Book club trip to Natchez

I have been in a book club for over a year with a group of my closest friends and it is so fun! For the month of October we read Greg Iles' Turning Angel. He is an author from Natchez who writes very suspenseful novels, so we thought it would be a good October read. We decided to take a trip over to Natchez to see the actual Turning Angel in the cemetery and then have dinner at The Castle. To minimize the hassle, we decided to rent a limo...cheesy, I know, but we had so much fun! Here are Kate and Quinn wishing they could go with us!

When we got to the cemetery (and our limo driver had to think that we were totally nuts, but she didn't say a word!) there was a brochure with several different historical markers...we really wished we had more time to explore. Here we are with the Turning Angel, a monument of much lore in the Natchez community.

 ...and here are the boys with her...notice how reverent they are...

 The cemetery is on a bluff overlooking the river and it is gorgeous. We got there just in time for a beautiful sunset. Our visit also coincided with the Annual Balloon Festival, so we did see a few hot air balloons drifting over the Mississippi.

Some of the headstones were so intricate and amazing...we all were really impressed with this one. (Did people really call him P.U.?) And here we are below enjoying a delicious dinner at The Castle. Fun night!

Natural Science Museum/ Kate's 5th Birthday Party

Kate's birthday party was on a Friday, so we decided to spend a whole day in Jackson visiting the Natural Science Museum and shopping. This pic of the kids below is fuzzy, but we ALWAYS take a picture on the frog! They had a special frog exhibit going on that the kids loved.

 This museum volunteer had a touch tank out and Quinn especially loved looking at and holding the horseshoe crab, sea urchin and hermit crab.

 Quinn also took my camera so she could take pictures of things that interested her...I think she caught a great shot of this alligator! After the museum we ate a yummy lunch at Newks. Then some shopping at Lemuria.

 ...and to Kate's party! She had it at Pump It Up, and Tyndale was in heaven!

 After the party we ate sushi at Bonsai. Mmmm! We were not even ten miles south of Jackson and both of the kids were PASSED out! Fun and busy day!

Mitchell Farms field trip

Tyndale had his first field trip to a fun place called Mitchell Farms. They have fields and fields of sunflowers, a pumpkin patch, a huge sand pile, swings everywhere, corn mazes, hay mazes, peanuts, rocking horses, a corn pool, goats to feed, and Tyndale's very favorite...a train! First we got on a big hayride and toured the land.

 After the hayride we walked through the corn maze. We didn't get lost! He really loved how dusty the ground was and he kept kicking the dirt and saying, "look! I made smoke!" We also liked watching our shadows.

He was beyond thrilled when he saw THE TRAIN! He rode it three times, and I do believe he might have stayed on it all day!

 Here is Tyndale in the hay maze.

And here he is picking out our pumpkin...this one didn't pass the "sit test."

 Although he loved the train so much, the rest of our crew moved on to the GIANT playground area. This part was so cool and there was a ton of stuff for a little boy to get into...but his fave in this spot was the corn pool. How cool is that? All the kids adored this! We had such a fun and special first field trip!

fun family dinner

Michael and Kate brought a sushi feast down from Jackson and we had a family celebration. Gimmie has her house all decorated for Halloween. Here is Quinn with some revelers.

 Look at all that sushi!! It covered every counter surface!

The boys treated us to some beautiful music on the piano.

 And then we got to make s'mores...with GIANT marshmallows.

Looks like Quinn had hers with a side of chocolate. Gimmie and Big Daddy's Night Blooming Cereus had three blooms that were going to open that night. We got to take one home and watch it at our house. The next night they had seventeen that bloomed. That plant is so amazing.

Date with Tyndale

Tyndale and I had a date to the Children's Museum and Newk's. His favorite part of the museum has always been the tractor. Usually we don't get to spend too much time there because the other kids want to explore other areas...but today it was just the two of us, so he got to drive the tractor as long as he wanted to! I seriously think we were in this area for an hour!

The train table was a new area for us...or maybe we just missed it before? He really enjoyed this area as well. I almost deleted this pic because that is what I usually do with the hair-swish photos...but then I thought that he looks like this so often that I might as well document it!

His other favorite area was the car...being able to fill it up with gas (again and again and again) and then drive it was super cool. We also caught catfish and cooked in the kitchen. Afterwards we ate at Newk's...love to spend time with my sweet little man!

 

first lost tooth!

Quinn lost her first tooth! She has been wiggling on a few that are loose, and this one came out! The Tooth Fairy came to visit...and left Quinn a note, five gold coins, and one half-dollar. She was so excited that she put them in her piggy bank and got to work right away writing the tooth fairy a thank you note.

First Saturday

We had so much fun at the Home Depot Kids' Workshop this month! They brought in a firetruck, ambulance, police officers, firefighters, sherriffs deputies, and so much more! Tyndale wore his firefighter outfit and LOVED every minute! Here he is driving the fire engine.

 We walked around it and Tyndale was pointing out the pumpers, hoses, axes...and so many other parts he has learned through reading books. Then the police officers fingerprinted each of the kids.

 Quinn chose to make a planter/basket this time. It turned out so cute! Tyndale and Daddy made a picture frame.

Quinn had a peace sign painted on her face and Tyndale hung out in the ambulance with the EMT for awhile. It was a fun morning!