Lunches October 22nd - 26th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka

Boogs absolutely loved this book. In it, a little boy tells about his favorite time of the year. The story begins, "Every Septober, Every Octember, Fall fills my senses with scenes to remember." From that point on, everything about Fall is mixed up. Bears gather nuts, geese hibernate, leaves fall up, squirrels fly south for the winter, kids jump in piles of sticks, trick-or-treaters receive turkey and gravy for treats, and many other mix-ups. The illustrations are gorgeous. At the end of the book, the reader is told to go back through and try to find all the mixed-up things in the story. Boogs studied every page closely. This is definitely a book I have to purchase. In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j squirrel flying south for the winter attached to a strawberry balloon, hotdog mummy bat, pretzel sticks pile, nuts gathered by the bears, strawberry balloons to help the squirrels fly, and broccoli.


 On Halloween Night by Ferida Wolff and Dolores Kozielski
This is a counting book about all the things that stir on Halloween night. Two boys follow a foggy trail that takes them by witches, cats, owls, creeping bugs, and other creatures. This was a cute little book. In the Laptop lunchbox: ghost & witch grilled cheese sandwiches, candy corn, yogurt, blackberries, and salad.

Halloween Is... by Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons is the author of many informative books for children. In this book she explains the history of Halloween, Halloween symbols, and traditions. Boogs thought it was interesting. In the ELB lunchbox: boiled egg ghost, orange jack-o-lantern, salami & cheese cat sandwich, Babybel full moon, witch drawn on Mini Dipper of yogurt, skeleton pick in carrots, and some batty grapes.

Mrs. Piccolo's Easy Chair by Jean Jackson
Mrs. Piccolo and her chair are great friends but sometimes that chair can be quite difficult to be around. When the chair is hungry he softens up his cushions and traps Mrs. Piccolo until she agrees to give him his favorite snack of cheese puffs. When Mrs. Piccolo left the house one day, the chair decided to walk to the grocery store and buy his own cheese puffs. Along the way, he met some people who tried to stop him. So that chair swallowed up anyone who got in his way. Boogs giggled all the way through this story. We read it together twice and then he read it on his own many times before we returned it to the library. In the ELB lunchbox: pb&j chair with the hat (picks) of two of the people who got in his way, nuts and cheese coins that were stuck under his cushion, Pirate's Booty Cheese Puffs, berries, and salad.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.  .

Sweet Berry Farm Pumpkin Patch

Every year, we take Boogs to Sweet Berry Farm to pick out our Halloween pumpkin. Here is a  little flashback to his first trip to the Sweet Berry pumpkin patch:

 I cannot believe how quickly he is growing up. This picture seems just like yesterday.

Boogs quickly decided that THIS was the perfect pumpkin.

We all tried to guess the weight of the pumpkin. Daddy had the closest guess. The pumpkin weighed 16 pounds.

We had a quick (non-bento) picnic lunch before getting started with activities.

Boogs is pointing the way to the Texas Cornfield Maze.

The cornfield maze is in the shape of the state of Texas. You have to find 12 Texas cities and get a punch for each city to complete the maze.

Wahoo! We completed the maze in record time this year.

Boogs and Daddy on the Haunted Hayride.

Boogs is now tall enough to reach without help.

The Marble Falls Fire Dept was there to let kids see their firetrucks and gear.

Boogs really liked getting dressed in all of the gear.

He almost fell over while trying to walk in those big boots.

 Halloween and Christmas are tied for Boogs' favorite holiday. I think our yearly tradition of going to Sweet Berry Farm makes Halloween extra special for him. Now, he just has to decide how he wants to help Daddy carve the pumpkin.

Hill Country Flyer

My sister-in-law (J) and her husband (R) are in town for awhile. We spent Saturday on the Hill Country Flyer, a steam engine train ride from Cedar Park to Burnet. It is a two-hour train ride each way. Boogs and I really enjoyed standing on the back of the last car, feeling the breeze, and watching the scenery roll by.

Getting ready to board the train.

Finding our seats.

Daddy, Boogs, J, and R.

Standing on the back platform.

Miles and miles of track.

Boogs loved standing here.

It was a bit windy.

My big and little sweeties.

J and Boogs with metal bluebonnet sculpture in Burnet.

The Burnet Gunfighter Association presented their Wild West Gunfight Show.

Boogs in jail. I was worried his head would get stuck, it didn't.

 It was a fun way to spend the day. We were all tuckered out by the time we returned home.

Lunches October 15th - 19th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

Loose Tooth by Steven Kroll
Flapper and Fang are twin bats. Flapper is upset and jealous about all of the attention Fang is getting for his loose tooth. Flapper decides to steal it so the Tooth Fairy cannot leave Flapper any money. Boogs was not happy with Flapper's attitude while we were reading this book. He said, "That is just not right. You can't steal someone's tooth like that. I'm glad he confessed at the end." Boogs has his 3rd loose tooth and he was kind of upset that Fang missed out on his visit from the Tooth Fairy. Luckily, everything turned okay by the end of the story. In the ELB lunchbox. Flapper & Fang cheese bats hanging from a rolled up piece of ham limb, pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, blackberries with tooth picks, blueberries, and carrots with hummus in an ELB mini dipper.

