THE PUMPKIN PATCH

I LOVE FALL!!! I think I really love all of the seasons, for different reasons, but I love fall b/c I love the trees changing, the fall colors and smells--and I LOVE the pumpkin patch!! God has been so gracious to give us WONDERFUL pumpkin patches where we have lived, both in B'ham and in S'haven. I know He understands my heart and how much I love taking the kids to the patch to get their own pumpkin--and He just has blessed us with wonderful patches and farms to go to. Anyway--today was our big Cedar Hill Farm day with the family. We went out to the farm and got to ride horses, pet animals, go through corn and hay mazes, and the most important part--pick our pumpkins!! Ty picked a whopping 26 pounder and Emma's was 22 1/2 (unfortunately we do pay by the pound for these things). We had a wonderful time and usually in the past it has been hot--but (thank you Lord) today was a BEAUTIFUL fall day with the sun shining and a cool breeze!!!


Ty's GIANT pumpkin

It took Emma a good 10min. to find the "perfect"pumpkin. She didn't want dirt on it or scratches--pretty hard to find in an outdoor patch!!:)

Hay Maze

Ty going down the slide on top of a different hay maze

Our sweet girl

Jeff, Ty and Emma on the hayride to get the pumpkins

Entrance to the Corn Maze--which the girls got out of FIRST!!

Ty and Emma before we split into teams in the maze

Ty on Oreo--seriously he tries to get this same horse every year and talks about him for the rest of the year.

Emma on Taco

Watching the chicken show

Petting the animals

On the train

Trick or Treat!!!

Trick or Treat!?! Ok we know it's not really Halloween night, but Emma and Ty wanted to paint their faces and "practice" trick or treating. You will see actual Trick or Treating pics later, but I thought everyone would get a laugh out of our "practice run through"!!!

New Couches!!!

We were so blessed to be able to get new couches after we had our old ones 10 years. They arrived today quite unexpectedly and the kids have loved playing on them and getting in our ottoman that opens!!!

Hook'em Horns

Today is the big Texas VS OU game. Ty, always wanting to match dad, had to put on his "hook'em horns" jersey (and football underwear) and they watched the game/wrestled on the bed. Ty took breaks every once in a while and I would take him on a bike ride, but they definitely enjoyed watching the game together. Thanks again MiMi and PaPa for the ball that plays "The Eyes of TX Are Upon You"-it was played MANY times today :).

10 Years Together~ Celebrating in Vancouver

For mine and Jeff's 10th anniversary we have been planning a trip to Vancouver Canada for a year and a half. The whole idea came up when we were at a Passion Conference in Jan. 2007. The Passion staff announced they would be doing a world tour in '08. Jeff and I talked it over and decided we wanted to volunteer at one of the Passion World Tour sites to celebrate. After talking with Leigh, one of my college roommates (her husband is on the Passion board), we found out that they were going to be in charge of the Vancouver site, so we decided to help out there. That summer of 2007 some of our friends (and another college roommate)moved to Seattle to plant a church. So we decided we would fly into Seattle, stay with Tim and Amy and then drive up to Vancouver, to volunteer for Passion. This summer Jeff talked with Marc, Leigh's husband, and Marc asked Jeff if he would be willing to be in charge of all volunteers. Jeff was excited, b/c he loves this kind of thing. In the end, Jeff ended up being in charge of volunteers and I helped with hospitality. We have no actual pics of the event--it was so busy, I never even got out my camera--and I never even got to get a pic with my friends:( BUT we did get some great pics of how beautiful our trip was. Thanks to all of the family members who gave us money last Christmas to make this possible--It was a trip of a lifetime!!!

Pike Marketplace, where they throw the fish!

View of the market from where we ate lunch

North of Seattle on our way to Canada

Just across the Canadian border

Entering Vancouver

Driving into downtown

View from our room

Sunrise from our room

By the ocean in Stanley Park




Crossing the Lions Gate Bridge to go north of Vancouver


The drive north was breathtaking!!! the mountains met the ocean
and it was beautiful.

Emma and Ty in Texas

Jeff and I went to Vancouver Canada to celebrate our 10 year anniversary (more on that next post). While we were there the kids went to TX to spend some time with MiMi and PaPa and Grammi and Poppy (I'll post their pics when I get them). They had such a blast and got to do so many fun things. Ty built a house for Casey(his build a bear). Emma built a bed for Lacey (her build a bear). They went to Six Flags, the movies, botanical gardens, and the State Fair of Texas. They were both SO excited to get to ride the HUGE Ferris Wheel!!! They had so much and we are so grateful for wonderful grandparents that will have fun with them.

Family Movie Night

A couple of Friday nights ago we decided to do a family movie night. The kids picked the movie and we all watched it together. We had such a fun time.