Field Trip Time

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch on Monday, we had planned on going last week but Bronze had to work an extra rout on the day we scheduled to go so we rearranged our plans so he could go with us.

 The kids have still been dealing with the sniffles and were slightly groggy while we were there from the allergy meds they had on board.

 

We weren't as impressed as last year but there was still a lot of stuff to do, like practicing your milking skills,

 

 and of course plenty of photo ops.

 

We fed the animals. 

 

Some just watched.

 

Climbing around on cool, old tractors, or your dad, is always fun.

 

There were lots of scarecrowish type characters.

 

Like this one that was in the corn maize, I told the boys to act like they were scared of it and they ended up hugging it. 

 

 So I told Elee to jump in close for a picture with the boys, yeah right!

 

We started our trek through the maize with Eliad leading the way.

 

But after a short way we found a map and our more serious adventurers decided to use this to determine the right rout.

 

After making our way back to wide open spaces it was time to pick out a pumpkin. They boys picked their pumpkins and grabbed a seat but Elee wandered the field for quite some time. I kept trying to help her find one but she was determined to find her own.

 

Finally, the perfect little pumpkin!

  

We had to wait a while for the hayride because there was a big school group.

 

We only got a short trip though because the tractor pulling us wouldn't stay running.

 

We finished up back at the play area and let the kids run around a little longer, there was a great big slide they really enjoyed.

 

Even Elee was brave enough for this.

Ardon and Bronze wound up leaping from hay bales chasing each other like crazy people so they managed to skip out on the last pictures I took.

We had a nice time and after letting everyone run around a bit longer we packed up our pumpkins and headed home for lunch!

 

On a Day With the Sniffles

when it's too chilly to play outside with runny noses, we have to find other things to entertain ourselves while Ardon does school. Today I pulled out the craft tub and just let them rummage through everything. It was a bit of a mess but served its purpose. Of course with all the excitement everyone had to check it out at one point.

Smells of the Season

Today they are pumpkin pie and snickerdoodle at my house! We have had the house opened up all day enjoying the cool air. Since this weather puts me in the mood to bake, I decided to keep the big kids out with me during quiet time to help out in the kitchen. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the process, I was too busy trying to keep flour in the mixing bowl and egg shells out, but here are the fruits of our labor!

Crash

After a busy day filled with church, afternoon playtime with cousins and a surprise evening visit from grandma and aunts it's hard to avoid the inevitable.

Running Critter Companions

I usually go for a run in the evenings, Bronze will do something with the kids and I typically run at or around Sedgwick county park. I see a lot of animals as I go along, there are the usual birds and crazy squirrels that I have to dodge but quite often I see skunks :-/ and occasional deer. The other day I came along this guy who was standing in the middle of the path. As I ran past he started running right along side me and when I stopped to take his picture he stopped to pose. I was a little concerned that he could have rabies or something but as I resumed running he just stood there and watched me.

A Morning Treat... or not!

Our dog has a really laid back nature when it comes to food, for instance,  if you "throw" a hot dog to her she will stand there while it hits her in the face then stare at it on the ground as if you actually expect her to pick it up and do something with it. She is however highly motivated by attention and interaction with people. She proved this again by excitedly chomping away at crabapples this morning as the boys fed them to her as quickly as they could pick them from the tree.

Nature Walk

During our time off we spent a lot of time outside since the weather was so nice. One afternoon we went on a nature walk and saw some different critters along the way.

A Birthday

While we were on vacation Elee and I both celebrated our birthdays. We started the week off with mine and ended it with hers. It was a fun way to spend our time off. Here are some pictures from her birthday, my Uncle let us borrow a big, inflatable bounce house and of course I somehow didn't get pictures but all the kids had a blast on it.