Halloween

This year Halloween was insanely crazy for me. I was incharge of the ward's trunk or treat party. We had a carnival inside - a blast. Being so busy, I failed to get real pictures of the girls in their costumes. Diva had her picture taken during homecoming week - but wore the same thing for the party. Sorry about the terrible pictures. . .

Miss Priss was a fairy and Cowgirl was a southern belle. Man I wish I would have gotten better pics. They all looked great!

Drama Queen dressed up as a snazzy cowgirl. (confusing - Cowgirl was a southern belle and Drama Queen was a cowgirl)

Diva was nerd. Man she can rock that costume!

Fun Day at the "Pumpkin Patch"

I've asked in the past - why do we do this? And, we smile?! I think secretly everyone knows I like them.

Obligatory picture before we went in. You know, you may never find your way out!

Our choice in maps. We took the SUPER EASY one so the kids could answer correctly. Again, secretly I was afraid of the maze, I'm not so good with directions when all I have to rely on is the sun or moon.

Picture of the girls IN the maze. Doesn't Miss Priss look thrilled? They were troopers and stayed together quite well. We did get "lost" a few times. We made it though.

Drama Queen trying her hand at the corn cannon. I didn't whip out the camera until she was the only one left to shoot. If you hit the target you got a small bag of kettle corn. Little Mama hit the target and boy was that kettle corn yummy. We wanted to get more but you had to stand in a terribly long line, place your order and then wait 30-45 minutes for more kettle corn. The poor young men and women running that booth simply couldn't keep up with all the demand. It was probably the BEST kettle corn I've had since the street markets in California.

Miss Priss's fall portrait. Yes, it was humid and hot and windy. Miss Priss was trying to smile and this was the best she could do. Right after this picture she started complaining her lips were hurting. Poor thing her lips were chapped.

Drama Queen sittin' pretty with a fall pumpkin.

All my gorgeous girls!

Drama Queen Fall Portrait

All my beautiful girls again.

Cowgirl's Fall Portrait - I love the smile on this girls face! Her whole body is smiling! Can you see it too?

The girls loved the "Cow-ch."

Diva's Fall Portrait

So, one of the biggest things we were looking forward to was the pumpkin patch. Little Mama had called in advance and spoken to someone at the farm about the pumpkin patch. She assured me that the kids would love it and get to wander around a select their choice of pumpkin. When we arrived at the field, there was little selection. We did not get a single pumpkin. We got back on the hay wagon to ride back to the main maze and saw something wonderful. More pumpkins! You see - this is apparently how pumpkins "grow" in our part of the country.

The pumpkins "grow" in these special containers. Do you see how bare the field was? Some wonderful farm hands help to distribute the "fresh grown" pumpkins for you enjoyment.

Gentle boys! These are "fresh grown."

The girls all followed the tractor around like deer follow a feed truck on the hunting ranches. It was pretty funny!

Drama Queen had found an itty bitty baby pumpkin.

Miss Priss selected her small pumpkin and was found with the chapstick out a lot. Good thing I'm a smart mama and keep one in my pocket all the time.

Drama Queen with her selection.

Diva and I saw lots of people carrying around two pumpkins at a time just like this. Didn't they know they looked ri-donk-u-lous? We think this picture is funny!

Cowgirl and her prized pumpkin.

Drama Queen on the hayride.

This is one of the pictures I took on Saturday that I really liked.

We had a blast and will probably return next year too. However, we are still searching for a REAL pumpkin patch.

Fall Morning Routine

It's warm out right now but when it was nice and cool out, we would have cocoa before the bus would come. I can't wait for more cocoa mornings to come. I love fall!

Cowgirl sittin' on the stool enjoying her cup.

Miss Priss gettin' a cocoa mustache!

Diva - I got her to stop just long enough to snap a picture. You get this girl talking over a cup of cocoa and she just doesn't stop. She goes on and on and on. Guess that's a sign she's really 12 and gettin' to be too grown up.

Miss Priss has had perfect attendance so she got to wear a hat of her choice to school. She picked this one out all on her own. (I have no idea why there isn't a picture of Drama Queen from this Friday morning but apparently she dodged the camera - she had cocoa too)

It's Officially Fall

picture credit

The nights have turned cool. It's wonderful!

At least once a week I make us go with no tv. I know, I'm mean! We don't have a set night so the kids never know when it will happen. Today we spent more time outside enjoying each other. Taking turns on the swings, jumping on the trampoline and chasing the chickens and dogs around.

After we finished chicken chores, feeding, watering and rounding them up, the girls all got on the trampoline. I did too. I've been trying to get the girls to do flips in the air. So, I demonstrate. . . yes, I can still do them, I just don't land on my feet like I used to. Cowgirl is on chicken water this week and she left the hose on - I took this as an opportunity to spray all the girls on the tramp. They love it but with the cooler weather, screaming started almost instantly. Cowgirl got off and turned the water off. The kids all stripped on the back porch (I love living in the country) and each ran to their destinations - tub, tub, shower and shower. What would we do if we had another kid? Someone would have to wait to shower and warm up. I got the clothes started in the wash.

When baths and showers were done, I broke out the hot cocoa mix. That's a sign that it's fall. We all enjoyed a nice warm mug of hot cocoa - made with milk - water isn't an option is it?

I love fall!