Building Box

We have some fairly grand plans for a raised bed garden. We wanted to put it in this year, but we just couldn't get it done. Darren spent all day Sunday working to prepare the ground and put together our garden boxes. He wants to get the boxes done so that we can get dirt delivered before the ground gets too wet to get the truck out in the yard (fingers crossed that we get some dry weeks after today's storms). He made really good progress working until it was dark: he finished one corner 'waterfall' box, a large box and started on another waterfall.

These boxes form the back half of the planned garden. We will complete the perimeter with two more waterfall boxes in the front and some smaller beds between the waterfalls and in the corners. The final stages (which are years out and could change) would include a paver patio & pergola in the center of the box of raised beds.

A completed 'waterfall' box.

Oktoberfest

This Saturday after we picked Kyrie up from OGLS (Ohio German Language School) we headed to Oktoberfest. We volunteered to work in the Kinderplatz to help spread the word about OGLS. Darren & I each worked a 2-hour shift at the "Wild Birds" (think Angry Birds) game. I took the first shift while Darren took the kids to get food and play in the Kinderplatz. Then we switched so that I could eat & play with the kids. 

Though I think that we were both a little worried about how the afternoon would go (we had never been to Oktoberfest before), we had a lot of fun working the game and spending time with the kids enjoying the Kinderplatz. Though the food & drink tickets were a little pricey, the Kinderplatz was free and full of activities for the kids: a big craft tent, several bouncy houses, a hand-pedal train and live shows. Four hours flew by quickly and we went home with bags full of crafts.



Darren working the 'Wild Birds' game. Kids threw or launched stuffed birds trying to knock over apples and treasure boxes.

We bought a bag of these mini-donuts to share. We liked watching the little donut machine press out & flip yummy donuts!

Rain, Rain Stay & Play

I love autumn, especially the 'gloomy' days! I find calm in the cool and gray with the sound of the rain hitting the house. I enjoy these kinds of days much more when I don't have to go anywhere, but the kids enjoy them more when they can put on their raincoats for a quick splash to the car.

Day Out With Thomas

Last Sunday, we drove to Lebanon, OH for a Day Out With Thomas. Both kids love to play with our Thomas trains & tracks, especially Degen, so we were very excited for the opportunity to 'meet' Thomas and take a train ride with the spunky, blue engine! It was a wonderful experience and we have LOTS of photos to share!

The town of Lebanon is a beautiful, little town with grand, old houses and a main street with brick sidewalks lined with antique stores and shops. The train tracks run through town and the L,M & M railroad regularly brings tourists to the town.

Here comes Thomas! Almost as soon as we arrived, Thomas came chugging down the track! Degen was very excited!

We had tickets for the last train of the day, but arrived early for pictures and to enjoy the many Thomas-themed activities available. If you don't know who Thomas the Tank Engine is then you are missing out on a huge celebrity. We were surrounded by every sort of Thomas memorabilia imaginable: books, toys, movies, clothes, balloons and more.



The storyteller above (who called himself Sir Bottompants) knew every little thing about the world of Thomas and animatedly read some of his favorite books.

Kids posing with the Diesels (above) and the Steamies (below).

The kids posed with Sir Topham Hatt who runs the railroad on the Island of Sodor. Degen really liked this and was talking to him and tried to 'give him five.' The pictures above & below are two of my favorites!

Between stories and tattoos, train sets and merchandise the time passed quickly and soon it was time for our "All Aboard!"

The kids were excited for this first 'real' train ride. We were in the first car, right behind Thomas. On board, the kids looked out the windows. Darren helped the kids practice their calls of " All Aboard!" as we waited for all the passengers to find their seats.

I LOVE Kyrie's face in this photo!

After our train ride, we went back to the 'Imagination Station' so the kids could play with the trains & Mega Blocks. Since our train was the last of the day, many of the families were gone by this time and the kids had a better opportunity to play. Degen liked playing with the tracks best, while Kyrie spent more time building with the Mega Blocks and coloring.

The lines to pose with Thomas were very long, but as we were walking out there was no one there and some smiling workers let us pass the rope. You can see how excited Degen is to be so close to Thomas! I think that we may just be the only people with a picture like the one below. Darren lifted both kids to sit right on Thomas, and I snapped pics waiting for someone to tell us that it wasn't allowed. A kind worker waited until after we got our photos to tell us that it indeed was not allowed.

After our Thomas fun was done, we walked to the nearest ice cream shop for cones! A great end to a perfect day 'working' on the railroad!

Put On A Happy Face

A few weeks ago (I'm a bit behind on my blogging) we worked on our Circus: Shapes & Colors unit for homeschool. Our fun snack for this unit was clown-faced cookie pops. I iced sugar cookies on a stick and the kids decorated them with an assortment of candies to make clown faces.

This was my first time making cookies on a stick, and I made a few mistakes. First, they were too big and second, they were too soft. These too big, too soft cookies when loaded with candy had a tendency to fall right off their sticks, but they were still very delicious!

Kyrie did a great job with this activity and made some really cute clown faces. Degen just had fun putting on as much candy as he could! When we were done, I let each kid choose a cookie pop to eat as a treat. Then we shared them with some friends and Kyrie's piano teacher.

A batch of our super-cute cookie pops!