October, part two.

Occasionally Teresa, my stepmom will come visit us, and us her.  Last week she came over with Gabe, her grandson and my kid's...cousin?  Yeah, I think their cousin.  Anyway, usually we visit while the kids play, and this time was no exception.  Syd waddled around, and destroyed stuff while we caught up on what the kids have been doing, and life in general.  I always look forward to these visits, because she's a friend, and we just laugh about everything.  But when it was time to go home, she had asked if we'd been to the pumpkin patch this year, I said "no", and she invited us to go to Springville to Jakers, the pumpkin patch that is right next to where our old home used to be.  Apparently they had upgraded it quite a bit, and the kids were way excited.  So we went.  

The weird thing is, when we lived right next to Jakers, we never went.  Not once in seven years.  But this being the year that we moved away, we decided to check it out.  And, this year they added quite a few things: A maze, a hayride, and a petting zoo.  It was way more fun than I was thinking it would be, and the kids loved it.  That llama in the background looked like it had a perm.  We-ird.  And there was a baby kangaroo, as well...but it looked really sick, and it made me sad.  I really like petting zoos and such, but when they look like they've had one too many kids throw something at them, or have been poking them, or are screaming at them, it makes my inner animal's-rights-activist come out.  So, I guess it doesn't take much.   

But the hayride was a lot of fun, despite how dorky I look, and Syd and the boys LOVED the "corn pool".  That sounds really nasty, doesn't it?  But I'm not sure what one would call it. 

And Riley was pretty good at climbing up the bales of hay.  They were ginormous.  It kind of made me sick to watch, and I realized that I am in fact, getting old.  Not only am I getting the wrinkles and such, but the carsickness, and the stomach upset of heights.  Ugh.  Anyway, after all the festivities, the kids picked out pumpkins from the actual patch and I thought they did a good job.  Grandma Teresa treated them to their choice of baby gourd in addition to the pumpkins.  She's awesome like that.  ;)

And lastly, this is my most favorite picture of the event is Syd sitting in dirt.  She looks like a very special monkey, but she's MY very special monkey.  

Big thanks to Teresa for a really fun time.  All three of the kids loved it, and it was nice of her to take us out.  Plus, our pumpkins rocked the house.  As you are about to see.

We got around to carving the pumpkins about a week later.  And each of us got to create our own...it was the first time the kids got to pick and choose and make anything they wanted.  I'd like to say that I was a runner up in the most creative...but we all know that wouldn't be true.  In fact, I tried to download some sort of pattern or a cool face off the internet so my pumpkin could keep up, but my computer chose to not respond to any of my promptings. And I had to go at it alone.  

Jeff says that is my old lady face.  It's actually my "artistic concentration" face.  And this is just another reason I am not artsy in any way.  It makes me really ugly.  However, everyone else in my little family seems to do it and look great simultaneously.

(Notice that whenever Jeff does something, even pumpkin carving, it's an event that requires the electric drill)

Technically Syd didn't do any actual carving, but she did touch some pumpkin goo and rearranged the little gourds.  She's an asset, for sure.  

And in the end, I think they turned out pretty great.  The kids did a really excellent job, and Jeff's mummy pumpkin turned out perfect...but that's normal.  His is always the one that I wish I could say I made.  Instead my jack-o-lanterns have the perpetual "baby face", as my sister, Muff says. I always draw people that have the same face, apparently, and they just look like cartoon babies.  I guess it's my style, if you will.  
Rainey's, Jeff's, Cole's, and Riley's pumpkins:

Up next is Cole's Halloween play and Halloween night, which blew not only literally, but figuratively as well. You don't want to miss it.  For reals.