Apples & Pumpkins & Sunshine, Oh My!

At this point it's been a number of weeks, but awhile back we visited the apple orchard/pumpkin patch that we like so well, Stuckey Farms, down near Indianapolis. Such a great place! This visit was by far the busiest, and the absolutely most gorgeous weather. EVER. We spent pretty much the entire day down there which really wiped out the girls... but we went to my parents' house for dinner, which helped them get through the evening! This post might be picture overload (might? Let's face it: It is.) but I had trouble weeding out. The sky was so blue, the light was so bright, the leaves were so green, etc.

This is what we do for entertainment while waiting for the tractor ride to come and take us back from the pumpkin patch.

The best part of this trip was on the tractor ride back with our pumpkins, Greta was getting pretty restless, so I was trying to make conversation with her in an effort to distract her and keep her from throwing herself from the wagon in a fit of rage. I said, "Greta, we'll carve our pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. What do you want yours to look like?" She gave it a good long thought. "Ummm.... I think a bottom."

With Halloween comes Anja's favorite candy: Candy corn. This stuff nauseates me. I can't ever remember liking it, and about once a year I think "Maybe now I'll like it" and I'll taste a piece, and, no, I still find it disgusting. But Anja can't get enough of it. Yesterday she told me, "Mama, the candy corn with the brown on the top? Don't worry, it's just a different flavor, it's not rotten!" Thanks, Anja, I was worried!

And speaking of Halloween, I am rocking the frugality contest this Halloween! I've been really striving to get the best deals on stuff. I had 3 Jo-Ann's coupons, which only work for regularly-priced items. (Annoying, since most of their store is on sale.) So I've really been working to get the best deal, coupon or no coupon. Which included making two trips out there yesterday. But it's worth it! So far I've gotten all I need for Greta's costume, a booklet of fall stickers for the girls, and a little Halloween decoration for our door, and the pattern for Anja's wolf costume (best deal: originally $13.49, I paid .99!) all for roughly $10! I am SO proud of myself. Now I just have to get the hairy fabric for the wolf costume, and I'll be all set! I'm excited! Anja is most excited. It was her idea to be the Little Red Riding Hood characters!

I apologize for the incomplete birthday post. My birthday was most wonderful, as I said, but my post erased the whole part about the second day when the girls had pony rides. When we were returning the cabin key Martin saw the information for the stables, so we drove out to see what was available. It was a slow day, so we were the only people there (it was early, too) and the guy at the stables just kind of handed us a pony and told Martin to keep him on the gravel and don't let him eat the grass. He didn't tell him how long to go or anything, so Martin just took the girls one at a time on a nice slow pony ride on the nicest, softest, MOST ADORABLE PONY EVER. I wanted to take the pony home with me. Seriously, it was so cute. And SO SOFT!!!!!!!!

Now this outdated post is posted.... and tonight WE ARE GOING TO SEE TIM O'BRIEN AND I CANNOT WAIT HE IS SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, one of my long-time loves. I loved Tim O'Brien WAY before I loved Martin (shhhh, don't tell Martino!) It's a family-friendly show, and we've been trying and trying to convince Greta to come with us--I think she would absolutely LOVE it. But she says she wants to stay at Ooma's house. Whatever. Someday when she's older and Tim O'Brien is too ancient to perform anymore I'll tell her about the chance she passed up when she was 2. And she will have to live with the regret for the rest of her life. But, whatever; it's her choice.