The School Nurse From the Black Lagoon by  Mike Thaler
Boogs checked this book out from his school library. We have read and enjoyed the other Mike Thaler books in the Black Lagoon series. Boogs loved looking at all the creepy pictures of the nurse's office. He wanted to have a lunch that showed a kid stuck in an ice block but I could not figure out how to make it. So, this lunch highlights some of the creepy items in this book. In the ELB lunchbox: almond butter & jelly skull, spinach tortellini in pesto sauce rotting livers, body part goo yogurt, blackberry brains, and broccoli. (I used three leak proof Mini Dippers in this lunch.)

I Know A Lot Of Things by Ann and Paul Rand
The child in this story tells about many of the things that he knows for sure. "I know such a lot of things, but as I grow I know I'll know much more." While Boogs and I read this story, he kept stopping to expand on the simple sentences of the text. I was surprised at how much he enjoyed this book. He insisted that his lunch be based on this page, "Of course I know a horse can pull a wagon full of wood." In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j spotted horse with spinach blinders, cheese wagon with cheese pieces of wood, "round as a bun" sun orange, Zbar "an acorn drop kerplop", salad, and yogurt. 

 
The details for these two lunches can be found on my Bento Bloggers & Friends Halloween Hop post.

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell

Arthur's Halloween by Marc Brown

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by. 

Bento Bloggers & Friends Halloween Hop

Bento Bloggers & Friends are joining together for a creepy, ghostly, fun Halloween hop. We are  hopping a little early so that you can get a few ideas for your own Halloween lunches. I am so excited to see all of the BBF Halloween inspired lunch creations. You can start your hop by checking out my Halloween lunches. Then click the jack-o-lantern button to hop on over to the next stop on the hop to see the Halloween lunches that Bento, Monsters has made.

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell

Boogs picked out this book at the store while he was running errands with his dad. In the story, a witch moves into a haunted house and tries to scare away the ten ghosts who live there. She tries every trick possible to scare them away. One by one the ghosts are scared off until one clever ghost is left. He figured out the witch's tricks and scares her away. This is a really cute countdown book. Boogs has read it many times in the week that we have owned it. In the ELB lunchbox: goulish meatballs, coconut rice with soy sauce faces, a marshmallow ghost, candy ghost with candy corn, ghostly plum slices, cream cheese and celery ghosts.



Arthur's Halloween by Marc Brown

Arthur has become very afraid of all the spooky Halloween decorations. His little sister does not help him remain calm because she purposely tries to scare him. When Arthur goes trick-or-treating, his little sister disappears into the witch's house at the end of the block. Arthur must face his fear to rescue her. Boogs loves Halloween but has become a bit nervous this year about all of the spooky stuff. He really identified with Arthur in this story. In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j Arthur sandwich, radish "s", orange jack-o-lantern, cheese tombstone, salad with a witch pick riding on a tomato, and yogurt.


This is one of my favorite Halloween-ish lunches from last year:
The Widow's Broom by Chris Van Allsburg

Chris Van Allsburg is one of my favorite children's authors. His illustrations are gorgeous and his stories make the kiddos think and wonder what really happened without outright telling them. In the lunchbox: turkey & cheese sandWITCH, cheesestick broom, pumpkin marshmallow Peep, grapes, carrots, and orange & black Halloween chips.

Now, click the jack-o-lantern button to hop on over to Bento, Monsters to continue the Bento Bloggers and Friends Halloween Hop.
                                                       


Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.

Reunion Ranch

The company my husband works for had a company party this past Saturday at Reunion Ranch. It turned out to be a lot of fun. The sky was pretty gray and it looked like rain when we headed out to the party. There was so much to do on the ranch: mini golf, playscapes, tetherball, a maze, tire swings, basketball courts, paddle boating, pony rides, obstacle course, bingo, "hay" ride, and plenty of open space.  Luckily, it only rained for about an hour. Here are a few pictures from our day:

Part of the playscape.

There were a bunch of tubes attached to the playscape.

Climbing into the center of the maze.

First time on a tire swing.

 

Tetherball - Daddy was the champion.

I love this shot.

The camp organized kid play time. This was a game of balloon tag.

We had some kid-free time. So, we played bingo under the pavillion while it rained.

Boogs loved the pony ride.

Paddle boating was fun.

Obstacle course.

Boogs was FAST!

 It was a really great day of family time!

I linked this post to:

Lunches October 8th - 12th

Boogs' lunches are inspired by the books we read at bedtime the previous evening. Each night, Boogs reads one book to me and I read a book or a chapter of a book to him. I usually post his lunches once a week. Click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post to see lunches from previous weeks.

