Kaska Family Farm & Other Bits

We checked out a semi-local pumpkin patch/fun farm yesterday. No pictures though so don't get your hopes up:) Instead, you got to hear my chatter for a few minutes. At least I'd like to think you can hear me talking when you read.

We shot ears of corn out of a cannon. We didn't hit any targets. We played 'garden golf' and did awesome. We played in the sandbox...a few times. We ran around on a big hay playground and slid down it and got hay stuck in our clothes. We rode a little cow train that was 50-lb. barrels decorated like cows. Well, the oldest 3 children did that. I went up to check on them before they left for the ride and Cade was pretty stoked about it. "Mom, we are going on a cow train!" (imagine Cade's excited voice getting higher with each word). "The cow says, Moooooo!" We raced rubber ducks. We liked that part. We tried the corn maze. We never found the exit. In fact, we let the kids choose the route and after about 15-20 minutes, they led us right back out the entrance. We didn't complain. We went on a hay ride. I was a little worried we might get stuck in the mud there for a minute. But we didn't (Phew)! And that was Kaska Family Farm.

We Czeched out the small town of West, Texas and bought some kolaches. It was a first for the kids & me (Jeff's coworkers are loving introducing him to all kinds of new tastes - like chicken fried steak and kolaches). We tried a few meat ones for dinner and then some dessert ones. I don't think we tried the very best ones we could have (bakery inside a gas station - not such a grand idea) but the potential was there. I think I'll have to google kolaches and see what kind of recipes I can find. For those of you who don't know what the heck I'm talking about: West, Texas is a town with lots of Czech history and apparently kolaches are Czech cuisine. ("Czech out our kolaches" - nice catch phrase, huh?)

I've decided having little boys is a whole different experience than having little girls. My friend Cindy in AZ has 3 girls, and my friend Lindsey in TX just found out she's having her 3rd girl. I tell you what, I'm pretty sure raising my 3 boys is quite a bit different than their girls. Granted, I do have one girl (for which I'm very grateful) but I don't feel like I can focus on all the girly stuff because I'm so busy doing things like this:

unwrapping Cole's hands from Cade's throat
unwrapping Cade's hands from Lane's throat
listening to dinosaur facts
listening to lion roars
being told "I want to hit you, Mom"
cleaning up messes

You get the picture. Today I was getting set apart for some callings (yes, I said some) and Cade spent the entire blessing playing with the basketball he found in the Bishop's office and Cole spent the blessing praying out loud that Cade would stop playing with the basketball. Sigh. I feel tired.

While I'm sure the girls have their drama and difficulties (just as my boys have their sweetness and funniness and all the other positive things I love about them) sometimes I wish for 4 children that would go play quietly in their bedroom, make discipline charts, and plan activities for the entire family to play. Now wouldn't that be nice?

Haha. I love my boys and I love my little girl. I wouldn't trade any of them for anything. I am the luckiest mom alive because all of my children love me and their dad. They like to play with each other and for the most part are very good to each other. They are stinkin' hilarious in the things they do and say. They are smart and creative and coordinated and have good memories. They are generally well-behaved in public places. They are beautiful and handsome and charming. I love them.

I'll just leave you with a mental picture: Lane has learned to nod his head in the affirmative. Imagine that sweet face with his eyebrows lifted, his mouth open, his head tipping back ever so slowly, and then dropping down very deliberately and just a little bit awkwardly. I think I could watch him do this all day.