Down at the p-patch

On Saturday, we made a visit to Bellevue Berry Patch and Pumpkin Ranch. The Omaha Autism Support group made this possible. The families of children with Autism that wanted to attend, got to for free. The boys had so much fun! I've never been to Vala's, but I thought this place was great. Normal entry free is around $8 per person and that includes the hayrack ride. Pumpkins were $3 a piece.

Eli on the zipline.

Jude decides to give the zipline a try.

Who's creepier?

Mom, I'm in jail!

S'mmmmmmores!

Ain't it cute? This one didn't get to come home.

The boys wanted bigger ones.

I just love how the tilt in his head matches the tilt
of the scarecrow behind him.

Jude refused to shake hands with this guy.

The fruits of our labor. Meet Freaky Fred and Frankie Stein.

A treasure?

This weekend, Jude started to complain of a toothache. We weren't sure if he was quite on the mark because he would point to a different tooth (top and bottom) each time we asked him where it hurt. We gave ice and Motrin. He didn't seem to complain much on Sunday, so we thought whatever it was had passed.

We woke up this morning to a little boy with a very swollen upper lip. We then thought he had hurt the little piece of skin that's way up between the gum line and the upper lip. Rog took him to the doctor, the doctor said take him to the dentist. The dentist took x-rays and turns out he had an abscessed tooth! They pulled it at 4 o'clock this afternoon. Not a pleasant experience for him or me. Poor little guy seems to be doing much better now. He's gonna have an empty spot in his mouth for a couple years, though. (It was the top, left incisor.)

He is putting his "treasure" in our tooth jar tonight for the Tooth Fairy to come by and pick up. I'm betting she might leave a little bit bigger than usual treasure for all the trouble he had to go through!

Kidstock Twenty-Ten

Again, we made the trip to Gresham, NE, for our annual celebration with our nearest and dearest friends (and a few surprise guests.)

First of all, if I may point out the event actually took place in Lincoln (and we are not all of a consensus if we should give it a new name.) Brian called it Lincolnstock. Jeromy (Doele) said perhaps Cornstalk would be fitting. However, some of the moms in the group think we should call it Kidstock, based on the incredible number of children that were there.

Most of the usuals were in attendance: The Jaegers, the Boyes (Donna and Darlyn included -- we gathered at Darlyn's house), the Cricks, Allison Jaeger. Then there were some surprises: The Doeles (Jeromy, Amy, Jack and Poppy) and the Satterfields (Cedric, Kolette, Trevelian, Briallen, Rowen and Haevyn.) Darlyn's friend Amanda and her man, Chris, also joined us. Sam Golgert and Aaron Dutton were sadly missed, but we were sure to send plenty of splooge to those who could not be with us. Hope I didn't miss anyone.

At one point we had a total of ten kids and 15 adults. If the Campbells would have been able to make it, we would have been looking at 17 adults and 14 children. Yikes. Whatever happened to the days when there were only adults doing adult things at this event?

Did anyone notice how most of the stories we tell usually sound like this: "Uh, yeah, I think it was so and so who did that?" -or- "It had to have been >insert random name<" because we can't actually remember who did what or what year it was when they did it? You know we are really getting old when these stories all start sounding alike! Anyway, enjoy the pics. I only got a few of the kids on the Slip 'n' Slide. Wished I would have gotten all ten of them in one pic! Best thing about this year? No lawn tractor accidents. We didn't think the Lincoln authorities would appreciate us riding up and down Pioneers Blvd.! Maybe next year when we are back in Gresham.

Getting ready to fill the cooler before we went. Jude said, "Mommy, how do
I get out of this thing?" And I said, "Just a minute. Let me get my camera."
Then we figured out how to get out of the cooler.

Riley and Eli.

Riley Boye.

Jack-Jack and Riley Boye.

Riley and Jack-Jack.

Wait. Is that one of the Satterfields in Brian's arms?

Why it's the littlest Satterfield, Haevyn.

Haevyn and Jack-Jack. They slid into each other like bumper
cars on the Slip 'n' Slide and giggled like it was the best thing.
Jack was ever-the-gentleman to help her up, though.

Rog being a poser.

Jack-Jack.

Oh man, this thing is fun!

More beauties...

We had more than just the standard yellow sunflowers pop up in the yard. These guys are about 6 1/2' tall, though, so it's difficult to get close-ups. I need a step ladder!

A study in yellow.

Because I cannot just take one picture....

And we shall call him, "Sunny."

Lot's of new faces looking at me every day. I swear they all have
different personalities. Can plants have personalities?

Dragon in waiting.

Are these the bugs that like to dine on my flowers?

See this guy is just chillin' in the sun with his petals
all laid back. The one in the top pick is more inviting,
like it might hug you.

Love that super-macro mode on my camera!

This is funny. TALL, skinny plant. Itty bitty pot.

A study in focus.