'Lanterns

Our pumpkins were converted from autumn decor to Halloween statement pieces over the weekend. We had bad luck with the pumpkins we picked out on the equinox-all but two rotting within the first week- so Audrey's pumpkin was a re-do and Henry carved the one I had picked out. Thankfully there was no complaining, and it worked out great.

For the last couple carvings, I've been using power tools to help make all the intricate scribbles and lines come to life, but this year we had technical difficulties and it took me the evening of the carving day plus the better part of the following late morning/early afternoon to complete their masterpieces. They were patient, though, and there is a silver lining to it all: because they weren't carved until so late, we won't have moldy lanterns to light tonight!

Happy, safe Halloween!

Pecans

We took a walk this past weekend and figured out that several of the little pecan trees in our new field are loaded with pecans that are just about ready to be picked. Most of them will require a ladder setup of some kind, but there were just enough on the lower branches to allow for a satisfying first go of it...

Now, does anyone know the trick to shelling pecans without driving yourself... nuts?

Weekending

 We're working on taking it kinda slow today, and wow can that add up to a lot of work! Ha! Wishing all a good slow weekend, or a weekend to accomplish what needs to be done!

Happy weekending!

She Zooms

 It won't be long until we're handing over the keys to a car (we're halfway there already... what?!), but for now we've put her on a more manageable set of wheels... and she's a girl on the go, lemme tell ya.

Next hill to climb: training wheels off, and soon.

But for now? For now she zooms.

Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, there was a family that wanted to live away from the setting of a conventional neighborhood. The kiddos were just getting big enough to appreciate wide open spaces, the Daddy was tired of dealing with HOAs, and the Mama thought deep down inside she could be something of a hobby farmer.

The family looked and looked and looked, and at long last they found their perfect home; plenty of room inside and out, with nothing but hay fields, cow pastures, and woods for neighbors. The family moved in and lived there happily for quite some time.

Then one day the hay field right outside their front door went up for sale. It was quite a surprise, and the family watched anxiously as buyer after potential buyer was paraded over the land. There were even some contracts on the property, too, and all of the interested buyers were developers. The family discovered the field was zoned to allow up to six houses per acre, but one of the developers didn't think that was enough and was working to get the field rezoned to allow for even more homes to be crammed onto the land.

The family felt doomed. A neighborhood... of up to eighty homes... right outside their front door. But what could they do?

Then, suddenly, the developer's contract fell through. The land was up for grabs once more.

What they had to do was clear.

And so the family bought the land, ensuring that their home would remain nestled in a buffer of peace and wild, even though the rest of the land around them will eventually fall into development.

Once again, the family is living happily in their kingdom, surrounded by woods and scrub and their new expanse of open field... and feeling so fine about it that they can even be found occasionally out in the twilight howling at the moon.

And they'll live happily ever after. The end.

Happy Birthday, Audrey Grace

Happy birthday, Audrey Grace- I love your goofiness, your creativity, your sensitivity and your intelligence...

You are my sun, my joy and my doppelganger, and I am so glad I get to be a part of your world.

Happy, happy birthday.

Weekending

Happy birthday party weekend, Audrey Grace! You were an excellent seven-year-old. Can't wait for 8. We love you!

This Moment

Sharing a moment from the week- a simple, special, extraordinary moment I want to capture and save- cool evening shadows, warm setting sunlight, sibling harmony, beehives. Bliss.

First Pumpkin Pie

We made our first pumpkin pie of the season the other day, and by 'we' I mean mostly them. They helped get out the ingredients, measure and mix, and they even helped with the "gross" part (carving and prepping the pumpkin itself). We had a few yelling Gordon Ramsay-ish moments, but overall they really did a great job.

It won't be long before they'll be heading up dishes all on their own... they won't even need me anymore... *sniff*

It turned out really good, though, so maybe I'll be OK with them in the kitchen without me... eventually... I'll cross that bridge when we get there, though.

Nom nom nom.

Visiting :: The Pumpkin Patch

It's not fall around here until we've visited a pumpkin patch. The kids had been asking about a visit for a while now, but I didn't realize how defining it was until I overheard Audrey saying, "Only four things are important in the fall: my birthday, Halloween, picking out our pumpkins and going to the pumpkin patch!"

Well then.

With a Monday off school (for Columbus Day) we decided to make a go of it... and apparently so did about a bazillion other families.

I've strategically shot and cropped our photos to make it seem more wholesome and beautiful, but really there was a ridiculous crowd. 

I think the only notice of the throngs of people were taken by the grown-ups, because both Audrey and Henry were chanting "Best day EVER!" while they were getting in the tub at the end of the day. So there's that.

As they say, all's well that ends well.

(See our last visit to this same pumpkin patch here.)