A Beautiful Fall Day...

A beautiful fall day... led us on a morning adventure to a pumpkin patch.  I think I was almost more excited than the kids...almost.  The first thing Mary said to me this morning was, "Mom, did I sleep good last night?"  I replied, "Yes, you slept great."  Then her eyes lit up and she said, "So we can go to the pumpkin patch?"  "Yes!!!!!"  Of course, I didn't mention that we would still go no matter if she had bad dreams and kept me up all night or not.  The kids have been such troopers through all this moving and unpacking.  They deserved an outing.

We found a great farm about 30 minutes away and it was the perfect size for the kids.  We got to pick our own pumpkin from the field.  Adam and Mary had a fun time pushing the pumpkin barrow around.  I loved that we got there right when it opened, so it wasn't crowded and we didn't have to worry about the kids and they could just run and play and well, just be kids.

Looking at a baby pumpkin.

 There's our new pumpkin!

 Now, for the "posed" shots.

 Love!

 The highlight of the trip was the hayride.  It was all Mary could talk about in the car on the way there.  We sat behind a pair of beautiful Belgium Draft horses who did a better job of following commands than my own children.  This was right before our ride started. I love the happiness on Mary's face.  Notice Adam's really interested in the button on his overalls.  Hee,hee,hee.  At least he wasn't trying to touch the horses' backsides.

 Checking out and petting the horses afterward.  What a great morning.

 This beautiful fall day didn't end with the pumpkin patch.  We took advantage of the weather, the free child labor and the fact that said labor rarely naps these days and planted our new cherry tree.

I keep saying, "I'm NOT a baker."  But lately, I find myself baking.  Hmm, maybe you can teach old dogs new tricks...  Today, I made some super yummy homemade soft pretzels.  WOW!  I made 2 in the traditional "pretzel" shape, but that took too long.  I made a couple into thin sticks, but that took too long.  I hacked off chunks of dough and threw them in the boiling water, now that was perfect.  Added some kosher salt, popped them in the oven and then served them with mustard.  Yum!  The kids scarfed them down and barely let me have any.  I made a second batch and to try something different, after pulling them out of the oven, I dipped them in melted butter and rolled them in cinnamon sugar.  They ended up tasting like little donuts.  The kids enjoyed 2 of those for dessert.  Good thing we're not on low carb diets!

 That's a whole lotta mustard.

 Adam liked the one that resembled a worm.  Go figure.  I think it was really because it cooled off the fastest and the chunks were still hot from the oven.  Hey, I can dream, can't I?

And to top off this beautiful fall day...Mary was looking for cool rocks under our deck that we can paint and she found a Geode!  A little soap and water and now it's nice and sparkly.  What a find.

Sometimes I have to sit back and smile and say, "I love my life."