Pumpkins, Pirates and Patches

   Halloween snuck up on us this year and we weren't able to have our costume party because of all of the goings on, but none the less we carved a pumpkin and took our trick or treaters out for some candy.

   Dalton is always excited to carve a pumpkin, and I'm excited to let him tackle that activity. All three boys watched and the older two helped all they could. We all let out a little happy squeal when we lit the candle in it outside (well, Dalton probably didn't squeal).

   If we'd have had our party we were all going to dress as Indians, but since we didn't we let Cooper pick their costume for the year. He chose pirates, which worked out great since we could borrow a pirate costume from Karper for Tucker! They were so very cute. We did a preview night before halloween so that Mere Mere and Popsey could see the costumes (they had to go out of town).

    Then on halloween we loaded up our pirates (after a quick photo session at home) and headed to town. We swung by the square to look at the firetruck (we were going to trunk or treat there but the line was too long and we didn't need candy that bad!).

   Then we got 50 cent corn dogs at Sonic and headed to the Heartfield's house, our starting and ending point. The pirates visited with Nana, Aunt Ellen, Uncle Charles and the cousins, then we walked around the neighborhood for a bit. Cooper was very into the whole process, Ace not so much. Tucker made it to a couple houses then decided he was still hungry so he headed back with Dalton. I continued on with Cooper and Ace and let them go to a few more houses. Ace got into the stroller and then refused to go up to any houses. He was finished and just wanted to ride. At one house a man came out to the road and tried to give Ace candy….Ace responded by holding his bad closed and saying no. Sometimes I'm so embarrassed by his rudeness!!!
    We accomplished the mission though and had fun too.

    The next day we went to Stephenville after lunch to go to a pumpkin patch that a friend told us about. You know me, if there's a reason to go to Stephenville I'm going to take advantage of it! We stopped by Dalton's former employer on the way (he worked for them in college) and visited for a bit. Then drove on to the Lone Star Family Farms. It was so fun!

Slip n Slide!! 

     There were big slides that we started and ended our visit with. Then the boys climbed on stacks of hay, made their way through hay bale mazes and rode a stick horse around some barrels. 

    Next we took a hay ride around the place and took advantage of a few photo opportunities. Then we found the kiddie corn maze and wandered around in there a while. There was an adult one too, but they said it would take an hour or more to go through it so we skipped that!

    Once we knew it was close to getting time to go we let the boys go to the corn-struction site, a huge pit filled with corn seeds and machines. They loved this and we had to drag them out of there, Tucker even had a good time feeling the seeds under his hands and feet.

Dalton gave the boys a little lesson on cotton too.

   After a few more slides we headed out, very satisfied with our experience. I think we should do something like that here. It's not only a great attraction but I think it could be a money maker. Dalton didn't see it that way….oh how opposite we are. I saw a seasonal profit machine that would be fun to manage and plan while Dalton saw expense after expense and a lot of work for himself, ha! If you ever see a pumpkin patch in Graham you'll know which one of us prevailed. ; )

Corny fun!

     We had all worked up an appetite so we went to a local Mexican food restaurant and ate supper. It was delicious and the boys behaved well (probably due to their exhaustion). It was a great experience and one of those family days that I love, where we get to do something simple a fun, everyone gets along and the memory is a positive one. Or maybe I just love days when we do things for the kids….not throw in something for them after a day filled with our to dos, but just something to bring them joy. And when they have a good time, so do we.

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying 'what shall we eat?' or 'what shall we drink?' or 'what shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33

Campout!

     Once again I'm so behind on my blogs. Two weddings behind in fact! But I don't want to neglect our other happenings so I'll pick up where I left off last time. I'll probably miss some details but you'll get the gist anyway.

     We've been talking about camping for a while now. We went camping when Ace was 1, but haven't  been camping since. So we were determined to camp this fall, though we knew that it would be somewhere around the house because we couldn't go far with an 11 month old. We picked the weekend before Halloween, which theoretically should have been cool. Unfortunately we went through a warming trend and it was pretty warm during the day. That night however it was nice and cool, a perfect time to camp.

