Pumpkins with the pumpkins

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Celebration last week with the Lent family.  The weather was nice & cool, our pumpkins were dressed in their new pumpkin shirts Gaga made & we were ready to enjoy a relaxing evening out with the five kids (between our two families).  It was a bit crowded but we managed to have a good time anyway!

A few of the favorites....

That smile on Eloise just melts my heart. She is so darn cute!

My mom has my Grandmother Alene's old embroidery machine & tried something new this year.  She is quite determined & talented! We LOVE the patterns & fabrics she chose. The girls were super excited to have their very own pumpkin shirt. The boys on the other hand were more than displeased with the whole pumpkin thing....even though they looked adorable. 

Anson cheered up when Daddy rescued him.

and a family shot with five out of the six of us looking in the correct direction. Not bad!

After spending time amongst the pumpkins, we loaded up the strollers & walked over to Main Street. We ate dinner outside & enjoyed five fairly compliant children : ) After dinner we continued the stroll over to Starbucks. It was lovely.  I chose to leave out the pictures of precious little Audrey since I haven't sent them to her mommy yet but I will add one in later. 

I decided to give the boys one more try with the pumpkins on the front porch yesterday. They withheld all smiles but looked less distressed ; ) 

Owen & Anson

Owen

Anson's tootsies

I love fall. It is made up of my favorite color scheme....well at least the decorations are down here in sunny Florida! Up next, some "little hoots" trick-or-treating.....

Fall at the Farm

Fall has finally arrived in Central Florida & we have had multiple days of beautiful weather. We know that in comparison to other parts of the country, our 70 degree days & 60 degree nights may seem warm but it is just right for this clan! 

While Grammy, Papa & GG were in town we spent an afternoon at the Petting Farm which has become Papa's treat to us all each visit. The kids LOVE it & can't stop talking about it before, after & between every visit. We had never been when the pumpkin patch was set up or when the strange masked gorilla between the trees greeted you at the front entrance.....

I think this might be the first picture EVER of all three girl cousins smiling & looking at the camera. So very adorable!

We joined the tour that started on the train ride which worked out perfectly for two hungry buddies. Owen had a hard time staying concealed under the cover with all the "choo choo-ing" he heard. He kept peeking out to see what was happening & was quite amused to be eating in motion. 

We got to see the giant tortoise "running" laps around his little habitat. He was moving faster than I thought he was capable of. 

Milking the cows has been a highlight for various reasons including everyone making fun of me for my milking abilities at one visit & then this time, the cow did a "big poopie" as Eloise would say right when the tour guide was giving instructions. Eloise has talked more about that "big poopie" than anything else since our visit....nice. She did do a great job though when it was her turn to milk the cow : )

We did learn that this cow produces about 6-8 gallons of milk a day....I must say I was a tad jealous ; ) I really don't want to produce 6-8 gallons but a little extra would be nice to satisfy the increasing needs of my growing boys!

Rob was in charge of protecting the baby duck while all the kids touched it. Charlotte was displeased that ours was gray instead of the iconic yellow we are used too. I guess I need to read her The Ugly Duckling.

They ALL loved petting the goats & sheep that were living in a shared space.  Isaac even kissed one of them!

Owen & Anson were not too fond of the farm when nap time came & they were not in their beds. Thankfully with all the adults around there were plenty of helping hands. Papa was on Owen duty & GG had Anson for a bit. 

Next stop was the chicken coops. I tell you what, if we lived on a farm & cooked our own chickens for dinner, I would be thankful for Char's quick hands & ability to catch those speedy little things! She did great & spent plenty of time catching them to hand to other kids that were having a hard time. We handed one to Eloise & she was not as excited as Charlotte was.....

The following picture is proof that Karis has come a LONG way since our first visit where she was terrified of every animal. She was so happy to hold the chicken Char caught for her!

My goodness, that Charlotte is looking so old to me! She enjoyed when Papa was assigned to her : )

After much screaming, the buckaroos finally passed out. Anson stopped screaming only when we took off his Wranglers which were a little snug but isn't that how cowboys wear their jeans?  GG stayed with the sleeping babes while the rest of us climbed aboard the hayride.

I loved having Eloise in my lap. She is still so squishy & is always in need of some cuddles from Mommy. 

The big girls were getting pretty tired & snuggled up on Rob for a rest while we bumped along.

Eloise enjoyed looking out at the animals while Isaac enjoyed being restrained by Grammy.

From the second we arrived Charlotte was asking if Applejack, the pony she rode a year ago was there that day.  That is how much these kids enjoy the pony rides! Sadly Applejack was not saddled up for riding but instead they got to ride two new ponies named Rainbow & Bullseye. 

After the pony rides we high tailed it over to the pumpkins. We were definitely losing steam at this point as we neared the dinner time hour but still enjoyed feeling fallish!

Anson & Owen

We tried so hard to get all the kids to look at the camera while sitting with GG.  Turns out, I love this picture even more because it is just life right now...all looking in different directions, some serious, some relaxed but all with a happy, beautiful Great Grandma.  We did try to get one with all six kids but I will refrain from posting. As I said, we were nearing the dinner time hour & more than a couple kids had NO interest in submitting to our requests if you know what I mean ; )

And we will end with the littlest buckaroo, Owee-O & his Daddy. After some milk & a good nap he decided the farm was a fine place to spend an afternoon!

Visit with Grammy, Papa & GG

We got to enjoy an extended visit with Papa & Grammy starting in early October with the added bonus of GG for a long weekend.  Steve & Jenny were out of town so Papa & Grammy got to take care of Karis & Isaac.  Due to some coughing & fevers we kept kids separated for the first few days but reconnected once all were (mostly) well. 

Papa & Grammy took the four big kids to Chick-Fil-A one day for lunch, we took all six kids to the park one morning & the whole crew spent time at our house on more than one occasion.  Yummy food, laughing & general exhaustion on all parts is common during & at the end of our visits : ) 

Here are some happy faces captured during their visit starting with the Valentine boys (minus Steve). 

GG was delighted to meet the boys for the first time & came over early on a Saturday morning to tag team the kids with Robby while I napped after work.  She, like the rest of us enjoyed having her hands full of sweet baby boys....

Owen, GG & Anson

Poor Anson never gets enough attention

We spent a day smoking meat & letting the kids swim, a day at the farm & finished off our last day with a Fall Breakfast & dinner out for the adults.

Fr our Fall Breakfast, we enjoyed sausage balls, pumpkin pancakes & some lovely decorations provided by Charlotte.

GG got some more time on the floor with the little guys...

Grammy surprised the girls with a yummy jack-o-lantern cookie from Panera which made them so happy : )

Sweet little Eloise had just woken up from her nap & seemed a little sleepy as you can see by the hand across her mouth. Grammy's lap was a cozy place for her to snuggle up & eat her treat. 

Virginia, Bob & Jeannine had offered to watch our kids on their last night in town but we decided that they might enjoy a night out after being "parents" for a week so we got a sitter & spent the evening at Seito. It was delicious & SO fun to laugh about all the shenanigans that occurred throughout the week as Bob & Jeannine were reminded of the non-stop effort it takes to care for little bitty precious children.  We were thankful to see them over such a long visit & are excited to know that following their recent retiring, there will be many more extended periods together.  It is such a gift to see grandparents & great grandparents loving on your children, making memories with them so much that they are asked about daily by little mouths after saying farewell.