Twins in the Pumpkin Patch with a Scary Spider

Please tell me I'm not the only mom who does this:

I get dressed in the morning, get the kids dressed, and then once we're ready to head out the door, realize I've dressed at least 2 of us, if not all 3 of us, in semi-matching outfits.  Like I must've been in the mood for a particular style or color and inadvertently reflected that in the wardrobe choices. 

That's why last week Christian and I were wearing the same pants.  But we look great as twins!  I figure I should start choosing David's outfits as well because we would be so cute as one of those matchy-matchy families.  Especially since I don't try to match and it just comes naturally.  So naturally we should all match because apparently that's what I want deep in my heart of hearts. 

if only Christian owned a floral shirt

I think these photos are from last Wednesday.  The weather has been so amazing lately; foggy and chilly in the morning with warm sunny afternoons, and we've been soaking up every bit of sun we can like we're squirrels or bears preparing for winter or something. 

At this particular pumpkin patch (our favorite one) Christian wasn't afraid of the pumpkins, but he was afraid of the giant blow-up spider.  I love this picture of Daphne venturing up to touch the spider while Christian was hiding his face in the wagon floor:

Other than the terrifying spider, this pumpkin patch trip was a good one.  Especially because there was a cat and Christan loves cats.

Our front porch is basically a pumpkin patch in and of itself right now, but I'm going to bake a couple for puree and of course we'll carve a few, so hopefully in a week or two we'll look less like crazy pumpkin hoarders and more like normal people with just a healthy love of gourds. 

you can't see the two behind the mums or the 5 in the flower bed and the ones in the house

MCC Sale and Cider Day

As I'm sure you all are devoted followers of this blog, you will remember this post from a year ago all about one of our favorite weekends of the year. 

This year was extra special, though, because GAL's family from Alaska got to come too.  (Not Mr. GAL, just in case that knowledge is important.  Did I hear he was camping alone in the wilds of Colorado?  Because that sounds awful, if it is true.)

So all the information about our weekend I already wrote last year.  BUT, this year you get extra special information from GAL's blog because she knows lots of things.  Like this post all about the inner workings of a cider press, in case you need that information for some reason.  (Although...the post did leave me wondering about worms in my cider?  Are you telling me I have 4 gallons of worm juice in my freezer?)  This post includes pictures of yummy grapes and sweet children. 

Here's our sign picture for 2013:

It's different than the one I put on Facebook, because I realized that in that one I was the only one who looked happy and in this one at least David looks happy, too. 

Other random photos that I liked from this year:

Stacy and GAL discussing quilts

lunch at the sale

somebody REALLY likes cider

view of the cider makers from the donut makers

a lot of people in this picture look...interesting

everybody cry!!

king and queen of the castle

baby barn kitty

 the best pianists learn here

My only regret is that I didn't eat very many donuts because I was still full from lunch...but fortunately for me I have the recipes and will be making pumpkin donuts again soon.   Just because I can.  

And that's a wrap on Sale and Cider Day 2013. 

A Little Then and Now

Two years ago September we took a little trip up to Ft Vancouver, one of our favorite parks to visit.  Christian was teeny tiny and Daphne was a few months shy of three. 

We went again last week and sort of replicated that picture:

Sweet little squishy Christian!  I just want to pinch those little baby cheeks.   He still has pretty good cheeks, he's just better at getting away from the pinching.  Or he will hit you with a big stick if you try. 

David bought a (gross and disgusting) pumpkin pie from the grocery store so he and the kids could have a little pie picnic.  Christian was with me and pronounced the pie "yucky."  Pumpkin pie isn't really the greatest thing anyways, but then to buy it?  That seems to be a recipe for disaster.  David and Daphne were happy, though.

Then as we were driving away I had the camera hanging out the window like a tourist to take a picture of one of the houses on Officer's Row, because it's a good inspiration house for the one we may be living in soon. 

Isn't it so cute?  (The answer is 'yes.')

You Know the Pumpkin Patch is a Scary Place

I believe October 7th is the latest in our lives that we've waited to make it to the pumpkin patch.  We're getting lazy in our old age.  Daphne has been just desperate to go (she needed more pumpkins to decorate with), poor thing.

Christian also loves pumpkins, and even though he was super excited about the idea of the pumpkin patch, once we were standing in the middle of the field he pretty much freaked out.  I don't know why?  It's not like the pumpkins were unusually large or trying to attack him or anything.  They were just sitting there, being all orange and cute.

clinging to Daddy in terror while sis is blissfully happy

So we went to the little play area where I got scolded by a guy for standing on a tower of straw bales because apparently they're only for sitting on (and I wouldn't want to be a bad example for the oh, no other people who were there at 9 A.M. on a Monday morning).  Finally after riding a horse thing and watching Daphne peek through pumpkin cutouts Christian was ready to be unafraid of the pumpkin field.

If tiny pumpkins were this frightening I'm nervous on how he's going to handle the Christmas tree farm.  Who's raising this little scaredy-cat anyways?

contemplating the horror that is a field of pumpkins

a pumpkin snowman, and never afraid of anything

If You Love Trains, Here Ya Go

It's true David has been working a lot lately, but in good news, he switched over to day shift!!!!  That sentence deserves lots of !!!!!.  He switched two weeks ago, but somehow he got himself some overtime right away so he was working 7 A.M. to 11 P.M.  And I was thinking "day shift totally stinks!" and "this is ALL the day!"  Daphne was sad too; she missed her dad. 

Then he had training, which means he had no weekend and worked for 10 days...so yeah, we're still not sure yet if we like 'day' shift. 

But now he basically gets two weekends to make up for the weekend he lost, so he's on a little 5 day vacation.  Now we are all happy. 

Somehow I found out about the Oregon Pacific Railroad, looked on their website, and found it only costs $5 a person to go for a little train ride.  We love trains, we love $5 (plus they let Christian on for free!), so that's what we did yesterday.

We started at Oak's Park and went downtown kind of by OMSI.  You have a few minute break to go into the little railroad museum where they have the hugest engines of all times.  I never knew they were so big.  Then you head back to Oak's Park. 

It's a really fun little outing and a good way to spend an October Saturday afternoon.

Crazy Chickens (AKA Us)

Might as well check in here and say 'hi!'  We've been running around like crazy chickens with our heads cut off, showing our house, putting in an offer on a possible new place (well, part of a new place.  The place under the new place (hint, hint and yet so confusing!). I'll tell the story if our offer is accepted.  Although if you know me in real life you already know...but still, no need to go on and on about something if it doesn't work out, so I'll just be ultra-vauge and ridiculous right now.) Deciding what bridge to live under once our house sells...you know.  Good stuff. 

No need for photos of what it looks like when I spend every second trying to keep our house looking good for whoever is coming to look at it on that particular day (since that's basically what is feels like I'm always doing).  The children DO NOT help with this, by the way.  

I did manage to get pictures for Daphne turning 5 before the rains came.  (5???  What on earth.)

And struggled to get any of Christian holding still long enough for a picture to be taken.  Finally I realized splashing in water made him happy and got him to at least stay in one place for a minute, so while he's a bit blurry here, that's just how we'll have to remember him at age 2.  As a blur. 

BSF is going perfectly and I love it, I got to join a community-type choir for Christmas, it seems like David is at work ALL the time (poor guy), and I think it's October although it seems like it should still be April at the latest.  Good grief.