Pumpkins

To celebrate my birthday we spent a Saturday at our favorite local farm where we picked pumpkins, bought apples, and went through the corn maze.  Kate picked her pumpkin out pretty fast and Clara was happy to take a ride and pick the pumpkin mommy picked for her, but Sawyer took his job really seriously and spent a lot of time finding the perfect pumpkin.  It was a beautiful fall day and a great way to spend my birthday!

Closer to Halloween we carved the pumpkins.  I made Clara an Elmo pumpkin, which she got excited about after I explained to her what it was.  The kids had fun choosing designs out of the books you can buy and carving them out mostly on their own.

Preschool Pumpkin Patch

This year I joined with a few moms to do a co-op preschool twice a week. Saturday night in Sawyer's prayer before he went to bed he said, "grateful tomorrow is Sunday and the next day is Monday and the next day is preschool day." That just about sums up how he feels about preschool. He is always asking, "Mom, is today preschool day?" or "How many days until preschool day?" and then he counts down the days, literally. We have a good group of 4 little kids that play really well together and I am just loving all the moms. We have planned at least one field trip each month and this month we went to a pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. It was a foggy and chilly morning but the kids loved it!

We took a little hayride out to the patch

They had a corn stalk tee pee that the kids could explore inside

Sawyer found the perfect pumpkin

Writing his name on it

This little kitten followed us around the whole time. At first one of the moms was holding him and asked if anyone wanted to hold him. Sawyer said he did, but when his friend Scott went first and the kitty jumped on top of his head and took a rest there Sawyer wasn't so excited anymore. But he did enjoy petting her!

Showing off their pumpkins

After we found our pumpkins the sun came out and the fog burned off and it warmed up a bit. The kids played in the sand box they had while the moms talked. It was a great preschool morning!

Riverview Farms

On Saturday we went back to Riverview Farms, where Kate's field trip was, with the whole family. We picked Honeycrisp apples (my favorite, and every time I got to the store I buy the last few on the shelf...so we stocked up!!) and picked out some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. We also bought some apple cider, went on a hayride, and played in a big pile of fall leaves. It was a nice, warm day, perfect to be outside enjoying nature!


Sawyer and Kate as the first Royal Governor or New Hampshire

The kids loved finding worms under the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch

Happy Fall!

Oil Ranch

Every fall we have had here in Houston we have gone as a family to Dewberry farms and loved it. They are unfortunately only open on weekends and this year Ryan couldn't find a Saturday off so we had to switch it up and head to the Oil Ranch. It was nice because it wasn't nearly as crowded, although the crowds that were there were all school groups. Crazy school groups. We had fun riding horses, milking cows, getting lost in a little hay maze that ended in a big metal slide that made me nostalgic. Kate was scared but brave, Sawyer was brave but almost fell off and Ryan was excited but...a little old. There was also a train ride and a tractor ride that led you to an area with a few cows that you could feed. I have never been that close to a cow and I never want to be again! Those things are huge and have huge wet, slimy noses and they were AGRESSIVE going after our little cow cookies. We all got slimed. On the way out we bought the kids some cotton candy and they got to pick a little pumpkin out of a pile. Kate took the job really seriously and spent a lot of time choosing the perfect pumpkin. By the end we were exhausted. It was a hot afternoon and we are excited that it is more than likely our last pumpkin patch excursion in near 90 degree weather.