Picking Pumpkins at the Orchard

Picking pumpkins is funny, apparently. Or maybe he's just so cold he's biting his hands to keep warm. One of the two.

Every year, Connor's preschool does a fall field trip to the orchard. This year's trip was to a different local orchard, one we hadn't been to before. With the twins in school this year, Josh had to stay home to drop them off so that Connor and I could leave early and meet up with his teachers and his class at 9 a.m. Grammy and Pappy once again met us out there for a morning of fun.

Because the orchard is about 45 minutes from our house, we were almost late. Connor was so excited last night that he didn't go to sleep until after 11. He was not at all ready to get up this morning. And Mommy can't blame him, she slept through her first alarm, too. Luckily, I had packed everything except our small cooler the night before, so we were ready to leave within minutes.

We arrived a few minutes after nine, but were still one of the first ones to arrive. After the others started to show up, the tour started with a little information from the orchard owners. Thankfully, this part was inside because it turned out colder than a lot of us had expected (or dressed for). Next we got into the line for the wagon ride behind the tractor. While we were waiting, they served fresh apple sugar doughnuts and hot apple cider. I passed on the cider, but we all enjoyed the doughnuts. And then we went around the very large orchard on the wagon ride (behind a big orange tractor, which Connor feels was the most important part).

Once we returned to the main building, it was time to walk back and pick our pumpkins. We got some garden wagons and headed out en mass so all the kids (and some of the parents) could pick their own pumpkins out of the patch. Connor also tried to sneak in an apple or two, but we caught him just in time (not part of our tour today, you see).

And last, but certainly not least, was the return to the main area. Our tour guide smartly led the group into the petting zoo first, because the big tall slides of the play area were beckoning. But we spent a little bit of time visiting the animals, mostly feeding the goats and a donkey named "Shrek," but also taking a class photo at one point. And then the true madness began.

There was hay to climb on. There were big, tall slides to conquer. And there were rope-like obstacle courses to master. It was a busy time. We eventually made our way to the very back where the wooden play sets formed a little park at the edge of the orchard. One in particular, a pirate ship, held Connor's attention for hours.

We took a break for lunch from the little deli counter inside. Connor and I had hamburgers, while Grammy opted for some chili (to help warm up on this cool day) and Pappy went with the pork barbecue. We won't mention Connor's request for ketchup and mustard and his subsequent refusal to eat the bun after realized he didn't like either of those on his hamburger (which I tried to point out before, but he chose not to listen to Mommy).

With a little bit of time left, we headed back to the pirate play set to finish out the day. We also may have picked up some apple sugar doughnuts to share with Daddy. Hopefully there's some left by the time he makes it home!

Snapshot Sunday

One of the outtakes from our trip to our favorite field earlier in the week. This is what I get when I tell the kid to "smile" for me.

Growing Up . . .

It wasn't that long ago when my kids used to clutch onto my legs and scream bloody murder if I even thought about leaving the house without them. Those were not fun days for anyone.

The good news is that they're definitely over that stage.

This is my weekend to work both Saturday and Sunday, so Grammy and Pappy came over today to watch the boys today while Josh was at class. Buster is always the first to notice when they arrive, because his whole body starts wagging in anticipation of his favorite person ever (which would be Pappy). He wasn't so excited about Cousin Louie, who also comes, but it's a package deal so he settles.

Connor sees Buster get excited, and then he knows what's going on. So he's running around screaming "Pappy's here! Pappy's here!" and hiding under the pool table. And odd combination, I know, but hiding is guaranteed to get a response that he likes, the undivided kind of attention of someone chasing after just him.

The twins just kind of go with it these days. They're neither excited nor unhappy when other people come over. They look, see who's here and often try to get the visitors to do something they want. For Sawyer, he usually pulls you the pantry in hopes of a sucker. Today I think he was too busy playing on the couch and watching The Bee Movie to notice at all. Xander often wants to climb on something and have you "jump" him down. Today he immediately came running over and climbed on top of the pool table.

As I'm starting to get my things ready to go and going over any last minute notes for Pappy about what the boys might need or want for the day, Connor is actually tugging on my hand and dragging me to the door. This is a little bit of a first.

"You need to go now, Mommy," he says to me. "It's time for you to go!"

He's right, of course, in that I do need to leave so I can make it to work on time. But still. Does he have to push me out the door? He usually wants me to stay, or to hurry back. Not today.

And to add insult to injury, Xander joins in. He doesn't push or tug, but he pauses in his quest of climbing the stairs and having Pappy "jump" him down long enough to wave and say, "Bye-bye, see you later!"

So it was time to go.

Connor did walk me to the door and offer a hug and a kiss. And then he did try to make it a little better. "Come back soon, okay?" he prompted. "You go to work until 8:32, okay? Then you come home." (He's been fascinated with time lately, so he often throws out very precise and very random numbers. His favorite is usually 1:42, but for some reason I got 8:32 this afternoon).

And then he shut the door, ready for his adventures with Pappy and Grammy.

Photo Flashback

Our big boy is getting mobile (and wants the remote already)! (October 07, 2005).

Cute Moment, Cheap Camera

Let's just say my cell phone camera really, really sucks. Clearly. But, we were only running into the store the other day for one item, so I didn't break out the big bag that I usually tote around (you know, where I keep my good camera). I had keys and a cell phone. So this is what you get.

Every time we go to the store, especially if we have time to stop and look at toys, we have to stop and look at the "big boy" bikes. And we have to ride them, of course. For hours (or we would if Mommy would let us). As it was, I'm pretty sure he made about twenty loops around the two aisles with the bikes.

The good news is he's going to love this year's birthday present. The bad news is that his birthday is in November and he's likely going to be riding either in the house or the garage for a few months! So it goes . . .