Last Minute Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I love creating and carrying on traditions for our family and our annual trip to Burt's Pumpkin Farm is one I look forward to every single year.  We've been going there every October since Handley was 4 months old.  Until this year.  My plan was for us to go last weekend, but then we ended up at the lake.  It was a split decision and I lost.  The kids were really still begging for a pumpkin patch trip and I was dying for the photo op, so we planned to visit one this evening after school.  We went to Berry Patch Farms in Woodstock. It was much closer than Burt's, which is why we chose it.  It also had a hayride, which is a biggie for the kids as far as a pumpkin patch goes.  

Hudson loved sitting on the tractor and pretending to drive. I had to peel him off when someone else was wanting a turn for a picture.  

He perked right up when he saw this crazy pumpkin on display.  The girls said it looked like corn.  

Hudson loved it so much he wanted his picture taken with it and Harper snuck in at the last minute.  

We took the short hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect ones. 

Unfortunately, a lot of them looked like this: 

I guess that is what we get for waiting until the day before Halloween.  They did have a buy one, get one free deal going on though so we were able to find two good ones to bring home and a little baby one that Hudson wanted.

The kids spotted a lone pumpkin that had rolled down a big hill and went off to "rescue" it.

Next year I will plan better and our trip to the pumpkin patch will be back to our normal tradition, but thankfully, this one worked out great for this year.  The kids had fun, I got my pictures, and we have pumpkins for Halloween!

Last Lake Day of the Year

We brought our boat home from the lake house a few months ago when we knew we wouldn't be back up there.  Robby's been itching to take it out somewhere around here, but our weekends have been so busy that it just didn't look like it was going to happen.

Then on Sunday, the last week of October, the high was 84 degrees and he was not about to take no for an answer.  I had other plans...I wanted us to make our annual trip to a pumpkin patch for family fun and photos.  We are having a Halloween party and we don't even have pumpkins!  We all agreed that we would do the lake on Sunday and then go to a pumpkin patch one afternoon this week after school. We have got to have the photo op, the kids are dying to do a hayride and we have to have pumpkins for our party on Friday!

Gigi and Papa ended up coming with us for the day which was great! The lake was fun and the weather was gorgeous, but the water was COLD!!!  The kids really wanted to swim, but after a quick dip in, they were pretty quick to climb back into the boat.

They were excited to see Walker swim for the first time and to introduce him to the boat.

Robby wanted to wake-board and Hudson wanted to go with him so those two fools braved the cold.

Then Handley decided to go for a quick run, too!

 Overall, it was a great day and Walker did great on his first boat ride.  We can't wait until next summer when he can really enjoy the lake with us all summer long!

Proud Mama

I am one proud mama.  Yesterday I had their parent/teacher conferences and got their report cards for the first quarter.  I was pretty sure they were both doing well from all of the things that get sent home, but it is always nice to see the actual grades and hear the praises from their teachers.  They are both doing excellent in their classes and excelling in so many ways.  I couldn't be more proud of both of them.

They are both also great about taking on responsibility at home.  They love doing chores to help me out and to help them earn rocks for their reward jars.  Every Monday Harper takes her job of collected trash around the house very seriously and Handley is constantly taking Walker out for me.  I don't know what I'd do without their help!

Speaking of Walker, I took him for his next round of vaccines yesterday and he had gained 6 lbs in 3 weeks.  Almost doubling his weight!  No doubt that this sweet little puppy is growing like crazy!

Last night the game that was cancelled on Saturday played.  The girls thought it was so much fun to cheer at night under the big lights, just like the high school cheerleaders.  They were also really excited because a few people weren't there and the stunt groups got changed around.  They practiced on the track before half-time and Harper got to be a flyer in Handley's group.  They were so cute and all of the girls did an awesome job on their half-time routine.

Then when we got home the you-know-what hit the fan.  It was late, everyone was tired, and if it could have gone wrong, it did.  Hudson didn't want to go to bed, Handley came down complaining of a toothache, Walker pooped all over the floor and Harper came down crying because she couldn't go to sleep.

(Side note - Harper decided she was finally ready to stop sucking her thumb and biting her nails so yesterday afternoon she let me paint on some stuff on her nails that a friend told me about.  It was her first night not being able to suck her thumb so that is why she couldn't fall asleep).

All of this was happening while I was sitting down and trying to eat dinner, after 9:30 PM. Needless to say after I got all of that taken care of I finally sat down with my dinner and a big glass of wine!

Camping, Sleepovers, and a 1st Birthday Party

On Friday Harper's teacher sent me this picture of the two of them at recess.

She said Harper is her little buddy and loves to hang close to her when they are outside.  Harper adores her teacher and I do, too!

Friday night Robby took Hudson on his first ever camping trip.  They left right after school and headed for the mountains.  Uncle Ryan and Rylan went along with them and it sounds like they had all sorts of fun.  When Hudson got back on Saturday he was so excited to tell me about sleeping in a tent, finding sticks in the woods, and asked when he could go camping again.

While the boys were off on their camping trip, the girls had friends over for a sleepover.  We made pizzas, rice crispy treats, did crafts, and finally settled in for a movie before bed.

They were up at the crack of dawn, but loved playing dress-up and loved playing with Walker, too!

