Fall Break!!!!

This year Knox County gave us an entire WEEK for Fall Break.  What does that mean for all of us?  An entire week to see the people we love, relax and spend time with each other, and catch up on the million crazy things that we never get done during the real work week.  I'm already exhausted just looking back on it.  So here's a quick look at what we did in the week leading up to and during fall break.

We visited a festival with our besties - and of course the only picture I got was of Lucy coloring on the dirty asphalt.  But this is what I love about this girl.  She will preach princesses all day long, but she will also not hesitate to make herself as filthy as possible pursing what she loves (aka drawing :)  All will a fluffy heart tutu and messy bun.

We came home later that day and decided that it was time to decorate for Halloween.  And decorate we did.  Halloween is like the starter pistol for the holiday season.  Nothing kicks off a 3 month long decorating extravaganza like skeletons and fake spider webs.

The Monday before Fall Break Jack came down with a fever and random vomit virus.  Thankfully it only lasted 1 day but he had to stay home with me the following day which was awesome.  I got so much done around the house, he rested, and at one point - I was actually caught up on stuff.

Because he wasn't really sick, I made him sit down and finish his Habitat project for school.  He had to create a shoebox habitat for an animal, research their environment and how they live, and write a two page report on it.  It's no surprise that he chose sharks.  This kid is obsessed with sea animals that devour other sea animals.  I thought this was something only I noticed until one of the mom's on Jack's field trip told me how she volunteers in the school library and knows that Jack has checked out every single shark book they have.  When she added, "He really likes the ones with a lot of blood," I was a bit concerned but then remembered-he's a boy.  Right?

On to Fall Break!  Baba and Gaga had a fun filled week planned for us.  First we went to the Pumpkin Patch - the same one that Jack and Lucy visited last year when they stayed with my parents after charlie was born (we also like to refer to this time as BabaGaga Salvation.)  thankfully I was able to talk Jack out of this one right here.

My little pumpkins.  Posing in 90 degree heat :)

At one point I tried to get a picture of my dad with the kids.  But then Charlie hopped up and started to sway in the wagon.  The above picture is what I like to call, "Motherhood - the Ever Present Arm."  Although my mom isn't posing with them, she was there hovering.  Making sure no one face planted out of the wagon.  Meanwhile my dad, the lovable man of the group, is smiling on and not noticing a thing.  No offense Dad (this is more a commentary on all men) but this is really how life is.  The man gets to relax and pose while the mother hovers, expecting a disaster at any moment.  What most concerns me about this is that my mother is a grandmother.  So this hovering thing never actually goes away. Sigh...

Quality picture right here folks :)  But we did have an absolute blast.  and only took home about 15 pumpkins.

That night Shannon and Ed came over for dinner and some hangout time with the kids.  We haven't seen them since Lizzi and Rachel's wedding so it was nice to get to chat with them.  Turns out Ed was in the Peace Corps at one point and they lived in Brazil as ex-pats.  I love cool stories about the Cold War era and literally wish I could sit with them and ask a million questions.  I also loved how Shannon rocked Lucy to sleep by the end of the night.  These are handy people to have around :)

Later that night, Jack refused to go to bed so he got some snuggle time from Baba.  Best buds.

The next day we made some yummy lunch treats and all the kids were present to dig in.

On Sunday we ventured to Discovery Park in Union City!  BabaGaga had taken Jack and Lucy to this place last year but this time we all went to see the place together and it was AWESOME!  I cannot begin to sing this places' praises.  It's in a random little town in the middle of nowhere but has a million things to do and see.  We could have easily spent 7 hours there but opted for only 3.5.  We have every intention of going back there next time we visit.

It was an awesome blend of history, science, dinosaurs, heights, pumpkins, and just fun.  I'm not kidding - if you are in the vicinity of Union City (which maybe happens once in most people's lives) you must go visit.  There was a West TN history exhibit, a dinosaur exhibit, an observation deck, a baby play area, a giant slide, a war exhibit, etc.  It goes on and on.

They had a massive hay bale maze and structure and pumpkin patch outside.

The spider.

The lion was pretty cool.

The pumpkin patch.

This place was seriously cool.

There was even a reconstructed frontier area with cabins to teach the story of Davy Crockett and early frontiersman.

I was pretty impressed.

I want to say this is Davy Crockett but I can't remember.  I just like how Miss Sassy Pants is posing.

The next morning we had speciality pancakes made for us. As usual.

There was lots of swinging - at one point Lucy kept yelling, "Best Day Ever!!!"

He's almost getting too big for it!

I was able to snap this picture of the five of them and it turned out really well :)  You can tell that when we are at my parents, my kids are in heaven.

Lucy enjoying the "fairy lights" mom set out for her on the deck each night.

charlie and McGee bonded while we were there.

As usual, our time was way too short but we had a blast.  And I am now officially a huge fan of weeklong Fall Break.  Not only did we get to visit Baba and Gaga but i was able to take Lizzi to a birthday concert that Tuesday and we got three rooms in the house painted on that week too.  So much accomplished!  Yay Fall Break!