Pumpkin Carving

The kids wanted to carve their pumpkins that we got from the pumpkin patch. So, Thursday night we decided we'd take the plunge and see what happens. Maddie was great. As you can see from the picture, Ashton was not so thrilled with the "feeling" of cleaning out a pumpkin. He quickly wanted to wash his hands and take a back seat on this project! :-)

Maddie likes to be all in the action, so she had to keep a watch on Alex and make sure he was doing her Dora pumpkin right.

Here are the pumpkins we ended up with. We have a spider web for the family, Ashton has a predators logo and Maddie has dora.

Alex did a great job!!! The kids love them and can't wait to sit them out on halloween for everyone else to see.

Ashton is SIX years old

Tuesday, Ashton turned SIX!!!! He was so excited. Alex took the day off and we had lunch with him. After lunch, we had a little cupcake party with his class. It was so cute to watch he friends get so excited about his birthday and he loved it! Miss Dawn, Ashton's teacher, does a great job making the kids feel super special on their birthdays and Alex and I were both impressed with what all she did. She is great!

Here is Ashton sitting in his "birthday chair" eating his cupcake.

Maddie gave Ashton a cowboy hat (along with a selection of other things) and Alex and I got him golf clubs. This is what we've started calling our "cowboy golfer". :-) These are probably his two favorite items.

Alex, Ashton and Maddie went to the driving range to try out Ashton's new clubs. They had a great time and Maddie did good taking pictures of the boys.

Family Pictures

Our last family picture was when Maddie was only a year old! I know, I know that is way too long!

Saturday afternoon, we had new pictures done! I wanted these to be more fun and less of a "studio" look. So, we decided to do outside this time around. Back in the summer I was walking some out at Long Hunter and thought that would be the perfect place. Maddie was not her usual camera hog self, but we did get some great shots despite her "attitude". I'm really excited with the job Nat Uhl did. Here are a few of the ones I liked of the kids. There are so many to choose from I'm not sure how I'm going to decide which to get prints of.

1st Field Trip

On Friday, I joined Ashton and his class on their first field trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Smyrna. It was really nice and we had a great time.

Here are a couple of pictures of his class minus one little girl that couldn't go. :-(

Ashton had a great time petting the animals which is so odd for him. Normally Ashton's is a little bit of a baby about things like that and so Alex and I were totally shocked by him being so excited about them. I had to get pictures just so Alex would believe me. :-)

Evan is one of Ashton's best friends from school.

Here is Ashton and the other kids that sit at his table at school playing in the corn bins. Mary is the little girl right across from him and she is probably one of his favorite girls in the class.

Everglades Alligator Farm

On Tuesday, we took the kids to the Everglades to an alligator farm. We watched an alligator show, then took a airboat ride through the everglades (which was really neat, despite the getting wet part) and then we got to watch them feed the alligators. Maddie was really brave and somewhat held the alligator. Ashton didn't hardly want to even touch its tail in a picture! I amazes me how much they are different when it comes to certain things.

Fall Break Trip

Last night, we arrived in Miami after our first plane ride with the kids. Maddie ABSOLUTELY loved it!! Ashton was a little apprehensive at first, but after the take off, he was fine.

Maddie got the window seat during the take off and Ashton switched with her for the landing.

Day one:

Ashton learned to "ride his surf board" in the ocean and is super excited about it. He goes about 3-5ft and thinks he is a pro. :-)

For some reason, running up and down the beach has always been Ashton's favorite pass time on fall break and this year has already proved to be no exception. Maddie joined him for one run and then she was done and needed to "take a break".

While the kids were digging a whole in the sand to bury each other's feet, they had a visitor come to check things out. Ashton decided to scoop him up with his shovel and put him in a bucket. I was totally amazed by its eyes. They are so odd, but interesting! I know, I know.... I'm weird!

The Pumpkin Place

Thursday, we went to The Pumpkin Place in Gladeville with some family and friends. It wasn't the best pumpkin patch I've ever been to, but the kids enjoyed themselves and that is the most important thing. We took lots of pictures, took a wagon ride (no hay involved though they called it a hayride), went through the corn maze led by Ashton :-), and then they played in their little "kid fun" section. There were animals to check out, corn hole boards, a sandbox full of corn and toys, little games of all kinds, a hay stack maze and then a few other things. The kids had fun! We even got little pumpkins on the way out.

Fall Break

Monday started the two week fall break for Wilson County Schools. Since Maddie's school follows their calendar, both kids are on fall break together! YAY for us! This week is going to be our low key week and next week we're going to be soaking up tons of sun, the beach and lots of fun stuff. Alex had to go to Orlando for work this week, so the kids and I are going to hit the pumpkin patch on Thursday with Casey and her kids and a few friends. I will definitely be posting some pictures from that. I love the pumpkin patch and I can't wait to take them.