Pumpkin Patch

Every year we head out to The Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch in Clanton, AL sometime during the month of October. Except for last year when we just had too much going on every weekend to make it a priority. We decided to take a family picture upon arriving before we got too hot, tired and cranky. So the very first stop we made when we got there was this wagon filled with hay, pumpkins and scarecrows.

The kids' favorite slide and they talk about it for weeks before we actually go. Ella was even excited about it. She went down it last year with Cole at the tender age of 2 and didn't remember it. The picture doesn't do it's size justice. This thing is HUGE!
Ella got to the top and didn't want to go down, but a man working up there talked her into and down she came. She didn't attempt it again. Now she may be forever traumatized.

Cole and Kelsey went down repeatedly. They love this thing.

Once I finally got Ella calmed down enough...trust me it took a good while to get her calmed down...she and Kelsey headed over to the inflatables for some jumping fun. This was more up her alley.

After the fun park, we headed to the barn to buy our tickets for the hayride out to the patch and to cool off a little. For it being October, it was summer heat. I think it reached 93 degrees that afternoon. Ella just had to try on the Einstein wig.

Checking out the toys.

I couldn't resist a picture in this small little gazebo. Look how sweet they all look.

See how wet Cole's hair is? It really was that hot and I couldn't get the boy talked into wearing shorts. Crazy kid!

Hayride out to the patch.

Ella posing with her pumpkin. Our rule is they have to pick a pumpkin that they can carry all the way back to the car. Jason and I have been stuck way too many times carrying their very large and heavy pumpkins back to the car for them so we have implemented this rule. Ella was very proud of her cute little pumpkin.

Summer Birthdays

As if our Summers weren't busy enough, we have 4 birthdays to throw in there, too. In May, Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday which I posted about back in the early part of Summer. In July, I have a birthday and Jason and I went to California during that time. Kelsey and Cole both share the month of August for birthdays. We always have a private celebration and then let them have their parties separately. Kelsey turned 8 and decided to have a sleepover and only one of her friends could come but she was ecstatic about it since it was her first slumber party. I took the girls to the movies and then we came home and did makeovers and then they went to bed around 10pm or so. They had a really good time together.Cole turned 11 and did the same thing. He's been doing sleepovers for the past 3 or 4 years now and it's very economical to say the least. This is what my house looked like w/o the sound effects for several hours. Jason took the boys to see Karate Kid and when they returned home they decided to try out the moves. One of the boys had to leave at 10pm because he had an early morning scout event and then a church event to go to. One of the boys left at midnight because he had a football game the next morning, and one of the boys had to be in bed by midnight because his Dad was picking him up at 6:45am for the same early scouting event that the other boy had to go home early for. By the end of it all, we had Cole and two of his buddies through the next morning. They were up late as usual, but had a great time together.
Cole blowing out the candles on his cake during his private celebration.

And then in September, Jason celebrated his birthday. I tell you, we pack them all in within a few months of each other. Makes the holiday times a little easier on the wallet. Cole fixed Jason breakfast for his birthday. He made a giant pancake and decorated it into a smiley face with strawberries and whipped cream. He also made bacon in the microwave and crescent rolls.

Jason blowing out his candles later in the evening.

More Seaworld/California pix

It was a short-lived vacation, but we had fun just getting away. Here is a beautiful sunset on our last night in California.
We stopped at a pier and ate dinner dockside and then drove to the beach/boat ramp area and had someone take our picture.

My inside pictures of the penguins didn't come out even w/o flash, but at least they had some outdoors for us to see.

The inside aquarium with the moving floor that takes you underneath the aquarium to give you a unique look at the fish.

Jason petting the mantarays. They were so used to people petting and feeding them that they come up out of the water to greet you.

This is actually a type of starfish called a sunfish. Very cool.

The starfish pool where you could pick them up and look at them. I never knew they came in so many different colors. Very interesting.

Jason being attacked by a giant starfish.

The sealion show with their otter friend. So cute.

Dolphin show with a black pilot whale.

Day #3...Seaworld San Diego

The star of the show...Shamu. My dream as a kid was to become a marine biologist so I could work with these marine animals, so it came as no surprise to me that my eyes were filled with tears during the show, tears of enjoyment and awe at these beautiful creatures.

Getaway

Jason and I left the kids with mom and dad and flew out early Monday morning, July 5th. We flew to Anaheim, CA. Cole, having never flown, begged me to take pictures from the air, so the first picture is just that. This is a picture of the Rocky Mountains.

We spent our first day at Disneyland, California Adventure, & Downtown Disney. It was fun being able to do whatever we wanted w/o having to entertain kids, but at the same time we missed them having fun there, too. I have to say I wasn't as impressed with Disneyland as I thought I would be. I guess when you've been to Disneyworld, everything else pales in comparison. However, our kids don't know we went there, so we weren't able to take any pictures of our adventure time there. Day #2 was spent driving down the Pacific Coastal Highway. We beach-hopped in the balmy 60-degree, overcast and breezy conditions. There again, the beaches were beautiful but I still favor the sugar white beaches of Alabama and Florida. This picture was taken at Laguna Beach.

The 4th continued...

The kids were getting a little restless at mom and dad's so Jason and I decided to take them to the park that we grew up going to. We intended to stay for the fireworks show that they have every year but it got rained out. This is an old locomotive that I remember climbing on as a kid. My kids sure did enjoy it. I'm a little worried bout it's safety nowadays. The inside floor has rusted so much that I'm afraid it may give way to some unsuspecting children someday soon.

Monkey Island from Cole's viewpoint.

It's blurry, but if you click on the picture you will see at least one little monkey on the landing above the stairs.

The wonderful Merry-Go-Round.

Let me just say that I don't remember the carousel being as fast as it was. I was afraid of losing my balance.

The girls sound asleep after a long tiring day. I think we wore them out.