

This year we tried a few new activities that we weren't able to do last year - the obstacle course, the rubber duck races and the apple cannons. Last year the obstacle course was too muddy, but this year it was dry enough for Sophie and Dave to tackle it together. She loved it so much that they went through a second time. Maybe next year Davey will be able to join them! While Sophie was obstacling, Davey and I did duck races. You put your duck in a pipe and then use a water pump to propel it to the end. Davey insisted on pumping  by himself so his duck always lost, but he had a great time watching it slowly move along the track. And of course the kids, especially Davey, loved the apple cannons.

Riding a bull that Dave was attempting to lasso

Ready to ride the cow train

The only whining/crying for our night happened when Sophie felt upset about not being able to sit in the first cow in the train. The train left with her crying, but luckily she was able to pull it together and the rest of the night everyone was on perfect behavior!

Charlie was content to watch the fun from the wagon for most of the night

Sophie heading into the obstacle course with Dave

Davey and Liz doing a duck race

Eating dinner - we almost always pack food for the kids because they won't eat most things and it's a waste to buy them anything. The rest of us, however, enjoyed fries, twisted tators, and popcorn chicken. 

Jumping on the big trampoline

Climbing the hill to do the slides is a good workout! 

We had a four person train coming down the slide - look out below!!

Last year we had an empty marshmallow. Charlie has filled that hole nicely :)

The corn box is always a favorite

I wish I had taken a photo of Davey too so I could have my three little pumpkins, but he was too excited to get to the cannons

We bought a small bucket of apples, which was enough for one shot per person. Sophie's shot went high, mine was too low, but Davey's hit the barn, which made him happy :)

Thanks for the fun, Maxwell's!

** The kids love it when I make videos of our outings, and I did take lots of recordings during our visit. If I ever get around to making a movie, I'll post it here when it's done**

GG Grandma and Papa Gray Come to Visit

My Lambert grandparents came for a visit in the middle of October! We were so excited to have them and so grateful they made the trip all the way out here from California. It had been over a year since we had last seen them, and even though the kids didn't really remember who they were, they warmed up really quick and were all over them in no time!

While they were here we showed them our new house and around Amarillo. It was really cold while they were here, so we never made it out to the canyon, but still found plenty of other stuff to do. Highlights included dinner at the Big Texan, having Dave lead a tour of WT campus, lunch with Sophie at her school, a trip to Cadillac Ranch, lots of football watching, games, and stories.

Bedtime stories with GG. Davey also insisted that Papa Gray be the one to put on his pajamas and put him to bed. 

Dave gave us a tour of WT campus. We saw his office,  the classroom where he teaches, and the student center. Afterwards we enjoyed a yummy lunch at Braums. 

Dinner at the Big Texan! This was also our first time eating here, and it turned out to be really fun with good food! The Big Texan is famous for their 72 oz sirloin meal, that is free if eaten within one hour. There were three people that took on the challenge while we were there, but we didn't see anyone succeed. 

Our dinner was delicious. The rolls were light and fluffy and the meat was cooked perfectly. Dave and I split a prime rib dinner, and my grandparents shared a 36 oz steak, half the size of the competition sirloin. 

On the last day of their visit we went to eat lunch with Sophie at her school. You get to sit at a special table and Sophie loved having them there. We even picked up some munchkins from Dunkin Donuts as a special treat. 

Our last stop was Cadillac Ranch. It's not super amazing, but definitely a unique attraction that warrants a quick visit. The cars still had big puddles around them from all the rain, but luckily the walk out there was dry so we could still get pretty close. 

This was Charlie's first time meeting his great grandparents

I wish I had taken a picture of all three kids with them before church on Sunday, but I didn't so this one with the boys was the best I could do since Soph was at school. 

Conference Weekend

The first weekend in October was Fall Break for Sophie and General Conference. Since Sophie had time off school, we contemplated making the drive to Dallas to see family, but ultimately decided it would be too many hours in the car for such a short trip and stayed home.

On Friday I met a friend at the Discovery Center for their kid's program. Sophie loves this program, but hadn't been in awhile because of school, so this was extra fun for her. The theme this month was Halloween related so they made Halloween I-Spy jars and played with "spooky" dry ice bubbles.

