Not a pumpkin picking post

I've talked up my love for farm fun many (many many) times, so it's no surprise that we made our way back to our favorite farm for their corn maze and other activities.





But we almost didn't make it. Between soccer on Saturdays, neighborhood picnics, rainy weekends, and our trip to Great Wolf Lodge at the beginning of the month, it was down to the wire--we went the Sunday before Halloween.





I had every intention of us picking pumpkins off the vine--something I was so mad we missed last year. But because we waited so long, it was really slim pickings. The pumpkins some people were coming back with were fugly. So after all my ranting last year, not only did we not pick our own pumpkins, we didn't get any at all. Total fail.

But that just left us more time to do all the fun farm activities they have. Top of this list, always: bouncing!








There was also sliding and riding (holy wow, that tractor ride went through part of the corn maze this year and bounced us around like crazy! I think my bruises might still be healing!).






Pedal carts...



Goats (awwww!), football, pumpkin slingshots, tether ball...




Little brother hits big brother in the nards, then points and laughs. :)


We had hours of fun on a surprisingly warm fall day. I almost didn't even miss the pumpkins. Maybe the yummy kettlecorn distracted me. :)

Strawberries for days

Words fail me at the moment, so how about some pictures?

I've still got a huge backlog to go through and post, but we'll start with last month's strawberry picking adventures.




Let me just say that I think I've found my new Mother's Day weekend tradition. Like last year, we had another absolutely perfect morning picking strawberries and playing at the farm's fun park.



We picked two baskets FULL. I'm talking over 12 pounds of strawberries...whoa! Once we got them home and I had to clean them all, I realized we probably went a bit overboard, and thought they'd go bad before we could eat them all. Luckily I was able to freeze a few pounds, and made the most delicious quick strawberry jam. I've never made it before, but now I'm totally spoiled. I know how I want to use the frozen berries now, and I'm already looking forward to next year's haul.



Just when I thought we needed to stop because pickings were slim in field 1, they opened field 2 and we were the first ones over there.




Once our baskets were overflowing, we were ready to play! The best thing about the farm we go to is that they have family fun park. We could spend all day there. Bouncing...





Tractor-riding and um, hamster-wheeling? These huge pipe things were on tracks so we could race each other, which was pretty hilarious.



See sawing and pedal carting...



Duck racing...





And of course, feeding the animals. They gained a donkey and their goats have grown since last year. Awww!



We made some more great memories that day that I'll always cherish.



(Oh, and look at that. Clearly I found some words after all.)

Mother's Day happiness

My poor little blog has been so neglected lately. Things have been so crazy, and of course I've also been lazy in between (story of my life, ha!), but I've got so much to catch up on!

I'll start with Mother's Day since those are the most recent pics on my camera--and easiest to go through since I only took a few. Oops!



I had a really wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Quality family time, some fun, some relaxation, and lots of love.



A busy day of strawberry picking and pool time on Saturday led to some sleeping in--always VERY appreciated! Of course "sleeping in" is a relative term--on Sunday that meant Lorelai didn't wander into our bed until close to 7:30. The boys followed a little after 8am with homemade cards galore. Adam also surprised me with a generous spa gift card so I can go get spoiled with a massage and facial.



They each had written such sweet things about me and to me, I couldn't help but get teary from all the sweetness. And then I laughed when I saw that Aidan loves me because I pay for water so he can clean himself.



And Logan thinks I'm "prettier than a diamond" and would rather "have two of you than a diamond." {{cue the heart melting}}



We had a really low-key day, which was all I needed. Sure, I could have done without the grocery shopping, but we really needed food, so it was all good. :) That afternoon, we headed to the in-laws' place and had dinner with them and my mom.








As I was tucking Aidan, Logan and Lorelai into bed and thanking them for everything--the kind words, the sweet handmade cards, the snuggles, kisses, and love, and just for being in my life--I was brought to tears (three times in a row!) by how lucky I am. How truly blessed I feel as a mom, to have these special, wonderful, amazing children as my own. They're my whole world.



Oh, and I'm pretty dang grateful to my husband for helping me create them. :)

Go 'Canes!

Thanks to a co-worker, we lucked into 5 free(!) tickets to see the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game last Monday. And they were great seats, too. Score!



We've taken the boys before so I knew they'd love the opportunity, but I wasn't sure about Lorelai. Especially since the game was at 7, and her bedtime is usually 7:45/8pm. I debated seeing if my mom could watch her, or just getting three tickets so Adam could take Aidan and Logan, but Adam insisted we take her, without hesitation. I'm so glad we did, because the whole thing kind of blew her mind. :)



All the people, the cheering, the ice on the middle of the floor inside...she loved it. She kept saying "whoa, they're skiing so fast! That's too tricky for me though." I told her they were skating, but she kept saying skiing, which was too cute. She also kept asking where the pig was, aka, Stormy the ice hog mascot. (BTW, I had to google Stormy because pig, really? What does that have to do with hockey? But yeah, ice hog. I get it now.)



Honestly, I don't know much about hockey at all. I know they skate (not ski!), I know that a puck is supposed to go in a net, and I know who to cheer for. But that's about it. Adam tried to explain icing to me at one point, but I couldn't repeat a word he said. Doesn't matter one bit though, because we all cheered on those 'Canes like we knew exactly what was going on, and had a blast doing it.

We left at the end of the second period because it was getting late for Lorelai and we wanted to beat the crowd. Unfortunately, they were losing 0-2 to the Bluejackets after 2 early goals within 17 seconds of each other, so it was kind of a bummer of a game at that point. In hind sight though, I so wish we had stayed. Apparently, the 'Canes had a major comeback and ended up scoring 3 goals in 3 minutes and won the game. How fun that would have been to see!

I think we've got some official "Caniacs" on our hands here.


Maybe we should invest in some Hurricanes gear so we fit in better next time though :)

One last beach hurrah for the year

Before the official end of summer, we had one last beach hurrah.



Adam and I took Thursday and Friday off of work, packed up the kids and my mom, and headed down for a nice long weekend of sun and sand.



Well, there was lots of sand, but the sun decided to hide for half the time. Clouds and rain be damned, we still had a good time.





It was a great way to say goodbye to summer and kick off our three week fall break from school.





Luckily the weather was still warm, despite the clouds. But we did have our fair share of chattering teeth and blue lips after playing in the water for a while. The water was actually pretty warm, too.




I find such peace and joy, just sitting on the beach, watching and listening to the waves crash while the kids squeal with laughter.



We saw dolphins in the distance and pelicans diving for fish. A kind fisherman down the beach showed the kids his impressive haul of bluefish.



Adam and I were talking, and we got to wondering whether people who live at the beach take it for granted. If that's what happens, then I'd never want to actually live at the beach. Because it would be such a shame to take for granted something so beautiful, powerful, calming, dangerous, peaceful, fun, scary and exciting.



For the record, Adam was totally on board with my whole "never living at the beach" thing, because he doesn't exactly share my appreciation for it. Four days was more than enough at one time for him. :) I on the other hand, cannot wait to go back next summer for another long(er?) weekend!



And now I can officially say "bring on fall!"