     One things about camping….it doesn't matter if you camp 20 yards from the house or 200 miles, you still have to load up the same amount of stuff and haul it to the site. In this case we decided to camp down by the big tank.

     We waited until it was closer to sunset and then loaded up all of our gear and food into the heavy chevy and headed to our spot. Dalton set up the tent while the boys gathered firewood and I snapped pictures. Dalton is a very meticulous camper and gets a little intense at the site. I always laugh a little because of his seriousness, but am thankful for it too. If I were in charge we'd have an un-level tent full of dirt and an unorganized site.

 

    Once the tent was up, he started the fire, which was of course exciting for the boys. Tucker wanted to venture to the fire but we had to keep him back. Then everyone was hungry all at once. We roasted hot dogs over the fire. We let Ace roast his but made a little switcheroo when it was time to eat….his had a lot of dirt, burns and ash on it. Cooper on the other hand was a very serious roaster and did a great job of keeping it over the fire but not in it. We asked him about his technique and he said he roasted it until there "were lots of mountains on it" then it was done (referring to the bubbles that come on the surface as you roast…he's so funny). Tucker didn't get to roast, but he helped eat. I gave him a baby food pouch, but it wasn't enough so he sampled the hot dog too.

    Next came my favorite part of campouts…smores. About this time everyone was going crazy. Tucker was crazy tired and flopping around everywhere, the boys were starting to act like coons and get into the food and try to find the marshmallows, and we were losing the light fast. I looked at Dalton and we just laughed at the moment and the fact that our campsite went from happy fun to out of control chaos in about 1 minute.

    We were able to get the smores made though and they were delicious! I've taken to making mine with Reeces and it is delicious. The boys got classic Hersey's and it was pretty good too (yes I might have had a smidgen of theirs too).
     After dessert we packed up the food. Dalton wanted to light a gas lantern, but after spilling the matches and realizing there wasn't enough fuel in it, he grumpily gave it up (part of his organized camping plan is using a gas lantern). I used a flashlight to put the food away…important because we knew coons lived in the trees around us. Then we took a family walk around the tank, walking by flashlight. This was fun and by the time we got back Tucker was just about asleep. Originally we'd planned on Tucker and I heading to the house at this point, but we weren't finished having fun so we just put him to sleep in the tent.

      Then we told stories about coons and equipment around the campfire and the boys were ready to go to bed. Finally we were all piled into the tent staring up at the stars through the netted top. It was so beautiful! I kept thinking how different it must have been to do this in the 'olden days' as people traveled across by wagons. Then I asked Dalton where he would imagine us to be if we could be camping anywhere in the country. He said he'd open the tent to a big lake. I said the mountains, in a little valley with birch trees around.
     I finally stopped staring at the stars and tried to go to sleep, but then the cats started pushing against the tent sides, wanting to join us. Dalton and I had another laugh as we pushed them away and hoped they didn't try to climb the tent.
     It was a pretty good night, really good by camping standards. The boys didn't wake up much. Well, Cooper did wet his pallet so he moved to the foot of our mattress. The little boys stirred some but milk was available so we were good.

 

    The most excitement was when coon fights broke out during the night. I think they were between the coons and Max most of the time. It sounded fierce and very close but the boys didn't even wake up! We all woke up the next morning to a dew covered campsite. Excited that we'd accomplished our mission and survived the night we exited the tent and headed to the house. Dalton had to go work some cows, so he left us. We went back to the site and gathered all of the stuff that needed washing and the food, then headed back again.
    It was a successful trip and I'm so glad that we went on our camping adventure. In the spring we'll be ready to venture off our property and camp! Woo hoo.

    That evening we went to a pumpkin carving party. It was so fun and our pumpkin won 3rd place. We enjoyed making new friends and celebrating the season. Fall is so great!

"Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him all the stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away." Psalms 148:3-6