After the program ended we stayed to play at the museum with our friends awhile longer. Sophie and  Emery were having a fantastic time together, but started getting a little too crazy, which led to Sophie falling off the back of a wave runner game (it was her fault). I saw the whole thing in slow motion, including her cup of hot chocolate go flying everywhere. She hit her chin hard on a corner, which made her bite through her tongue, which started bleeding everywhere. I grabbed her, assuming someone would watch the boys, and immediately rushed to the bathroom, catching all the streaming blood in my hand. I wasn't sure what to do, and was frustrated by the automatic sinks that wouldn't turn on and that there were no paper towels, only hand dryers. 

I eventually got some water running and had her rinse her mouth, while I cleaned her up as best as I could with toilet paper. Then a worker came in to use the restroom, and I asked her for some ice. She brought back ice that was dyed blue (for science experiments!) and it helped slow the bleeding and made Soph feel better. In fact, she didn't even want to go home and went back to playing with her friend. Her chin had quite the bruise the next day and I'm just glad it didn't split and need stitches! 

On Saturday we had Conference. I always look forward to Conference, but it is so hard with young kids. The long hours sitting around the house watching church is hard for them, which makes it hard for us to focus. We did absorb some through osmosis though, and maybe someday we'll be able to revisit the messages we missed. 

One thing we didn't miss was the announcement for two hour church starting in January!! As a parent of toddlers, this was the greatest news. We already went through the church/lunch/nap struggle with Davey and Sophie, and I'm glad Charlie will never know that schedule. 

I always love to work on a puzzle while I listen. Davey also wanted to help, and although he was just sticking random pieces together, he did manage to get one right!

Sophie went back and forth between helping me and working on her own puzzle

All finished! This was a fun one to do for fall. 

We also made banana muffins in between the sessions. Normally I would make coffee cake, but I had the supplies on hand for muffins, and we added chocolate chips so they were well received.  

Both boys decided to nap at the same time during the very last session so we were actually able to sit and really listen for a bit.  Hopefully with each year it will get a bit easier!

Charlie at 7 Months

Our Charlie is now 7 months old. He is growing so fast and this will probably be the last month before he becomes truly mobile. He wants to move so badly, and almost has the strength and the skills to make it happen. Even with his limited range, he still manages to find all sorts of interesting crumbs and other objects on the floor, which I guess is a cue for me to start vacuuming more. He adores his family and just bubbles over with happiness whenever anyone pays attention to him. We love our Charlie bug!

Charlie at 7 Months

• I didn't measure him this month, but I would guess he's around 20 pounds right now. He's wearing 12-18 month clothes, that fit great except for the sleeves. Sometimes I have to roll them up a bit, because he will chew on them if they hang down over his hands at all. 
• Still all gums, which works fine because he does not like food at all. Everything I try to feed him is immediately rejected after just a bite or two, so for now he is still 100% breastfed. 
• He is really wanting to explore more, but can't move all that well yet, but that doesn't stop him from trying. He will reach, fold himself in half, and lunge to get things and I find him in strange positions all the time. 
• He has become very skilled in his walker and moves around with two feet now, instead of jumping. He can navigate our kitchen, back up when he crashes into things, and roll over rugs and other obstacles. 
• Waving is his favorite. Whenever he enters a room he sticks one arm out and waves it around. 
• Takes 3 naps of varying length a day, around a loose schedule. Unfortunately he's still a bit of a night owl and does not go down for bed until around 10 pm. 
• Has started making new sounds like "ma ma ma ma" in addition to his shrieks and bird noises. 

He likes to ride in the cart now instead of his car seat!

Sleeping in my arms

My handsome guy

Showing off his standing skills!

Another failed attempt at feeding him oatmeal

There is always a river of drool coming off his chin. He doesn't spit up that often anymore, but I still have to change his clothes all the time because they get soaked through with slobber. 

On the day of his 7 month mark we went swimming as a family and he had a good time making laps around the lazy river in his baby float

Charlie never took a binky, but every now and then he will find one and pop it in, like he's been doing it his whole life

Just doing his best to get around

I thought his eyes would be lighter brown as a baby, but now they're very dark, just like his siblings

He loves to suck his bottom lip, so I see this cute little smirk often 

Video: Short clip of Charlie cruising in his walker