Sweetberry Farm Trip

Sommer went to Sweetberry Farm (aka the pumpkin patch) on October 30, 2008. I was amazed at all of the activities they had for the kids. I was expecting to go, pick out, possibly decorate a pumpkin, but no, three hours later we were finally done. The first activity they did was make a scarecrow. The kids stuffed the shirt and pants, then the worker stapled them together. It was a surprise to Ms. Starkey (Sommer's teacher - the tall, skinnny one with the school shirt and white hair) that she was given the scarecrow to take back to school. Since there was a school fundraiser going on at the time, a huge garage sale, we figured it would be best suited to help with the advertising of the garage sale outside.

The next event was the hay rack ride (to us easterners it is called a hay ride). The hay rack ride took everyone over to the corn maze. I guess they have two, one for the "big" kids that is really large and people can get lost in, and the "little" one that only little kids can get lost in. The worker was there to make sure all of the little ones made it through without any trauma.













Once the maze was completed, they split the kids into two teams. Two people from each team had to race with the wagons through the tunnel to a pile of pumpkins (no, sadly, there was really no pumpkin picking - only picking out an already picked pumpkin), where they picked which one they thought was best, threw (literally - needless to say, some pumpkins did not make it back in one piece) it in the wagon, and ran back to the team. Here is the beginning of the "race" where everyone is gearing up to go, and cheering each other on.

Sommer's turn - and she's off!!On the way back, with her pumpkin in tow. Where's the other guy?


Now, last year, they brought the pumpkins home with sticker faces on them. This year, could they be that neat? No. Picture a picnic table with a trough down the middle. In the trough are cups with different color paints in them. Now add the 13 children all trying to paint their pumpkins, and their parents around them. Not a pretty picture. There was paint everywhere - on clothes, in hair, on faces, arms, etc.

However, Sommer did finally manage to paint her pretty rainbow around the pumpkin, with a white cloud painted on the top of the pumpkin, and she had me paint a bird by the rainbow.
















As the pumpkins were drying, each child was given a husk of Indian corn. The kids then put their husks down this grinder where it took all the corn off of the husk. The corn and husk were then collected and brought to a table where they made a fall decoration with it.

















Now the kids were herded over to a new contraption. This was two troughs put together, going different directions. At the end of each trough was a bucket of water and a pump. The kids were again divided into two teams and a plastic pumpkin placed in front of the water pump on each trough. The kids had to pump the water as fast as they could in order to get their pumkin to the end of the trough first. Sommer won her first go, then lost her second. It was a lot harder to do than it looked!



After all of this, the kids fed the goats and pet the horses. Then they were finally allowed to sit and eat a snack, and the farm brought them each a scoop of home made ice cream. It was a lot of fun, and very tiring!

Dino Land

Sommer's school went on a field trip to Dino Land. Every year these people come to Austin, bringing their exhibit and placing it inside the Zilker Park Botanical Gardens. It was really cool!

This picture is (left to right) Ethan, Makaela, Sommer, and Marshall.

Makaela and Sommer are a lot alike and as you'll see, pretty much inseparable.



The guide did an excellent job at explaining dinosaurs. He asked them why some dinosaurs were on four legs and some on two. He had them think about all the answers before he gave it to them. He explained things that I didn't know. Of course, he also said that he had been wrestling with the TRex and that's why he was on crutches. So, maybe not everything he said was completely accurate.





This picture is of the kids being dinosaurs that walk on two legs. They are walking on a balance beam.



These pictures are of them being dinosaurs on four legs.





















This is (left to right) Emily, Makaela, and Sommer. The three of them pretty much stuck together for the whole exhibition.







Now for the dinosaurs:

As you can see, these were life-sized dinosaurs. I am amazed at how much work must have gone into this exhibit. I also really enjoyed seeing them outside, on the trails, as if it were their real habitat. All of the kids loved it!

Sommer's Haircut

Sommer asked for her hair to be cut. I told her we would cut it a little below her shoulders and she said no, she wanted it above her shoulders. It was a shock to her afterward to realize just how short that was. Now that she's used to it, she loves it. We think it makes her look a little bit older.

Elyce's Art

This is one of Elyce's art projects. We are amazed with her talent. I guess since she has the Staley genes, we shouldn't be so surprised. Both Nan Nan and Auntie Julie draw very well!

Trip to IL

As many of you know, our family travelled to IL at the end of September to attend the funeral of Duane's favorite aunt, Jean Matthes. Although the circumstances for going were sad, we enjoyed seeing family members and friends. Duane's sister, Julie, graciously opened her home to us so that we had a place to stay. Thanks Julie and David!

While we were there, we had the opportunity to visit Catherine Smith. (She's the one in the middle with the yellow shirt.) Catherine is the mother of the 13 children who were the best friends of the Staley children growing up. She is a wonderful, caring woman and a great example to all of us.