Preschool Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Last week we spent the day at Bishop's Pumpkin Farm with Jack's preschool class. We had a great day!

Jack and his buddy Dylan, lined up and ready to start their day

Miles and Jack on the hayride out to the pumpkin fields

Miles on the hunt for his perfect pumpkin

It was a beautiful fall day on the farm

Jack is super thrilled to take a picture with mom :)

Miles and me

Next stop, the train ride

Fun on the barn slide (by the way Evan and I thought this slide was way too big/fast for Jack when he was 2. Miles didn't even ask if he could go on it, he just bounded right up the stairs. That's how he rolls)

The boys favorite spot is this hay jump!

They had hay everywhere

Playing in (and on) this wooden train entertained them for a long time. We enjoyed the best cold apple cider here in the shade in between climbing and jumping.

Playing cowboys

Visiting Bishop's is one of my favorite parts of fall!

What's New?

We've been home all day taking care of our newest sickie, Miles. After a record stretch of healthiness in our family, we've been hit hard by one bug after the next lately. Evan has had strep and mono, Jack had some sort of stomach flu for a whole week, and last night Miles woke up with a fever and a cold. Thankfully, this mom has been spared. Maybe coffee is an immunity booster? Because the up-all-night-taking-care-of-sickies has led to a whole lotta coffee drinking around here.
The upside to spending so much time at home though is that I've been able to catch the boys with my camera doing the everyday activities that fill our days. All too often I only remember to grab the camera for special events, but it's nice to remember what we're doing the other 90% of the time too...even when we're sick.

Chef Miles has been busy working the bbq- hot dog anyone?

He calls the chef's hat his "cooking hat". I love that.


Watercolor painting has also been in frequent rotation. Three cheers for cheapo back to school supplies which keep us busy!

Miles likes to paint too

Movie night is also fun! The boys turn off all the lights, we pop some movie theatre butter popcorn- yum, and enjoy a family movie. So far, we've watched Lion King, Aladdin, and Curious George 2. This is quickly becoming my favorite way to spend Friday night.

While Jack's at school, Miles likes to help me clean. I'm working this for as long as possible- it certainly won't last. He loves to spray the windex.

He's also a great duster

Today we unrolled this craft paper on the coffee table and had an art studio. Jack decided we should make a "Halloween poster". So, we all contributed some Halloween themed crayon drawings. It was fun and they stuck with it for a long time. I don't know why we haven't done this before? Usually we color and craft in the kitchen. But, it was cozy to be in the living room together too...and a better use of our coffee table than the jumping platform it's become for the boys lately.

Coloring with my Miles- I'm making an effort (starting now) to get out from behind the camera and get into a picture or two (thanks Jack the photographer for this one).

We all worked on this puzzle today- my own geography is improving each time we put it together!

Tonight my sweet neighbor, who knew we'd been stuck inside all day, brought the boys these coloring pages to work on - if they color them they can redeem them for some free tokens at Chuck E Cheese. It was just the activity we needed to see us through to bedtime! This is the same neighbor who delivered a Starbucks to me this morning- she must have seen my bleary, sleep-deprived eyes at preschool drop off. Trust a mom of 3 little boys to know what a fellow mama needs on a sick day!!

Fingers crossed for a healthy weekend!