On Saturday afternoon we had the girls game, but since there was some sort of mix-up with the referees who didn't show up, the game was post-poned until one night this week.  It was kind of a bummer because Gigi and Papa had come to see the girls cheer, but they did take the girls back to their house for a sleepover that night, so the girls didn't mind.

This afternoon we helped this cutie celebrate her 1st birthday!

She had a sweet party with our dinner club friends at a fun bouncy location.  The kids all loved it and the adults loved catching up.  We were all so excited because it was the first time we all got to meet Bryce and Sarah's sweet new baby boy.  It was also the first time we had all been together in quite some time so a group shot was definitely in order!

 I'm sure Jen will be sharing details of her party on our Magnolia Mama blog later this week, so be sure to check it out for all of the adorable details!

Modelers

Someone I met recently works for an online children's clothing company and asked me if I would be interested in the girls modeling some clothes for them. I knew the girls would love it so I said yes.  Earlier this week she came over to take some pictures of them in a few different things and the items Harper wore got featured tonight on Facebook.  

Both girls had so much fun and talked the rest of the day about how they were "modelers."  So cute!  

While they were in the picture taking mode, I took full advantage to finally get some updated pictures for some frames I bought for our playroom.  It took a lot of bribing candy corn to get them all to cooperate, but I was able to get some decent shots for these frames so I can finally get them hung!  

And lastly, Walker, our sweet little puppy, is doing awesome.  He is growing bigger each week and I can tell he is settling in well to being a part of our family.  We all love him and like getting as many puppy kisses as possible.

Tonight the girls are enjoying having friends over here for a sleepover and Robby and Hudson are enjoying a boys only camping trip.  Be sure to check back for details about both events tomorrow!

Weekend Fun

Over the weekend we had lots of fun.  Saturday morning I sat through a rainy football game to watch the girls cheer.  Let's just say I have a new appreciation for my parents and all of the rainy games they sat through when I was cheering.  Not the most enjoyable experience.

Later that afternoon we had plans to attend the pre-school fall festival.  However, the weather wasn't cooperating, so we ended up back at home waiting on the sunshine so we could make our way to the elementary school fall festival that was later on. Thankfully, the afternoon ended up being gorgeous and we had a great time.

The kids decorated cookies, painted pumpkins, got their faces painted and bounced in the inflatables!

After that the girls had a special treat to have a sleepover with a friend.  They were both excited and so happy to be spending the night out.  While they did that, Hudson, Robby and I ate Zaxby's for dinner and watched football.  It was the perfect way to relax at the end of a long day.

After we got the girls back on Sunday we all loaded up for lunch at RT.  I still can't believe I have never eaten at one of their fresh-mex locations.  It didn't disappoint and the kids were thrilled to get frozen yogurt for dessert.

And one other quick picture to share.  We have a crate downstairs for Walker for when we leave the house and another one in our bedroom for at night.  Hudson loves climbing in and making himself comfy.  Ha!  He's such a nut sometimes! :-)

The Art Barn - Kindergarten Field Trip

Today I got to go with Harper's class and all of the Kindergarteners on a field trip to the Art Barn.  They have been studying farms and farm animals, so this trip was the perfect way to wrap up their unit.

We've been to the Art Barn several times before, but never with a large group so things were a little different for us this time.  It was so organized though and the weather was gorgeous so it made the perfect day. The kids all had a blast and learned a lot. I loved getting to see all of the fun they had and enjoyed getting to know each of them a little more outside of the classroom.

Each group went to 5 different stations:  painting, chickens, barnyard animals, honey bees and tractor ride.

I thought Harper was just a little timid around our new puppy and dogs in general, but after today I realized it's all animals that make her a little nervous.  In the barn yard, she wasn't the least bit interested in petting any of the animals and was happy to see them from afar.  At the chicken station they got to either pet or hold baby chicks and a big hen. She opted to just pet each of them, but her teacher didn't get the choice. Farmer Sue, who runs the Art Barn, had Ms. Gergel holding a feisty rooster and taking it around to show all of the kids.  She was a great sport about it and the kids thought their teacher was so cool for doing that!

A ton of the kids fell asleep on the bus on the way back to school and as soon as I got home I was ready to collapse.  It was exhausting, but totally worth it to get to spend the day with my sweet Harper!

Baby Boy, Football, and My Carpool Buddy

On Sunday evening we went over to Trey and Stefanie's house for a little gender reveal party.  They are expecting their second child in March and had a fun little way to tell everyone if it would be a boy or girl.  The kids had a blast running around outside and playing.

Uncle Trey played the part of football player and cheerleader!  He's such a good sport.  :-)

After dinner it was time for the big reveal and after cutting into the cake we all saw blue icing!  We were all very excited for them and the kids can't wait to have a new cousin.

The weather has been gorgeous here so today Jen and I decided to meet up at a local park and let our boys (and Mackenzie) play and enjoy a picnic.

Parker and Hudson spent a long time playing football, which is Hudson's favorite game right now.  He loves kicking it, he loves throwing it, and he loves pretending to recover a fumble.  It's the cutest!

This little guy has been going with me everywhere I can take him.  Yesterday he was at cheerleading practice with us and today he had fun at the park.  He brings lots of attention to himself everywhere we go just by being his cute little self and I'm happy to have such a sweet carpool buddy!