Pumpkins for my punkins

With the kids on Fall Break for three days this week and an abundance of FABULOUSLY BEAUTIFUL WEATHER (let me just say that this fall is knocking the socks off of last fall, when we'd had 5.5 inches of snow already!), we thought it was the perfect time to hit the pumpkin patch!  (See the kids' shirts in the picture below?  They are SHORT-SLEEVED!  I think this is the first time they haven't donned at least jackets on our annual pumpkin patch trip!)

Our favorite pumpkin patch, the Big Red Barn & Pumpkin Farm, is no longer operating (big BIG sad faces on our part), so we tried a new one this year.  We headed to Pooley's Pumpkin Patch.   They had all sorts of fun things that were just perfect for my kids.  Our first stop....the baby chickens.

They were the CUTEST little things I've seen in such a long time.  And the kids ALL thought so, too.

Grandma is showing Samantha how to safely catch the baby chicks.

Easton LOVED the baby chicks...he was talking up a storm to them!

Samantha was so proud of herself for catching and holding the baby chicks.

Hudson worked so hard to catch one of these little guys, and when he finally did, he decided it wasn't as fun as he thought it would be (what with the flapping wings and squeaking and all), so he shut his eyes and dropped the chick.

I LOVE this picture of Samantha!  She was very good at catching baby chicks, and so proud to hold them.  She couldn't wait to go back and see them at the end of the day.

Easton also loved the chicks.  I have a video of him "clucking".  He thought it was pretty cute and wanted to touch it SO badly, until he actually DID touch it, and then the whole wing flapping and squeaking issue got to him, too...but he still stood there and watched them and "talked" to them.  So sweet!

After our stop at the chicken coop, it was time to hit the ... TRACTORS!  Of course!  We couldn't go to the pumpkin patch and not see tractors.

I cannot figure out why Hunter did not take a picture on the tractors....I think it's because he was so FASCINATED by the corn maze BEHIND the tractors (which maybe wasn't such a good thing because we got, um, SEPARATED from Hunter in the Corn Maze)....

I love this picture because you can see, without even looking at their faces, the sheer excitement these boys have for CORN!  They are thrilled to be "among" the cornstalks -- must be why their daddy calls them the "Children of the Corn".

Easton was a trooper -- he was having a BLAST running through the corn maze!

This is Hunter JUST before he got a little too far ahead of us and ended up at the exit of the maze long before the rest of us...being the smart boy that he is, he thought he'd head back to the last place he saw us...the start of the maze.  Fortunately, this maze was a short one and I could easily find him by the cries.  Poor guy!

I think they might be future "Amazing Race" competitors!  They are very good at finding their way through the cornfields!

Poor Easton fell down...

...a lot.  But he kept right on plugging!

I just thought this was a cool picture.  :)

After the corn maze, we had to stop at the pedal tractor track....

Poor buddy -- he was getting tired by this time.

After a quick race (or seven), it was time to catch the Hayrack Ride.

Easton was very happy to be outside and was telling Grandma all about the cows and chickens.

I know he looks mad, but he was just telling me a story about the BIG pumpkin he was going to get...more about that in a minute.

I just love that face.  Those blue eyes, those sweet little baby lips.  I'm cherishing every second with my last baby.

There's my gorgeous girl!  She eyed a pumpkin on the hayrack ride and hiked 1/4 mile back up the hill to get it.  Can we say determined?

Now my mom is such a trooper and always joins me on our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  (This is a huge blessing, and something all of the kids and I look forward to...and I think maybe she does, too!)  Mom and I learned a big lesson this year, though.  I had told the kids that they could only get a pumpkin they could carry by themselves.  This was a GREAT idea until....

...Hudson found a pumpkin that HE could lift and carry back to the Hayrack Ride.  Let me just tell you folks, this thing weighed in at over 22 L-Bs.  Check it out!

So lesson learned...NEXT YEAR, the kids can choose any pumpkin that they can carry by the stem with ONE HAND and the stem can't break off of it.  (I'm sure they'll find a way around it next year, too, but hopefully we won't walk out with pumpkins that weigh as much as my kids!)  Here's a few other pictures of my punkins picking pumpkins (and Samantha is not in these because, as said before, she hiked 1/4 mile back up the field to get hers).

Isn't this a cool pumpkin?  Hunter found it and Grandma thought it was so cool with it's green stripes that he gave it to her to take home.

