"Vacation" day 10

On day 10, we started cooking the food for the open house. Ashley and I spent the day cooking 300 cupcakes. Thankfully they were mini cupcakes!

It was still a ton, though. We made pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and some with chocolate frosting, and vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. I would have eaten all the pumpkin cupcakes right then if I could. I love pumpkin spice cupcakes!

That afternoon as Grandma was coming home from work, Grandpa got out the train. The kids all raced to get their socks and shoes on so they could get a ride.

Aimee took a minute longer to get hers on, so she missed the first round around the pond. She was devastated at first, but more than thrilled when she finally got to ride in it. Here they are coming around the back side of the pond.

After a few rounds around the pond, Grandpa went to the neighbor's house to see if their kids wanted a ride, too.  

Of course they did! Who wouldn't want to ride in a train behind a tractor?!


They took a trip by the house again. This time they had doubled up in each seat in order to fit everyone and make sure the littles stayed sitting down.

By the end of the train ride Ashley's little A had been lulled to sleep. Ethan did a fantastic job making sure that she stayed safe. What a good little helper he was!

That evening, most of the adults set up the tables and chairs. I must have been inside taking care of little ones or something...because I didn't help at all. The boys were outside having a great time catching toads. When I came home from buying milk, Ethan surprised me with his catch.

He told me he had caught a bullfrog and I had to break it to him that it was a toad, not a bullfrog. I had to explain to him the differences between a bullfrog and a toad. Poor kid has grown up a city boy and hasn't had enough opportunities to play in nature and discover these things for himself. Hopefully someday that will change and we can live close to nature again before he is an adult. Toad or bullfrog, he didn't care. He and Jayke were just excited that they were able to catch them right in Grandpa and Grandma's backyard.