Pumpkin Patch

Last week Joy & I took Henry and Will to the Elgin Christmas tree farm for their pumpkin festival. I had not been there since Matthew was probably 2. It was good to go back. Will & Hank were immediately taken with the animals they saw. Will thought they were all cows. Not true; we saw goats, a pig, geese, an emu I think it was, a horse, a cow, and a donkey.

Will loved the huge cluster of pumpkins and was more than willing to have his picture taken.

As you can tell, I wore my best clothes for the occasion. It actually felt like fall that day, it was the perfect day for a patch visit!

You can't really tell from this picture, but I think the boys' favorite part of the day was the hayride. They loved it.

It was windy that day too, but not too windy for a boat ride on dry land! Will would steer and Henry pushed the buttons.

Then there was a fight for possession of the tractor steering wheel.

They had a grand time running around the corn maze and deciding which direction we should go. We did in fact make it out. Hooray!

After we ate our picnic lunch Will posed on the pumpkins before we headed out. Joy asked Henry if he would go stand by Will. He refused.

This is his protest. Heehee. We had a great time. It's fun to do some of the same things together that we did with their older siblings. Henry & Will are good buddies already. Henry is always on Will's case and yelling his name (reminiscent of Ava taking charge of Matt), but Will is not nearly as agreeable or laid back as his older brother. It makes for a very loud yelling match. Truly though, it is fun to watch their friendship grow. Many more antics to come, that's for sure.

Dallas

Last weekend the boys and I journeyed up to Dallas for our annual State Fair visit and sleepover at the Brown home. This year was extra fun because Team Rener stayed at the Brown's house as well. 5 kids made for one loud house. I will say that they had a blast being together. Ava did a phenomenal job keeping up with the boys and only occasionally opted out of their strange games they'd made up.

The little boys did their best to participate in the big kid fun, but mostly they jockeyed for possession of one coveted toy after another.

Saturday we watched a very sad Longhorn defeat, but the company and the food were fantastic. Sunday afternoon we attended the wedding of Casey & Amanda. It was a lovely ceremony. Matt sat nicely still with his cousins while I sat in the back with Will. He got the wiggles about the time vows were being exchanged so we had to make an exit. He ran around the lobby with Henry.

The reception was fun; the kids were highly entertaining. Matt was doing these weird statuesque poses that were cracking us up. He'd strike a pose and hold it and then switch to a different pose. I have no idea what that was about, but it was awesome.

Monday was Columbus Day, and the kids were off school so we figured it was the perfect day to go to the fair. So did everybody else! That place was crazy packed. We still had great fun.

Look at these adorable children!

Will & Henry were troopers being patient in their strollers for most of the day. Snacks help a lot.

The big kids were very excited to ride the race car ride again, and that was their first choice of the day. This time though they decided to all ride in their own cars.

Good buddies.

Will is tall enough now that he was able to ride the airplanes. I had to sit with him though. He LOVED it. He smiled and giggled through the whole thing. I would have let him ride more, but I had to fork out tickets for both him & I to ride and that would have wiped out my ticket supply after 2 rides. Maybe next year he'll be tall enough to ride solo. Maybe. :)

Matt, Josh & Ava went on the huge slide all by themselves. They carried their little rugs all the way up the stairs and slid down without our assistance. So big! They were very proud of themselves. That's Matt on the far right with the look of sheer delight on his face.

There is nothing that compares to a corny dog at the fair. SO delicious! Later, Matt enjoyed a caramel apple. That was tasty too.

We spotted these cool license plate pinwheels on display, and Matt ran and looked at each one. He made sure he saw one from each state before we moved on.

Cuteness!

We went and saw the animals like we always do, and while there were some cool things to see I was completely stressed at keeping up with my children in that insanely crowded sea of people. Will would not even consider being held by me or even hold my hand. He insisted on being free range so he could feed the animals too. I could have used a leash. Seriously.

It was another super fun day at the fair, and I know the kids had a blast. I think this picture of them with their swords they won at a game just about sums it up. From the fair, Joy & I and the kids drove back to Austin. Alison and Chris were so brave to host all of us for the weekend. They really are incredible friends and amazing hosts. We always love staying at their house. I'm pretty sure Matt would still be there if he had his way. :)