When it was all said and done, we needed a wagon to carry all of our pumpkins to get weighed and hauled back to the van.  Luckily, I have muscle-man Hudson to help me with all of my heavy-lifting (as noted by the 22-lb pumpkin earlier).

We couldn't have asked for a greater day...we had a blast, and it was topped off by yummy treats from Grandma (treats we don't normally get to enjoy at the pumpkin patch... snow cones and pink lemonade!)

Can you believe that I have MORE pictures of the pumpkin patch?  If you want to see them...click here.

Happy FALL, y'all!
-Alyssa

Soccer stars and sprained ankles

Samantha has spent the last few months playing soccer again.  A week ago, she twisted her ankle during a game and ended up with a sprain.  Do you think that stopped her?  Not Samantha!  She was back in the game defending the goal within minutes, practicing full-out two days later at practice, and scoring goals like a mad-woman this past Saturday!  Here's a few pictures from that game...

Easton saw Samantha having such a great time playing soccer that he needed to practice his ball-handling skills!

Hunter and Hudson enjoy watching Samantha's games, too, but this time they enjoyed showing their friend Zach (who is Madison's brother -- Madison is Samantha's best friend) all the fun they have with tractors.

Wordless Wednesday

This is my first iheartfaces photo challenge.

Summer Lovin'...had me a blast (part 3)!

What summer would be complete without....WATER?

In addition to spending time in boats and at lakes, the kids had a great time at a sprayground (aka sprinkler park) as well as at the Mahoney Park Aquatic Center.  The picture above is actually of the kids relaxing in the wave pool there.  (And they NEEDED to relax -- those waves were INTENSE!!) 

There were two water slides that the kids went down all by themselves.  And Samantha even went off the diving board for the very first time!  She did great!  A girl in front of her went off the board and needed some lifeguard assistance to get to the ladder -- this concerned Samantha a bit, but she went off the board and got right over to the ladder without ANY problems! 

The kids went CRAZY at the sprayground!  Hunter couldn't get enough of it!

Even Easton enjoyed the time there -- he had just learned to walk, and was SO proud of himself for going through the water!  (I must admit, though, that it took him a few times...have you ever watched a little one walk through water?  It hits them in the face and they stop and shut their eyes and try to get out of it but can't because they keep walking right into the spray.  It's definitely good for a great laugh, and he was laughing, too!)

Hudson thought he needed help, though, so he carried him all over.

So, of course, that meant that Samantha needed to help, too!  Easton is lucky to have such great older siblings!

It's amazing to me how much better my kids are in the water now than they were at the beginning of the summer.  Between swimming lessons and simply being in the water (weather it's a lake or a pool), made such a difference for them this year.  I can't wait to see how they do next summer!

Summer Lovin'....had me a blast (part 2)!

In our house, the last full weekend of July is reserved for one thing -- a trip to Yankton, SD.  Every year, my dad's family (all EIGHT siblings and many of their kids -- it's nearly impossibly for all of us to make it) gather for a family campout at Lewis & Clark State Recreation Area.  Gavin's Point Dam is located here and there's a HUGE lake.  We've been holding this family weekend for so long that I have lost count of years.  I remember my youngest cousins on that side of the family being babies, and now two of them are in college!  Since Christmas and Thanksgiving are so jam-packed and we often don't get to spend those holidays with my aunts and uncles on that side of the family, we try be there whenever possible even though we no longer spend the night and are only up there for one day.  (Camping with four little ones isn't really an easy thing, but in a few years, we'll be able to spend the entire weekend!)

To say that the kids look forward to their time boating and being outdoors is, well, a huge understatement.  They LOVE to be outside and on the boat.  My parents bring their boat, as do several of my aunts and uncles.

This year, the temperatures were pretty cool so there weren't TONS of boats on the water.  It was so nice!  Samantha tried to waterski, and Matt spent quite a bit of time in the tube with the kids.

Because there so little boat traffic and the kids have gotten to be so much more comfortable in the water this year, we let Samantha and Hudson ride alone in the tube.  (Mommy did hold her breath the entire time, I must admit.)

Even Easton took a turn in the tube...while were stopped and swimming in the water.

Easton also thought it was TONS of fun to drive the boat with Poppa. (Even though the picture below does not seem to show that he loved it, he really did enjoy it!  He was laughing and smiling, until I tried to snap a picture!

And he spent LOTS of time in the water.  Have I mentioned that this child is part fish?  No, seriously.  I mean it.  I think we need to check for gills.

In all, it was another great Saturday in Yankton -- we are already excited about next year's weekend!