Pumpkin Patch Time!

On Saturday, we went to Walter's Pumpkin Patch. We have gone every year since Riley was a baby. There is so much to do & we easily spent 3 hours there. We would have stayed longer, but a storm was moving in and we didn't want to get rained on.
We got there right when it opened this year, which made a huge difference in the amount of people who were there & the time spent waiting in lines to do things like the zip line. Last year was crazy busy when we went, so this year was much better.

Look how big these guys are getting!!! I told Zach he had to stop growing. ;0)

We were the first to try out the zip line! Zach did it last year & loved it. He couldn't wait to do it again.

Riley wasn't too sure about it at first. We talked him into it though, and he loved it! He said, "This is awesome!!"

Lily rode the wooden horses while the boys did the zip line.

Next was sliding down Boo Mountain! This is always a favorite for the boys.

Lily went down with Jeff. When he asked if she wanted to go again, she told him she would do it again next year. :0)

So he went by himself:

After Boo Mountain, the kids jumped on the giant jumping pillow!

Zach decided to play king of the mountain on a big pile of hay.

Next we went into the barn and the kids played in the corn bin and climbed this rope ladder:

They also got to feed and pet goats!

After the barn, we did Punkin' Chunkin'!

We finished with Punkin' Chunkin' just in time to watch the pumpkin cannnon shoot a pumpkin across the fields.

Lily must have remembered from last year how loud the cannon is. She covered her ears before the countdown even began!

The corn maze was next. Zach led us all into the maze.

The kids weren't really paying any attention to where Jeff & I were. So Jeff snuck around the maze until he was in front of where the kids were walking and did this:

He sacred the you-know-what out of Zach. Poor Zach! But it really was funny. (I know, we're mean parents.....) He did think it was funny afterwards too though.
The kids play area was next with a giant teeter-totter, a hay bale maze, tricycles, and swings.

The barrel train was next.

This year the kids all got kazoos to toot during their ride.

They even got to keep them and take the home. Yeah........

Since it looked like it was going to rain soon, we went over to the wagons that take you to the actual pumpkin patches. While we waited for one to come back, the kids played some games.

When the tractor got there, we headed out to pick out our pumpkins!

As in years past, we told the kids that they can get as big a pumpkin as they can carry. So the kids ran out and started to look for pumpkins:

The only problem, is that the boys can now carry really big pumpkins.......

We may have to change that rule in the future.....this is starting to get expensive! ;0)

At least Lily still gets little pumpkins:

Even Jeff got a giant pumpkin this year!

My cute little punkins'

After we got our pumpkins, we got back on the wagon and went back to the main part of the farm.

While Jeff paid for the pumpkins, the kids put themselves into the pumpkin perpetrators jail.

Then they played on the fun playground equipment for a little while. When Jeff found us, it was really getting dark with rain clouds (and cold), so we decided to leave Walter's Pumpkin Patch for this year.

We had a great time & are looking forward to going again next year!!

Pumpkin Projects

Camden came over yesterday for some fun pumpkin projects. We made pumpkin patches, "stained glass" pumpkins, and pumpkin counting books.

We did pumpkin patches first. We used green construction paper for the grass and the brown construction paper for the vines. I cut out leaves from green felt and then used orange puff balls for the pumpkins.

They made their books next, but I forgot to take pictures of that. They had to count out pumpkin stickers for each page and put the right number on each page.

The last project was the "stained glass" pumpkins. I cut out an outline of a pumpkin from black construction paper. We laid one outline on contact paper, then Camden & Lily used orange napkins (because I couldn't find orange tissue paper) to fill in the outline.

Then they laid another outline on top of that and Dianna & I helped put the second layer of contact paper on top of that, then cut out the outline.

Lily's went up on our sliding glass door so the sun will come through it in the morning. =)
Here are the pumpkin patches. Aren't they cute??

And here is Lily's book:

Thanks Camden for coming over! Lily had fun with you!!

New Swing Set

I am SO glad that I have a very handy husband! This was our swing set Saturday afternoon:

We bought this swing set for the kids shortly after we moved into this house (4 1/2 years ago). So, you would think that it would not be falling apart. You would be wrong. The playhouse with the slide is still fine, but the part with the swings and the monkey bars was not safe for the kids to play on anymore. So, on Saturday, we headed to Menard's (where I listened to Lily sing the "Save Big Money" song over and over for more than 2 hours.....) and we got everything we needed to fix the swing set. (almost)
When we made it back home, Jeff took the swing set apart:

Then he opened his new toy, I mean saw, and he and Zach put it together.

This is the kids helping Jeff:

They are standing on the boards while he drills the holes for the monkey bars.

After a trip to Lowe's (for some unexpected extra stuff), Jeff got the monkey bars put together and the top part of the swing set up!

I think the kids are starting to lose interest in helping Dad right about now......

but I don't think he really cares........

While Jeff was working hard, this is what I was doing:

Planting mums. And by planting, I mean I took them out of the pot they came in and put them in my own. I'm talented that way. ;0)

The kids decided to help again when they saw a hammer being used:

Lily didn't use the hammer, she just tested out the new ladder rungs.

The last thing to go on where the swings!

Zach tested out the monkey bars and they worked great!

The kids love that they get to play on their swing set again!

Jeff did a really good job of making it a lot more secure. He used galvanized pipe for the monkey bars and the ladder rungs instead of the wood that had been there. He also used more heavy-duty wood for the ladder and the part that holds the swings, so this should last much longer and be a lot safer for the kids!!