Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Carving our pumpkin

Ever since we bought a pumpkin, 3 weeks ago, Michael has been asking when we could carve it. Well this weekend we finally carved it! 

He wanted our pumpkin to have a scary face, so he drew out what he wanted it to look like. 

I love a 5 year olds version of scary! 

Daddy has the job of carving, while I get to sort through the guts and pull out all of the seeds for roasting. 


Michael was so happy with how it turned out and loves to go light it every night. 

Just a side note, but as I was elbow deep in pumpkin guts, this overwhelming feeling of nostalgia came over me and I was flooded with memories of my childhood. All of us sitting on our picnic table in upstate New York, drawing our faces, dad carving the face, us kids pulling all of the guts out. All of it was wonderful! Happy memories from childhood! 


Monday, October 19, 2015

Grandad's Apples, Hendersonville, NC

Yesterday, we went back to Grandad's Apples in Hendersonville, NC, but with my in-laws this time. 

These was a lot colder than last week. Last week was shorts and t-shirts, this week was long pants, and coats. It was just as crowded and still just as much fun! I tried to get some different pictures than I got last week. 

Michael and Maggie ride the cow train! 


And we fed the animals again. This week we fed the donkey. 


Then we picked out a pumpkin to bring home, which we didn't do last week. 


The kids played on the giant tube swing and on the giant hay bales. 


It was a fun afternoon, and next year we need to remember to get there around 4, because that is when it started to empty out. 






Sunday, October 18, 2015

Michael's Field Trip to the Farm

On Friday, Michael had his very first field trip! They went to Black's Peaches in York, SC. I was lucky enough to be able to go with him! It was a fun day of learning all about the farm. 



First stop, learning about sunflowers. 

They got to hold one, smell it, and even pick a seed out of it. 


The next stop was the animal barn. We saw goats, chickens, a horse and a cow.




The kids got to pet the horse too!

After the animals, we went to the Milking Varna to learn how to milk a cow! 

This is Michael with his partner for the day, Elyse! 

And here is Michael milking a "cow"! 

Next up was the Hayride! That is what all of the kids were super excited about! 


After the hayride, the kids went through the hay bale maze. 


After going through the maze a couple of times, it was time to learn about how cotton grows. 

And go on the slides!



Then it was play time. They had a tire "dragon" to play on and some swings made from hay bales. 




Then it was story time in the three little pigs house! But the pigs had to stay outside! 

After story time, we learned all about corn. It's amazing how many products have corn in them! 


Checking out the corn husk tee-pee. 


The last activity for the day was the corn maze. The kids got through it very fast. 


They were all so hungry and ready for lunch! At school, they eat lunch at 10:30, and by this time it was already 12:30. So, after the maze, we headed up to the barn for lunch. Then it was time to head back to school. Michael chose to ride the bus back, cause that was much more fun then my van! 

We had a great day, and in so glad that I was able to too! 




















Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch 2015

On Sunday, we made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. This year, we went back to Grandad's Apple Farm. They had added a lot of fun stuff for the kids this year! It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. The whole family was actually there this year again, like in 2011 when we all went together.

He's getting tall!

They added a ton of fun kids activities this year. This was a big swing made out of a giant tube.

Just hanging out with the big bear!
And the giant gorilla!

Michael got to feed the pig!


My boys!

Michael and Leilani 


They also put up this giant pillow to jump on. Michael loves this!

Taking a break from bouncing!

Back to swing! I love Becky's expression as she was pushing it!

Out little scarecrow family

Riding the cow train!

There they go!

Before we left, we had to get some of their Apple cider doughnuts!

What a great fall afternoon!