Finishing up Fall- 2013

Whew! We've had a busy Fall. So busy in fact that I haven't had time to catch up on the blog. But I did want to get some pictures up on the blog. You know, just in case the kids look at this in 20 years and wonder what we did in the Fall of 2013. I realize that the probability of that happened is hovering around 2.345% right now, so maybe the real reason is so I can feel like I am somewhat keeping up with our lives. Let's go with that reason, shall we?

 One of the best things we did all October was one of the simplest. We picked Bennett up from school one Friday and headed straight to our area Botanical Gardens. We packed a picnic dinner and just let the kids run around and play. It was a gorgeous evening and they ran, and ran, and ran. We ate sandwiches and just hung out. So simple and so easy. We stopped at Panera Bread on the way home for our first hot chocolate of the season. It was perfect.

 We spent our Sunday afternoons on the soccer field watching Will bend it like Beckham. He even got a trophy for it. That was a source of much pride for our son and was a source of much consternation for our daughter. The oldest one. Not the youngest.

 We went to local Fall Festivals where the kids went on wagon rides, swam in giant pits of corn, planed garlic, and more. I just watched and took pictures. My days of swimming in corn are over.

 Speaking of peanuts, you can't live in Dothan without going to the National Peanut Festival. I invited my parents to come and join us and who can resist driving 2 hours to ride on a ferris wheel and eat boiled peanuts? Not my parents! Oh, and my husband won fist place in a photography contest. Because he is just that awesome!

I may miss the cold Fall weather living in south Alabama, but there are some days where I do not miss it at all. Namely when I can take my kids to the park and play in November and they can run around without coats. That eases the pain a bit.

 Maybe my favorite picture of Lainey ever?

 I chaperoned two separate trips to two different pumpkin patches with my two oldest kids.

Rob and I went to Birmingham for a weekend and stayed with my sister and we got to go to our first Alabama game of the year. Roll Tide!

 Cuteness on the porch.

 Like most families out there we did our annual pumpkin carving and seed roasting.

 And of course, we went to the requisite pumpkin patch.

 Here is our nice family photo from Fall 2013

And here is what most of the outtakes look like. This sums up my kids.

 Now we are off to celebrate Thanksgiving, get ready for Christmas, and cheer on the Crimson Tide to a victory in the Iron Bowl (hopefully.) Hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful season as much as we are.