Grandpa Kurk, School Conferences and Field Trips

It appears as though I am getting way too far behind to ever truly catch up.  So, this will be an abbreviated catch-up post.  I had planned on a full post for each of these topics, but I am going to combine.

Grandpa Kurk came for a visit.  We really wanted to do lots of fun stuff, but between rainy weather and Government shutdown, most of our plans were null and void.  We did go to the Mudd House, which was really interesting.  I would highly recommend everyone making the trip.  When we walked in, our tour guide (for just our group) seemed liked she was going to be a bit unpleasant about us having our 3 small children with us.  After taking for a while in the main room, the kids got a bit restless.  We reeled them in and she said, "oh, they're fine, Mrs. Mudd raised nine children in this house, they aren't going to bother anything." After that, it was smooth sailing.  We really enjoyed the history of the home.  It has been in the family for two centuries.  Many of the items inside are the same ones that were present the night that John Wilkes Booth made his fateful appearance.  It is also interesting just to see an old home from that time period.  It was 3-bedrooms and considered large for its time, but I couldn't imagine 11 people living there.  In addition to the house, you can also walk around the grounds, and because the farm is so large, we really felt like we were stepping back in time.  It was easy to imagine what it must have been like in 1865.  Since it was our first nice day in quite a while, the kids were so happy to just run (and run, and run).  Anna and Kara pretended they were horses and galloped all over the farm.  We had a great time! So, feel free to take your kids and enjoy some great history!

Besides the trip to the Mudd House, we also enjoyed a visit to Cedar Hill pumpkin farm (Thomas and I had already brought the kids to Bowles farm, so we decided to try something new).  At the farm, we did the traditional stuff: corn maze, hay ride, barn visits, etc.  We visited the Mudd House and farm on the only two days of Grandpa's visit that it didn't rain.  We also took the kids to Toys R Us to spend gift cards they received for their birthday from Grandma Kathy.  They LOVE "the giant toy store" and it can be difficult to narrow their interests.  Jack was content to just grab the first thing he saw that looked fun.  Anna vacillated and wanted to get the most from her card. We were probably there for over an hour. Other than that, we essentially just stayed close to home.  It was a very low-key visit.

the only picture I can find that includes Grandpa Kurk

On to the next topic.  We had our first ever school conferences.   Jack is a teacher's pet!!!  He brightens their day with his friendly, good-natured attitude.  He has exceeded every test they've given and loves to contribute to class discussions.  Anna, who is not in the same class, is unfortunately having some self-control issues.  She has a bit of a hard time sitting still and staying quiet.  Apparently, she likes to sing and hum to herself and is thus relegated to a table all alone.  None of her behavior is malicious in nature, she is just an active kindergartner (half days probably would be perfect for her).  She is doing great academically and I am sure her behavior will be fine as she matures.  According to Kara's teacher, Kara is extremely quiet.  She speaks only if spoken to and I got the impression that her teachers think she is pretty shy.  She is already capable of doing most things that are year-end goals for Pre-K and when I asked about her behavior, I was told, "with Kara (puzzled look), behavior is never an issue."  It was interesting to sit down with their teachers and hear how they are spending their days.  Anna and Kara get daily calendars, so we knew, at least somewhat, what to expect.  We haven't had much feedback from Jack's class, so it was a huge relief to hear such a glowing report.  I hope he can maintain the outstanding behavior.  I was a little surprised to hear how quiet Kara is.  I know that she is a bit slow to warm up, but I thought by now she would be acting like the gregarious, chatty child we see at home on a daily basis.

The kids also had their first field trips of the year.  They all went to a pumpkin farm.  Unfortunately, the Pre-K and Kindergarten went on the same day.  I had already signed up to go with Kara's class when we found out Kindergarten would overlap.  Jack and Anna went to Bowles Farm and Kara and I went to Forrest Hall. For whatever reason, Anna was not excited about the trip.  However, they all had a fabulous time.  When Jack and Anna got home, I sat down with each one for about 20 minutes while they recapped their entire day.  When we finished, Kara wanted to do that same, even though I had spent every minute with her. Funny kids  :)

And that concludes this quick recap.

Jack and Anna Turn 6!

