Pumpkin Patch ~ 2013 {Joe's Place}

One of my most favorite fall traditions is our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  This year we had beautiful weather and were lucky enough to have Nana and Pops join us.  It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!

Carter was fairly insistent on pushing the wheelbarrow himself.  And he did a great job until we started putting the pumpkins in, and then it got a little harder to push.  Or at least push straight!

Anything Carter does, Kennedy has to try as well!

Before we could choose our pumpkins and enjoy the other fun activities around the farm, I had to torture my poor family with pictures.  They were pretty good sports and I was thankful to get some good photos without too many threats!  I love the fall colors and their happiness to be at the pumpkin patch.

love this smile.  love this girl.

I don't think they could be any cuter

our attempts at family photos weren't quite as successful but I'll take it, it's not often that we get the four of us together in a picture.

Kennedy and her Nana

my girl is never so happy as when Nana is here with us.  She is Nana's shadow for her entire visit and they have so much fun together!

It was great to have Pops here with us, too.

in the apple orchard

my handsome boy is growing up so fast!

enjoying apples on our hay ride

Kennedy has taken to tilting her head and trying to be cute when we ask for a "nice smile" ~ it's so cute, but she often looks a bit like a pirate!

Another fantastic trip to the pumpkin patch!

Preschool Field Trip ~ Pumpkin Patch

Bi-Zi Farms

Kennedy had her first field trip last week - a visit to the pumpkin patch.  We lucked out and had great fall weather ~ crisp and cool but sunny ~ it was fabulous!

I am so grateful that I can attend fun activities like these with the kids.  I realize that not every parent has that luxury, and I am thankful.  Kennedy was very excited for her trip and was thrilled that I was able to go with her.  We had two little friends in our car, so that kind of added to the excitement of the experience.

Lots of farm animals to see

I am not a huge fan of petting zoos.  They just seem dirty.  BUT, the kids seem to love them, so I endure the smell and dirt and try to ignore the issues of hygiene.  There were a couple of cute, playful little pigs that were fun to watch and a tiny baby goat that was awfully cute.  Thankfully there were big sinks to wash up once we were done. 

Time to climb the hay pyramid ~ and she's off!

Can I just tell you again how very much I love that little crinkled nose smile?  My cute little one, oh how I love you!

Gumball Class ~ 2012

Kennedy had a ton of fun playing and exploring with her friends...

and then we were off!  We loaded onto the tractor and enjoyed a quick ride up the hill to the pumpkin patch.  Kennedy and Lyla were joined at the hip, as usual.  Such a sweet little friendship they have.

Hunting for the perfect pumpkin

The pumpkins had to be small enough for the kids to carry on their own.  I broke the rules and helped Kennedy carry hers after awhile.  She would have been hard pressed to find one small enough to carry the whole time.

Lyla and Kennedy

Kennedy has the sweetest, kindest, most loving teacher this year - we just adore her!

We were thrilled to learn that Miss Tricia was coming back to Circle of Friends this year and we lucked out in getting into her class.  She is wonderful, warm and welcoming and Kennedy loves her!

{pumpkin patch ~ 2012}

We had the most beautiful, sunny fall day to visit the pumpkin patch this year.

(We had tried to go the weekend before, but because it was early in the season the patch wasn't open on Sundays yet.  We tried again on Wednesday afternoon and had a great time!)

Not above a bit of bribery, I told the kids that they could choose treats if they happily posed for a few pictures.  They did great ~ and each got a cookie and some yummy fudge!

I love fall!

what would a photo shoot be without some silly faces?

we were just killing a little time while Carter ran to the bathroom

This picture is so Kennedy ~ she's quite the ham when she wants to be.

oh, how I love her

joy

willing participants for some more pictures

my loves

I sometimes find it weird that my kids look nothing like me...if I hadn't been there, I might question it a bit more :)

a great family shot

We ran into Carter's buddy from school and had a nice visit with his family.

The boys ran all around and had a wonderful time.  We went searching for our pumpkins with pinker cheeks!

getting a lift from daddy

How did he get so big?  he just won't stop growing...and there are times I'm am nearly desperate to halt it all together.  Carter's so much fun at this age, but as I hold him at night or snuggle on the couch, I realize he's not quite fitting on my lap any more. 

We still have this little monkey who loves being silly ~ that pumpkin was heavy!

such a handsome boy

We've got our loot ~ the kids picked the biggest pumpkins that they could find this year.  Good thing Daddy was with us, because I would have been hard pressed to lift them at all!  I think we ended up with nearly 50 pounds of pumpkins, quite a haul!

Enjoying a yummy apple on the hay ride

Going to the pumpkin patch is such a simple, fun tradition and I just love it.  The kids had a wonderful time and we all enjoyed our time together as a family.

Pumpkin Patch

I love our annual trip to the pumpkin patch for so many reasons...the crispness of fall in the air, watching the kids run around and excitedly find a dozen 'perfect' pumpkins and (perhaps most of all) the great opportunities to snap fun pictures.  I'm somewhat of a crazy picture taker and love to capture life's little moments.  Some of the time my family humors me and actually smiles, but most of the time they don't.  With that being said, this year we made more of a spur of the moment trip to the patch...the weather was too beautiful to pass up, Nana was in town and I didn't have to work.  It just felt like the best opportunity to squeeze in a visit.  Unfortunately that means that this years photos, while never stellar, won't even have coordinating fall outfits.  Laugh as you may, and I know you will, but it's just one of the number of things that I'm funny about.  Even though it was a perfect day with the pumpkins, I'm secretly hoping to have another sunny day so I can dress the kids up and get a few "fall worthy" photos.

In the mean time, Carter and his green surfer shirt will have to do.

 Carter was very excited to have found a wheel barrow.  It was bigger than him, but he was insistent on pushing it around (for a few minutes at least).

I just love how Kennedy's nose crinkles when she's really smiling...for all of the scowls and frowns, when this girl finds something to smile about it can light up my world! 

See what I mean?

I am amazed on a near daily basis by how grown up Carter is getting.  He's 5 1/2 now, big and all mature looking.  Where is the pause button?  I know there are wonderful things awaiting us, but sometimes I just wish we could savor this time without the feeling that it's flying by.

 Nana and the kiddos

 We made it home with three very large pumpkins and three very small ones.  Had it been up to Kennedy, we would have had a trunk full!

 The sun was in their eyes...and it was funny.

 Carter in the corn

He kept insisting that this was a corn maze so we had to run in and be quiet so that Nana and Kennedy didn't find us.  It was simply a corn field, but it was so fun to watch his excitement that I didn't have the heart to break it to him.

 Having fun in the maze.  It was actually kind of hard to find your way out...thankfully they had two lookout towers that we were able to use to locate the exit.  Carter loved it and raced off on his own.

There was a large cut out of a bear that kind of scared the kids but in a fun way.  I was able to capture Kennedy's reaction.