Fall Favorites

Well, I'll be the first one to admit that I have no idea what happened last week that there were almost zero posts on the blog front. All I can remember is that I conceded to some early bedtimes for myself and every night seemed to last only minutes before the stroke of midnight demanded to shut down the busy.

With that said, let's just jump into what we had been looking forward to all week; a long weekend away to relax and play. Because of Columbus Day and because that's one of the few benefits of county employment, I was prepared to spend Friday thru Monday at my parents' house while Eric made the decision to stay at home and catch up on some yard work and other nagging household projects.

Our first night at my parents' house started off much later than I anticipated and only lead to even later bedtimes. Lincoln was the absolute. WORST. SLEEPER. EVER. and could NOT rest his little head being away from home. And of course, when the three of us are sharing a room, a screamy, yelly baby leads to a wide awake toddler and a crabby, sleep deprived mommy. He seriously reminded me our days together when he was newborn baby still figuring out a sleep pattern. It's even more unfortunate that both kids seem to have battling some symptoms of allergies or the early start of colds for the past few days. At least that's what I'm guessing is a result of all the snot that I've been collecting from the dozens of tissues they've been pouring through as of late.

And guess what the next day was to bring? Well it was only the day that we had the biggest and best laid plans of all! And our cranky, non-rested trio wasn't about to have a prayer at having fun unless we got some make-up-sleep. After a forced nap for my overtired children, Greg and Kate arrived with an overly excited Colin ready to play and go to the pumpkin patch.

The rest must have worked wonders for us all because we all had the very best time ever. The pumpkin patch was awesome. There was a hay ride, a straw bale maze, pumpkins galore, horses and apple punch (cider) to chase down the dirt from the already sticky kids' faces.

When we first rolled into the pumpkin patch aboard the hay wagon, Lincoln was blatantly fascinated with the tractor that pulled us there. Once we were let off, a train barreled through on the nearby train track and a semi truck made it's way down the country road. Lincoln's first trip to pick pumpkins was already complete before he even got within 2 feet of his first pumpkin! Elaina and Colin made off like little bandits, never to be heard from again. Actually, Greg and Kate kept a watchful eye out for the little partners in crime as Lincoln and I ended up on the whole opposite side of the field. That would explain why I have no Elaina-patch pictures. And besides, with her army green pants and her pumpkin orange shirt, I camouflaged her just as well that I couldn't hardly spot her if I tried. In the end, we ended up with our share of perfectly picked, plump, pumpkins.
Did I happen to mention that the weather was like the most gorgeous, fall day you could ever imagine? It was gorgeous because the leaves have all started to turn and the air had the perfect balance of a crisp undertone to it, but it was almost edging on too hot with the temperature nearing 82 degrees. We all ended up a little bit sweaty, but seriously, 80 degrees in mid October? It was a perfect, memorable day for all of us.

As I was putting Elaina to bed that night, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was. Since there was so much to see and do for the better part of the day, I couldn't wait to hear what she had come up with. I fully expected her to say that the horses were her favorite or riding in the hay wagon or drinking "apple punch" (cider) at the picnic table with Colin had made her day the best, but she decided that jumping off the bales of straw with Colin and yelling "Geronimo!" while holding onto Grandma's hand was her favorite part of the day.

Some kids are easy to please.