September 2017

The beginning of September found us at the wheat farm!

enjoying an afternoon at Bluff Creek

we spotted a beaver!

the beaver didn't seem to care at all that we were there, and got really close to us as it paddled downstream.  We realized later that it was injured, and that's probably why it didn't run away

Abbs caught a tadpole!

we spent Labor Day at the farm so Charlie could test drive he new sawmill - not bad!

and while he was working hard, the rest of us just played around for a couple of days!

We took the long way home from Kansas and stopped by Little Sahara State Park for a kick off field trip to our unit study on Africa.  

since we didn't rent dune buggies, I knew it wasn't going to be super amazing - but I had heard you could see the dunes from the observation deck, so I thought we'd be able to watch all the other drivers - not so much...

 

we did find one somewhat shady spot to play in the sand though, which was fun

and we trudged through some of the hot sand to see if we could see the dunes over the first hill... not so much.  Maybe we'll come back again when everyone's a little older and we can rent an ATV

The next two weekends brought us lots of fair fun!  First, our county fair - then the Oklahoma State Fair!  We had so much fun, and feel super fortunate we were given VIP treatment again!

 

 

 

Abby turned 4 years old and wanted to have dinosaur birthday party! Woo Hoo!

they went on a hunt to find dinosaur eggs!

The last weekend of the month we spent at our annual Touch a Truck event and the zoo!

Other Highlights and Kidbits of the Month:

One of the biggest bits of news for the month, is that Bruce joined a baseball team!  (Which means we all joined the baseball team...)  Two of his best friends are on a team and were looking for another player to fill out the roster, about the same time that Bruce watched an Arthur movie about baseball and really wanted to play...  So, we signed up.  I've had a lot of reservations about organized sports, but it actually hasn't been too bad.  The time commitment is more than I was expecting, but it has been manageable.  And it has been fun to hang out with friends regularly in the evenings, and bump into friends at the ball fields that we haven't seen in long while.  It's been an adventure to say the least!

since Bruce joined the team literally at the last moment possible, he didn't have a matching uniform for the first few games... and he was absolutely clueless about baseball.  I'm happy to report he's fitting in much better these days!

when Charlie asked Bruce what his favorite part of the first game was, he said, "Getting to watch the beautiful sunset."  That's my Bruce.  

Bruce's team is coach pitched, not t-ball, so he's never made it on base yet - but he has clipped the ball a few times for fouls, and never gets frustrated about strike outs

Abby loves all the dogs at the ball fields, and even brings her own occasionally 

Abby loves running around with the team siblings

but she keeps tabs on all the boys, too - especially the one she's (eek!) crushing on

Bruce gets a little better every day, but more than anything - I'm crazy proud of how this boy cheers his team on!

We've still been plugging away at school, too.  Bruce has been getting better with having a positive attitude towards school, and Abby has been much more cooperative as well when I'm doing lessons with Bruce.  Hooray!  Along with the Sand Dunes, we also went on a safari, and participated in a workshop with an African Drummer.  

Bruce has been a little bit more of a challenge this month.  He is still doing much better with controlling his impulsive behavior, but has been noticeably more cantankerous towards Abby lately, and defiant towards me.  I'm suspicious the late nights with baseball have something to do with it, but I know I'll never be 100% sure - could be a phase.  There also has been a resurgence in Bruce's seemingly irrational fears - he's back to being afraid of being anywhere by himself during the day, and has started waking up with bad dreams again at night.  It's frustrating because he had made some progress, but we're trying to be patient and help him work on some strategies to help control his imagination.  On the brighter side of life, a friend gave Bruce a hand-me-down bike recently, and he is loving learning how to ride it - with his "stablizers" to help him.  Also, one of his favorite shows to watch these days is Wild Kratts, and he's always sharing little gems of knowledge with us about all kinds of animals he's learning about from the show.  His brain never turns off! 

This is Bruce's "Martin" outfit when he's playing Wild Kratts

Abby is quite the household helper!  She's the best at remembering to feed all of the various animals, always brings in the mail, and has started helping cook meals and set the table!  She always has a song or "whistle" on her lips, and a story on her mind.  One of her favorite shows theses days is Spirit Riding Free - a tale of three girls, their horses, and the adventures they encounter - and she's always pretending to be apart of the adventures!  So fun!  I wouldn't say we're out of the woods with her, but the time out chair is vacant more often, and we're taking ground, so I'll celebrate that!   

September marked the end of "birthday season" for us - so now it's time to move on to other things - like planning pumpkin parties and Halloween costumes, and getting starting on Christmas gifts - life never slows down around here, that's for sure!