Crazy Like A Fox: A Simile Story by Loreen Leedy
We love Loreen Leedy's books, especially the ones that play with language. I know I have said it many times, but Boogs really likes to make comparisons. This book is full of well known similes woven into a cute story. Rufus the Fox tricks Babette into following him to a meadow for a special surprise. Boogs had fun trying to guess what each simile would be before turning the page to find the answer. The last page of the book is an activity page with a list of simile starters for the reader to create their own simile story. I read the simile starters to Boogs and he gave me an ending for each one. We are still working on turning them into some kind of story.
Here are Boogs' simile endings:
     As slimy as a slug.
     As useless as a fish on land.
     Messy like a Chipotle burrito.
     Amazing like not getting stabbed by a cactus prickle in a field of cactus.
     As grumpy as a bear woken up in the middle of hibernation or a hungry toad who ALMOST catches a fly.
     As soft as an octopus. (I don't understand his thinking on this one.)
     Tough like a crab shell.
     As loud as mad bears in a parade. (Or this one.)
     Silly like silly string flying everywhere.
     Peas are like eating a slippery sponge with onion sauce and a snail. That's how disgusting peas taste. (This one was my favorite! I went ahead and put peas in another lunch this week anyway.)

In the Laptop lunchbox: pb&j fox sitting on top of "fresh as a daisy" pb&j flower petals, black as coal olives, dark as night blueberries, bright as day cheese sun, swim like a fish Goldfish Crackers, salad, and yogurt.

A closer look.

Here is a lunch I posted last year inspired by a different Loreen Leedy simile book:

There's A Frog In My Throat by Loreen Leedy
Boogs was very intrigued by this book. For the past several years, he has been interested in "sayings". We frequently discuss common idioms, metaphors, and similes. We only read about half of the book at bedtime. The next day, Boogs used a few of the sayings when we were chatting. He really liked his lunch, but did not eat the hornet. In the lunchbox: cereal bar worm for "opening a can of worms" and "the early bird catches the worm", salad for "rabbit food",  ham & cheese for "I've got butterflies in my stomach", tortilla hornet for "mad as a hornet", and strawberries for "red as a lobster".


Shortcut by David Macaulay

This book has nine short chapters that each tell what happened to one individual on a certain day. At first, Boogs did not realize all of the individuals were connected by the cause and effects of their actions. He started flipping pages back and forth to try and find the root causes of some of the things that happened. Boogs said, "This book is funny 'cause it makes me see everything is connected. Do you think it is like that in real life?" We talked a little bit about the butterfly effect (The term butterfly effect was applied in Chaos Theory to suggest that the wing movements of a butterfly might have significant repercussions on wind strength and movements throughout the weather systems of the world, and theoretically, could cause tornadoes halfway around the world.) and how things we do effect others around us. Then we went back and read this book again. In the ELB lunchbox: pb&j pig being pushed by pb&j train, hot air balloon marshmallow floating away, Pirates Booty clouds, veggie chips, and green clover kiwi slices.


LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Boogs picked this book off of the library shelf because of the cute peas all over the front cover. It is an alphabet book filled with peas who are naming their chosen careers and favorite hobbies from A to Z. Boogs loved examining each page to see the actions, clothing, and accessories of the peas. There are yogis in tree pose, miners digging tunnels, eaters, readers, and so many more cute illustrations. We especially liked the P page "We're painters, and plumbers fixing leaks. We're pilots, parachutists, we're peas and we're unique." In the lunchbox: cheese LMN letters, salami O with cheese underneath, peas (Boogs did NOT eat one single pea), pita chips, blueberries, and salad.


Good Job, Sam! by Hadley Ruddock

This was one of Boogs' reading homework books. The story is about a bear who only wants some peace and quiet so he can read his book. Things keep getting in the way of Sam reading his book. He has to clean his room and watch his baby sister. Finally, he gets so tired he falls asleep without getting a chance to read his book. Boogs said he would rather read his books than clean his room. Who wouldn't? I got a late start the morning I made this lunch. Luckily, I had the CuteZcute cutter to quickly make a little bear sandwich. In the Laptop lunchbox: ham & cheese Sam sandwich, Baby sister boiled egg (the face did not show up well and I did not have time to food color its features), orange ball, broccoli, celery, Chex Mix under Sam's boat book pita chip.

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I went back to work about three weeks ago. Last year, I had time to drop Boogs off at school before I came home and got ready for work. This year, I have to be ready to leave when he leaves for school. We are adjusting well to our new morning routine. We used to play card games and do arts/crafts before school but now it is just time to get ready for the day. Boogs said he would rather I spend the 15 minutes making a story lunch than playing half a game of Crazy 8s with him. He still helps me decide what to put in his lunches.

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I link to on my sidebar! If you want to see more book inspired lunches, click on the "lunches" label at the end of this post or go to My Story Themed Lunches board on Pinterest. I would love for you to leave a comment to let me know you stopped by.