Fall Family Fun

I finally had some free time this afternoon to sort through some of our recent photos, and I know my mom will be happy to see that I'm finally posting a few here! I thought about trying to give them all their own tidy little post, but that just takes too much work. ;)

So, here we have our annual trip to the pumpkin patch on the beautiful weekend before Halloween. We had so much fun! I love watching my kids in the pumpkin patch. Even Kristen was toddling all over the place picking up tiny pumpkins, and even cuter, the big kids were doing the same thing--to give to her! Of course, no visit is complete without cotton candy and ice cold lemonade, both of which we had in abundance. :)

On Halloween day, we carved our pumpkins and celebrated the first birthday of our own little black kitty! She was just a tiny little stray fluff of a kitten when our neighbors rescued her last year, and, figuring she was about six weeks old at that time, we counted back on the calendar and estimated that she must have been born right around Halloween! So that has become her birthday; appropriate, I think! :)

Trick-or-treating was so much fun this year. So many of our neighbors were set up in their driveways handing out candy and visiting with everybody who came by, and it just felt so friendly! Some people really went to great lengths to provide fun for the kids; one family down our street was even passing out bags of warm, fresh popcorn from a big theater style popper they had set up in their garage! Kristen and I came home after a while to pass out our own candy, but the big kids enjoyed staying out with Daddy to visit more of the neighborhood!

This past weekend we were happy to attend the annual Renaissance Faire at the park. Some things had changed; my brother wasn't performing this year, and Clan Tynker was noticeably absent. (Although there was the new addition of a wine garden! Except we didn't have a chance to visit. Next year, for sure!) Still, we had a great time browsing the vendor's booths, playing in the children's realm, eating yummy food, feeding the ducks, and, of course, ending with a canoe ride! This year was Darren's turn; I've ridden with the children the past two years and figured he was finally due for a little fun of his own. :) After about four hours, though, we (meaning "me" more than the others) were finally ready to head home!

I feel like time is swiftly marching forward, now. School is going well with the kids, extracurricular activities are keeping us plenty busy, Darren and I have some home organization projects under way, and my mom will be visiting the first two weeks of December! I can't wait to see her again! In the meantime, mom, I hope you enjoy the photos. ;)