Fall Break

We are half way through our fall break and Kate's bucket list. I allowed an afternoon with the easy bake oven on Tuesday. Three hours later we had this to show for it. She was delighted and I scored points for walking away from the red velvet mess without freaking out.

We attempted to paint pottery but discovered our local store was closed on the only free evening we had so we popped into Hobby Lobby and brought home some wooden figures Kate enjoyed painting the next day. She also attended a painting class at the community center this morning. She is pretty pleased with her creations.

We've tackled two parks but the cloudy skies have only allowed for us to see the lunar eclipse this week. We still hope to star gaze one night after a bonfire with smores. We're waiting on weather cooperation.

Ty still believes costumes are acceptable for every day wear. This week he was Captain America until I insisted we throw the outfit into the hamper. He is suddenly very interested in my laundry schedule. For Christmas he is asking Santa to bring Erin a Captain America costume too because he doesn't have enough money to buy her one. Captain America is Erin's favorite super hero. Lauren loves Ironman and Makenna wants to be Spiderman. Ty has interesting influences in his life.

Despite whatever positive message may be portrayed in superhero movies and cartoons, I am struggling with the exposure to violence. We've had lots of discussions about what is real in these movies. Monsters, zombies and ghosts, pronounced "ghost-es" are not real. However, this put me in an uncomfortable discussion with Kate who asked me out of the blue if fairies were real. I quickly answered that they weren't. She cocked an eyebrow and probed further. Is the tooth fairy real? Crap. I just stepped in it. I answered that I haven't personally seen any fairies and thought she was asking about Tinkerbell since Ty is always asking me about things he sees in his shows. Kate, ever perceptive Kate, looked at me and said, "if the tooth fairy isn't real then......" and stopped short. I am afraid the wonder of the upcoming season may be a little dampened this year. She didn't want to go there yet but in her mind, I am certain she already has. Ugh. It's hard to lose that magic in their innocent little eyes.

Being super is exhausting.