theDeiters

Best friends

 

Best friends.
 
 

Homeschool field trip to the pumpkin patch

We had an organized trip to the local pumpkin patch with other homeschool kids.  It had rained all night and morning but we took our chances and went anyway.  I'm glad we did because the rain held off and we had a great time.

 

There was a covered play area, petting zoo, outdoor corn maze (closed because of the mud), hayride, juice and popcorn all for $3.  Not bad!

Maddie in the indoor straw maze.  Sized just right for small kids.

See the mud all over her legs?  We were at the pumpkin patch maybe 3 seconds before she fall face down in the mud! 

Waiting in line for more juice.

Sammy sitting with friends eating his popcorn and juice.

The boys on the teeter-totter.  Through the mud and rain, it turned out to be a really fun outing.
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

Troutner annual fall party

My sister Dinah and family host a fall party every year with all the trimmings.  This year she even borrowed a wagon for a hayride.  The forecast called for cold weather so the hayride was done during the day.  Everyone had a great time and I hope she makes this a regular part of the party!

Getting ready to go on the hayride....

Maddie sipping apple cider through a special pumpkin straw.  Dinah thinks of everything!

Everything fall-ish was on the menu.  We roasted hot dogs for the kids and made smores later over the camp fire.  It was a great party with the kids chasing each other around with glow sticks and flashlights after the sun went down.  We're already looking forward to next year's party!
 
 

Gingerbread Fred

The kids have this book.  They love it when Fred hops out of the oven and runs around town.  One boring day we all decided we'd try and bake our own Gingerbread Fred! 

While the gingerbread men were cooking, I told the kids that they better watch the cookies to see which one sat up first.  When they were almost done, I told them that they needed their shoes on in case one of the cookies tried to escape.  Let me just say that they were excited!!!

 

Awwwww..... I guess none of them tried to escape.  One did run around the house, but Isaiah caught him. (he's faster than me now!)

But they'll be fun to eat anyway!
  

Family Exercise

 

The kids are always involved in everything Henry and I do... whether we want them to be or not.  However, exercise is something they can always be involved in!  We popped in an exercise video and the kids couldn't get close enough to the action. 

Maddie's crown and heels didn't slow her down!

Looks at Sammy's flexibility!   

Every day life can be glamorous!

Maddie is definitely a princess.  No one had to teach her to like pink frilly things or to walk around in those high heels.  She loves jewelry and looking pretty.  Isn't she pretty?

And by the way, those pink heels and crown can jazz up any everyday outfit!
 
 

Unexpected project

Well, our septic system backed up into our basement.  Our wall-to-wall carpeted basement.  So... everything had to be ripped out that was touched by the sewage water.  Luckily, I think it was mostly laundry and shower water, but sewage is sewage.  We found out after a visit from the plumber that roots had grown into our septic line and caused a clog.  The hurricane in May caused the tree to shift and possibly grow roots in a different direction.  It doesn't matter now because the pipe is fixed and the tree was cut down.   We wanted to make sure that it never happened again.

Our basement is like an oval running track with all water pipes in the center.  The septic drain leaked in a circle, so everything in the center of the basement got wet (on both sides).

 

The drain is to the right.  You can see how far it leaks to the left.

And how far down it went.  It was a large area that was affected.  All the drywall in these pictures had to be cut out -- about 18 inches up.

This is the other side of the drain.  There is a bedroom and closet that was also wet.  The vanity will also have to come out along with the drywall behind it.  This was a lot of work!

Our homeowner's insurance came through with a decent amount to cover expenses to fix things ourselves.  We decided to go with porcelain tiles so any future water issues would not be catastrophic. 

 

Here is our main supervisor.  Isn't that what you call someone who stands over your shoulder and points out all your mistakes?  Just kidding Isaiah.  He was a big help.  But it would have been nicer to have him 10 years older and able to do the work for us!

Starting out.... We were lucky to have some experienced tilers come over and get us started.  Thanks Jack and Nicole!

See that red shoe? 

He just couldn't resist.  We said, "don't touch the tiles!" so the boys reasoned that flipping a shoe off their foot onto the tiles would be hilarious.  It wasn't at the time, but now it makes me chuckle.  I guess it's flirting with danger?

The tiling turned out to be easier than we thought.  We made a few small mistakes, but we always reminded each other that "it's only a basement.  it's only a basement". 

 

Finished!  Well, this room at least.  We haven't tackled the bathroom, hallway and closet yet, but there are some cold winter days ahead that will need a good project to fill them. 

Me and mini-me

Do not adjust your computers.  You ARE seeing double!

Where did I land?

We had leftover balloons from Isaiah's birthday party so we decided to set them free.  We wrote our names and addresses on the balloons (they were mylar) and let them go on their adventure.  The kids guessed where they would land and then we looked them up on maps.  Good impromptu geography lesson!

Ready, set....

GO!

 
 
**Update: Today is October 19th and we still haven't received any letters from our balloon recipients.  Oh well, maybe next time!
 

Isaiah is grounded...

from chewing gum for a very long time.