It's pumpkin time!!

Anna's soccer practice was cancelled yesterday due to the downpour (why does it always rain on Tuesdays during soccer season??) so Gary decided to pick the girls up early and carve ALL the pumpkins we have at our house. We picked up 2 large ones at Cedar Hill Farm during fall break and Caroline picked up 2 smaller ones at the Harding Early Childhood pumpkin patch. Plus we have 2 pie pumpkins, but those will stay in tact! Gary prepped the pumpkins on Monday by carving the top and emptying all the contents. He carefully cleaned the seeds to roast later this week. If any of you know my attention-t0-detail (code for obsessive compulsive) husband, you realize that he washed EACH seed carefully as to remove all remnants from the interior of the pumpkin. Makes him happy and definitely did not bother anyone, so have at it, Gary!!

I was still at work while the kids decided on their creations. Caroline wanted a silly face and so she got a cross-eyed jack-o-lantern with one tooth. Anna wanted a happy one and drew the face herself for Gary to carve. Gary carved the largest one with a classic scary face. By the time I got home from work, the pumpkins were carved and dinner was on the table!! Now, how is that for a productive afternoon!!

caroline with her "silly" jack-o-lantern
anna has a happy jack-o-lantern

gary has an awesome scary jack-o-lantern


we had them all lit up but hard to tell here. great job, gary!

Trunk or Treat

Some friends from Highland Church of Christ invited us to their annual "Trunk or Treat" tonight. It was such fun for the girls. After a cookout and devotional, the kids did a parade of costumes and then trick or treated at all the cars. It was fun to see how everyone had decorated their tailgates, trunks or even our friends the Bakers that had a decorated RV!! The girls changed up their costumes from Friday night and wore their Auburn cheerleader outfits. They had a really good time and enjoyed seeing so many of their friends from school. We had a great night!

my friend rachel baker attends Highland C of C and won best in show for their western themed rv. we've known each other since first grade!!
fun displays really entertained the kids....this was a display of one of the kidnergarten teachers from harding....

the girls were getting ready to participate in the costume parade

the girls with sophie and lanie from school

Fall Fun Fest

The past two weekends we have had the Harding Fall Festival and the Hope Fall Fun Fest!! Both have been fun and Memphis has treated us with crisp fall weather both weekends. Harding had some fun games for the kids and surprisingly fun shopping for me. I was able to scoop up some great Christmas gifts while the kids were on the moon bounces or laughing at the dunk tank!! By the way, the teachers and other faculty that braved the dunk tank on a cloudy day in the low 50's were awesome!!

This weekend Hope Presbyterian hosted their annual Fall Fun Fest complete with moon bounces, a mechanical bull, rock climbing walls, quad bungee jumps and lots of games, food and candy. There was even a live game show called Kids Blitz. Gary was asked to be a stage manager and had a great time. Anna was disappointed to not be picked to participate on stage however she enjoyed it greatly! The girls were dressed up as Pocohantas and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. It was a chilly night but fun and we stayed for over 4 hours!

Looking forward to more fall fun times and of course trick or treat next weekend.

anna modeling her face paint
caroline and gary at harding's festival
the girls braved the wind and cool temps to model their costumes before heading up to church
pocohantas on the rock wall
gary as stage manager in kids blitz

Fall Break wrap up

So last week was fall break. Each day I tried to think up something fun around town to do with the girls. The week definitely wore me out, but it was great to have time with the girls during the day and to be able to see so many fun things our town has to offer.

Monday we visited the library, found some books off Anna's A/R list, picked up Mimi from the airport and then the girls went to the circus with my dad and stepmother Julie. They had a blast and even rode an elephant!

the girls riding an elephant before the circus started!

Tuesday it was supposed to rain so Mimi and I loaded up the girls and headed to the Children's Museum. Gotta love using the membership for free admission. The girls played and played and played. Mom and I were starving and finally got the girls to leave. We let them pick our lunch place and of course we landed at Chick-fil-a.

caroline shopping at kroger in children's museum

the girls flying a fedex plane!

Wednesday we were off the My Big Backyard at the Botanic Gardens (see earlier post). Loved it and joined that day!

wading in the creek



swinging on the double swing

Thursday we drove and drove and drove and landed at Cedar Hill Farm in Hernando, MS. The girls enjoyed a pumpkin patch, hay ride, corn maze, pig races, petting zoo, pony ride and much more. Kind of a humid day but at least the rain held out. Caroline was sacked out on the ride home, only to wake up rested by the time we got home!

the girls and i in front of a TON of pumpkins

all decked out on the hayride

Friday was STORMY and so to be creative, Mimi and I took the girls to Paint-a-Piece pottery studio. The girls picked out gifts to paint for Gammy for Christmas and had a lot of fun in the process!!

anna is working hard on her masterpiece

caroline was all over the place, but had fun!

Saturday and Sunday were normal weekend days with lots of college football, church, lunch with friends and fun outside in the cool fall temperatures!

Monday brought in-service for the girls so they stayed with Mimi as I can only stay away from work for so long!!

Fall break was fun....next year we will probably be at Disney World....we promised Anna we would return when Caroline was 4 and so she will be next year!!

A Perfect Fall Day!

It is fall break for my kids this week and I was able to take the week off from work....don't even get me started on the rant of why my kids need a FULL week off from school after 8 weeks of learning, but any-who....we are enjoying our time together. The weather has not been that cooperative so far until today, Wednesday, which I will call the "perfect fall day" in Memphis.

I loaded up the girls and took them to the new permanent exhibit at the Memphis Botanic Gardens called "My Big Backyard". This is an AWESOME exhibit and my girls had a fantastic time. We spent 3 1 /2 hours there and could have spent longer had we brought a picnic lunch with us, which we will definitely do next time.

There are so many fun elements to the exhibit which is all outdoors. With the temperatures hovering in the upper 60's/low 70's, it was fabulous. There are swings, a creek to wade in, playhouses, bee hives, a giant tree house/playground, a spider web made of rope to climb on and many other things. I have included a few fun pictures. On the way out I ended up joining the Gardens and the girls are already asking when we can go back.

Such a fun place to take the kids and such a beautiful fall day!!

the girls in front of the "flower beds"
wading in the creek....they loved it!!

the double swing...wish we had this is our backyard!!

anna making music in the "house of rock"

more time in the creek

caroline with her dressed up trunk figurines

one of the playhouses...the house of rock