Pumpkins, a Party, and a Birthday Boy

Pumpkins, a Party, and a Birthday Boy October 11, 2017

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 3:13 pm

We’ve settled into fall here. The boys and I have been cycling the germs… seems like we’ve all taken turns getting a cold. Graham decided to turn his into croup. Poor kid. We made it to Lattin’s Cider Mill for the apple festival with our MOPS group at the end of September. Graham wasn’t too into it (because of the developing croup), but Owen had a great time and we picked up some of Lattin’s well known apple fritters as a snack. Yum. After the trip to Lattin’s, I got the chance to speak for 10 minutes about MOPS at a local Christian women’s conference. It was a great opportunity to share with ladies why MOPS matters and how they can be a part of a MOPS group. The conference also featured worship and a guest speaker. I got to enjoy the second half of the conference and it was was a blessing.

We made our first visit to the pumpkin patch last Thursday. My sister-in-law lets us tag-along with her friends to the best pumpkin patch ever. This was our third time visiting Bi-Zi Farms in Vancouver and we love it every year. It’s more than a pumpkin patch. We get to a hay bale maze, an animal farm and climb all over a straw pyramid before taking a tractor ride out to the field to pick our pumpkins. My mom joined us because she loves pumpkins as well. It was nice to have a second set of hands, especially once we decided to tackle Costco afterwards and pick up supplies for the big birthday party on Saturday. It was a good thing we went to Costco when we did because Owen wasn’t feeling good the next day, so a day around the house worked out better for us so the birthday boy could rest up for the big party weekend.

Saturday was the boys’ big birthday party. I’ve done two parties in the past, but this year I decided to combine the parties to save time and money. I wasn’t really sure who all was going to come, but it turned out to be a pretty good showing of family and friends. For a while, I was nervous that I had ordered too big of a birthday cake, but that was not the case. Not that leftover birthday cake is ever an issue, am I right? We reserved a covered area a local park. It’s located right next to train tracks and by a pedestrian bridge so you can walk over the tracks and stand over the trains as they go by. This is the biggest selling feature of the park. The boys had a lovely Paw Patrol themed party. I got them new Paw Patrol shirts to wear the day of the party. We had all the Paw Patrol decorations out with party blowers and tattoos. Of course, there was a Paw Patrol cake. For the first time ever, we did a pinata. I picked one where you pulled a string and if you picked the right string it would open the pinata and spill out all the goodies. I got made fun of because this was the “non-violent” way of doing a pinata. No bashing it until it breaks. I enjoyed it and the kids didn’t complain about the missing bat. Overall, it was an awesome party and the boys had a blast. They are super blessed and spoiled. When celebrating two kids at the same time, you end up with double the stuff. Our mini van was full to the brim as we traveled home and the kiddos spent a happy afternoon/evening getting to know their new toys. I spent the afternoon trying to find homes for the items and sorting through older toys to take to our storage unit. Let me tell you, I am super excited for our future playroom. Toys need space.

Sunday was Owen’s 4th birthday. The days started out rough. Owen just wanted to lay on the couch with his blanket. Graham didn’t want to get ready for church because he wanted to play with all the new toys. Getting them out the door for church was challenging. Once I got there, Owen just wanted to curl up on my lap and Graham wouldn’t stay in class. Owen didn’t want to go to his class either. At 9:40am, I called it. I tried. Church just wasn’t happening… I had promised Owen a birthday meal of fries and chocolate milk so my mom helped me take the kids over to BK so we could make good on that promise before heading home. Of course, Owen perked up and played happily with Graham on the BK play toy… I looked across the street at the church and felt like an awesome pastor’s wife because here we were in the middle of church playing on the BK play toy. Oh well. It was a special treat for the birthday boy. This is not normal. After nap time, we went to the park and played as a family and then went to dinner with my parents. Owen had requested Chinese food so he had a yummy meal of fried rice. Then it was home for presents and brownie cake. While Owen wasn’t 100% on his birthday, we sure did try to make it the best day possible for him. He is one loved kiddo.

After a big weekend of birthday celebrating, I had MOPS on Monday night. It was our most well attended meeting yet. Our room was full to the brim with moms crafting together. This was our first craft meeting and we made book wreathes made out of paper pages. I was super nervous that the foam wreathes I order wouldn’t arrive on time, but I got the notification that they were available on Sunday. So grateful! It seemed like the room was a buzz with happy crafters and the wreathes turned out awesome. It’s seriously one of the best crafts we’ve ever done. I didn’t make on because I wasn’t sure about supplies, but I know now that we had some leftover supplies, so I might make one at home this week. We’ll see. Crafting and I have an iffy relationship. We don’t always get along. I’m so grateful that MOPS is flourishing and that ladies are connecting and investing in themselves and others. I think I’m finding my flow as the coordinator. It’s getting a bit easier, but this last meeting had me nervous wondering if we had enough supplies for the craft. Now that our first craft meeting is out the way, I’m sure it will get easier the next time around.

OH and the house! We have lumber! It was delivered yesterday! I have no clue when we will have people come and assemble the lumber, but having wood on site is a huge, big deal. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Let’s make a structure! Let’s make something look like a house and not just a piece of land! I’ll keep you posted as things move forward!