It's almost Halloween....

We've had a couple of trips to the pumpkin patch this season, only returning with small pumpkins. So, this afternoon we headed to a patch to find a big pumpkin for carving! I think the day before Halloween is the time to go because all the pumpkins were MUCH cheaper than I ever remember them being....maybe it was clearance time!

We came home and carved our big pumpkin. Cate said she wanted a "spooky" looking Jack O' Lantern, which suprised us since this is the child that is extremely afraid of the dark! When asked what spooky looked like, she just said that she wanted a face with lots of teeth?!?
Jacob is the master carver in this house, I merely document the process (and watch Drew at the same time). Cate also got to choose one "baby" painted pumpkin. She was leaning towards a UNC one but opted for Hello Kitty at the last minute! Oh, well.
I wanted to see what Drew would think of the slimy, gooey insides. We should have known that he wouldn't play with it but eat it!!
YUM!

This is how he occupied himself during the carving! What a silly boy!Here's the final product!
I'll post more pictures tomorrow before the long awaited trick or treating!!

Tractor rides

This afternoon Jacob did some yard work, made 100x easier with the riding lawn mower we got from my dad when they moved. It proved to be the highlight of the afternoon when Jacob took them on rides when he was done!

Cate quote

When getting out of the car after church today, Cate asked me what it was called when the bottom of your foot has "spots that hurt?" I was confused as to what she was talking about but finally figured out she was talking about her foot falling asleep!

Me: "Oh, you mean your foot is sort of tingling? That means your foot fell asleep."

Cate: "Daddy, guess what mommy just said....she said that my foot was taking a rest!"

Too cute!

Halloween Parade

Our neighborhood's annual Halloween parade was yesterday afternoon. Cate dressed up as a Davidson cheerleader and a Drew, a Davidson football player, had a blast! A firetruck usually comes first and allows the kids to climb on and in the truck before leading us around the block for the parade. Unfortunately, the firetruck was tardy and so we weren't able to get any pictures on the truck but it did meet up with us as we circled the block. Pizza and drinks followed at a neighbors house as an end to a fun afternoon!

Cate's new look

I wanted to show you Cate's darling new haircut! Every morning I faced a battle trying to just brush her hair, let alone "fix" it in any way. So, when I took them to get their haircuts yesterday, Cate agreed to go a bit shorter. Not only is it cute but SO easy!! YEAH.

Crowders Mountain

Today a group of us from our community group hit the hiking trails at Crowders Mountain State Park. Our group included 9 adults, a 4 year old, a 3 year old, a 16 month old, a 8 month old, a 4 month old and 2 babes in the womb!! I'm extremely proud of us. The weather was perfect...cool and crisp. The hike was quite strenous but we all handled it like pro's. We made it to the top, or the pinnacle, and had a picnic lunch. It really was a fun time and great fellowship!

Here is part of our group pre-hike!

Baby Maggie in the cadillac of backpack carriers!


At the top, we had some boulders to climb which was a little tricky with the kids but with some teamwork, we all made it up (and down) safely and successfully.
Our view from the top

Graham and Katie
These 2 crashed on the way down!

An uptown outing

After the pumpkin patch and a Chick-fil-a lunch, we brought Noah and Joshua home with us! After naps for the younger ones and rest time for the older 2, we decided to take a trip on the new light rail uptown. To Cate, the light rail is called the "trolley train" and Noah started referring to it as the "charlie train," but whatever you like to call it, it was quite a hit! Once uptown, we headed over to the Green, but unfortunately for us, a wedding reception was taking place so we couldn't run around there. We headed over to the fountains across the street and then we went to visit Jacob's office. There's nothing like riding a fancy-schmancy elevator, looking out the 16th floor window of Jacob's office, and then going up and down the escalator!! If only we adults could be so easily entertained:)

These first few pictures are of us waiting for the train. The one of Cate and Noah jumping up and down is when the train is in sight!! I can't believe I was able to capture Cate mid-jump!!