For our field trip last week we went apple picking.  You know if you have read many of my posts that my “Let’s go make happy family memories” outings do not always, and in fact often do not go as I plan.  Well, this was one of those times.  We didn’t quite end the outing in a knockout brawl on the ground… but we almost did.  Sigh.  One of these days I will learn.  I just keep hoping that it will actually be that warm fuzzy experience I imagine.  But you know what the definition of insanity is: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  And I suppose about every fifth time it comes close to my expectations.  One of my good friends told me a quote she’d heard the other day.  “If you take away the want, you take away the pain.”  I just have to change my expectation of what these outings will look like and it won’t be quite so disappointing.  So next time we go on a field trip I’m going to announce it this way, “Hey kids, today we are going to drive in the car and fight all the way there and then when we get there Reagan will boss everyone around, Cade will burst into a high pitch cry, Levi will scream at Reagan and Liberty will wet her pants at a very inconvenient time!!!  Won’t that be great fun?!”
Here are the cute pictures and you can just imagine that it went well. 

Also last week Rock celebrated birthday #36.  The boys helped me make his pie.



This year he specifically asked for “Gifts” instead of “Presents”.  So we all did service projects for him.  If you double click on the picture I think you can read the boys’ cards.