Punkin' Pickin' II

This weekend the kids and I went with Nanno and Mimi to our usual pumpkin patch. It never fails that I pick an intensely sunny day for this. The hayride is always sooooo hot, but the kids love it.

Because who wouldn't love getting to see exotic animals?

The hayride weaves through pastures where the animals are kept pausing at each one, and then it stops at the pumpkin patch and playground. The kiddos ran straight out to pick their pumpkins.

And, then they played.

Sophia was a little upset when she couldn't play in the corn box (Thank you, allergies), but she recovered quickly and had a blast climbing and swinging and running through the maze.

We loaded back onto the wagon with our pumpkins and headed to the main building where there were much needed refreshments and more animals.

And, photo ops...of course. Not that my kids ever pose for those.

Maybe I should've brought  candy. Do you think that would convince them to all smile at once?

The animals were the clear winners here. The kids were enamored.

We all had loads of fun, but I'm still brainstorming ways to do this at home. Okay, so the camel and tortoise are out, but we've got the space and the hay bales and the tractor and trailer. We could even make it totally allergy friendly for Sophia. Not having to say, "Sorry. Your allergic." would be so nice. And, we wouldn't have to drive or stand in line! Can you tell I'm a homebody?

Visiting and Indoor Camping

Mimi is up for a visit, and the kids are so excited. She's been living in Brazil for the past year, but we're glad she's back stateside for awhile. I wish my camera phone wasn't broken. (Sob.) I've missed some cute photo ops of her and the kiddos. Monday she spent the day with us, and that evening we had a cookout with my parents. I lugged the 'real' camera out and at least got a few cute ones.

The kids found a fallen branch. First it was Fall, and Levi started plucking leaves off of it while Sophia danced under it. Then it was Christmas with presents (balls) under the "tree". Next it morphed into spring with daffodils and green leaves. So often these days the kids wander just out of earshot while they are playing. I don't always get to hear what their sweet imaginations are churning up. It's always fun to get a little peak in.

After dinner Mimi headed back to her mom's house, and Stephan and I took the kids home for Indoor Camping Night. Oh. My. Stars. It was such fun. Stephan set the beach tent up in our living room. He had plenty of help. On Sophia's face you can spy the chocolatey remains of the grilled 'banana boats' that we had for dessert.

Once we got the tent up and the blankets spread out, we made our campfire.

And, out came the shadow puppets for a little bedtime fun. I got the house and animal templates from here. For the girl and boy I just googled silhouette girl/boy images for inspiration.

Stephan told a story with them, and then the kids had a ball becoming shadow puppeteers.

After a little reading by "campfire" light (a flashlight stuck under the fake fire), the big kids sacked out on the living room floor. The very best part? They slept ALL night long. Usually at least one of them comes crawling into our bed in the wee hours of the night. The sleep was glorious. This will definitely be done again!

If you're interested, I'm pinning Indoor Camping ideas here.

Not Yet....But Levi Is Home!

No baby, but Levi is here! And, that makes me more than happy. :)

We've been doing a lot of relaxing and hanging out with family while we wait for baby to make an appearance. Stephan's mom flew down today, so I am no longer outnumbered while Stephan is working. That's quite a relief for this mama.
Maybe next post will come with a baby picture! Wow. Talk about being outnumbered. Guys? There will be THREE of them soon...very soon. Three. Oh. My. Eep! A tad unnerving yet so very exciting.

The Party

Levi turned four last week.

 The Saturday before, my parents threw him a wonderful party full of everything he had asked for...trains, a hayride, brick oven pizzas, and roasted marshmallows.

My mom made the cake...

Levi blew out the candles...



and opened a few presents (to Sophia's amusement and delight).

Stephan's mom, Mimi to the kids, got to join in the fun!

A hayride topped it all off perfectly...

It was a beautiful way to celebrate 4 years. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for putting it all together!

At The Cypress Swamp

Yesterday was the last day of Mimi's visit. Before we took her to the airport we headed out to one of our favorite spots on the Natchez trace.

We're going to miss having her around.

Visiting

Stephan is off of work for a week, and his mom, otherwise known as Mimi, is here. The kids are beyond thrilled. Levi keeps telling her that he loves her, and Sophia won't have anything to do with me....except, of course when she wants to nurse. It's all Mimi all the time. Not that I'm complaining. It is a strange but pleasant experience to walk around all by myself.

Today we had lunch with my mom and then hit the Old Capitol Museum. I wasn't sure Levi would be very into it, but he totally was. He ran around looking at the exhibits and pressing buttons. There were suggestion boxes every so often, and at each one he would stop and 'write' something. Towards the end he got a little bored, so he pretended to be a squirrel. Problem solved.

So far, I'm liking this week, and at the end of it is party time. Yay!