Obviously, I am way behind on blogging.  We have been having lots of Fall fun (our favorite season).  We enjoyed going to the St Mary's County Fair, we have loved the pumpkin farms (post to come) and Grandpa Kurk visited for a week.  Plus, I have been planning for a very fun vacation (Disney cruise--here we come!). And, I guess I can mention that I am expecting baby #4 (and final), which has not been going very smoothly thus far, at least in terms of morning sickness.

But, for this post I am going to focus on our sweet first-borns.  For Jack and Anna's sixth birthday, we gave them some choices: party at home, weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, trip to Dutch Wonderland, or a local party at a venue like Pump it Up or the Gymnastics Center.  Surprisingly, they were able to agree on Dutch Wonderland.  After they decided, we stopped talking about it.  Thomas and I decided we would try and surprise them.  So, for the month before their birthday, we stopped talking about Dutch Wonderland and spent a lot of time talking about the cruise.  They mentioned it once or twice and we would artfully change the subject.  Their actual birthday (October 3) was on a Thursday.  Thanks to the Government shutdown, Thomas was home from work.  We went to school and surprised them at lunch.  They are in different classes, but have lunch at the same time and sit together at the peanut-free table (although, due to their inability to get along, Anna has lost the privilege of sitting at the peanut-free table and now sits with her classmates, but on October 3, they were still together).

They were very surprised to see us.  Jack asked, in a hushed voice, "are you allowed to be here?"  Once he was assured that we were behaving in a permissible manner, we had a very nice lunch.  After school, Thomas met them at the bus stop.  I was attending a beautiful memorial service for a neighbor's baby who was born with Trisomy 18.  Sweet Faith Anne got to spend 5 months blessing the lives of those who were fortunate enough to know her.  I was awed by the immense level of faith and humility her family displayed.  It was a difficult to go from that to two extremely excited 6-year-olds.  However, I was happy to see how happy they were.

For their birthday dinners, they chose dishes that are a true testament to my culinary skills:  Chef Boyardee mini ravioli for Jack and chocolate chip pancakes for Anna.  Following that amazing meal, we opened presents (Jack got an angry birds Star Wars game, a dart-like game, and a hot wheels toy, Anna received some doll furniture, a small my little pony castle and a glow pillow).  They also got cards and cash from Grandpa Lou, gift cards to Toys-R-Us from Grandma Kathy, and cards with musical bracelets from Ms. B.  It was a wonderful day for them.  We ended the evening with cake (completely out of order, we did presents before cake since everyone was full from dinner but couldn't stand waiting a minute longer).

On Saturday, we went to their soccer game, where they played about as well as usual (no goals) and then we told them we needed to go on a drive to get some special cup holders for our cruise.  We stopped for lunch to break up the drive and then made it Lancaster right around 3pm.  Dutch Wonderland lets you do a preview three hours before closing if you buy a ticket for the following day.  Since they close at 6pm, we timed it perfectly.

The scene was amazing.  We are driving in the car, telling the kids we are almost there when suddenly they notice something spectacular out the window.  I am going to see if I can insert the video here. Sorry about the orientation, I don't know how to change it.

So, the kids (and the adults!) were very excited.  We spent 3 hours in the park and did a lot of rides.  Then, we had dinner at Sonic, where I actually did get extra cupholders, so that wasn't a complete fabrication.  We went to our hotel and headed to their indoor pool.  We had it all to ourselves and had a blast.

The following morning, we had breakfast in the lobby.  Since DW didn't open until 10, I wanted to hit up the outlet stores, which I mistakenly believed opened at 9.  They didn't.  So, we went and found the grave of James Buchanan.  The kids, especially Jack, are really interested in anything Presidential, so it was nice for all of us.

We got to DW right as it was opening.  We went on all the rides again.  Anna was brave enough to try some rides this year that she had skipped last time, although she skipped the roller coasters.  Jack went on everything.  We had a wonderful time.  We saw the diving show again, which was a huge hit.  Jack, Kara, and Thomas sat in the splash zone and got soaked!  Anna and I were a bit wiser and sat a few rows up.  We left the park around 3 to head home. Our favorite things about DW are that the rides are geared toward little kids and because it is more of a regional park, the lines are pretty short.  We had no trouble seeing just about everything the park had to offer.  There were some additional shows that we chose to skip (we saw them last time and decided that the rides were a better use of our time).

I can't find the camera right now, so here are a few pictures off our phones.

This was Jack's favorite ride.  He rode it over and over again.  He went on 3 or 4 times in a row and had the whole ride all to himself.

All in all, it was a very successful birthday.