Rewind - Fiddlesticks Farms

On what has now become and Thanksgiving trip tradition we visted Fiddlesticks Farms. Lucky for us this years' corn maze was far easier than last. We covered all three mazes in record time for us. Unlike last year where we got so hopelessly lost in a starburst area that we finally had to backtrack our way back out the entrace to have any hope of returning to civilization before it got pitch black and the mosquitoes ate us alive.

The boys ready to run the "5 minute" maze on their own.

Connor in an uncharacterically Daddy like move - cutting through the corn when he realized he had reached a dead end.

Well, at least one child made it out.

The whole crew going in.

One of Fiddlestick's new additions this year - the roping horse and steer. We figured the boys should probably take it one step at a time. First, learn how to ride the stationary horse on their own. Next year maybe we will work our way up to sitting a horse and fiddling with a rope. :)

Connor sitting a saddle like a pro.

Ryan - a born cowboy.

The farmers checking out the livestock.

The goats checking them out, too.

And ah, yes. The barrel train. A whole train full of cows with cute little names like Loolabelle, and Daisy. So innoncent looking. But don't let them fool you. They were man, or rather mama eating cows. Trying to get in with one of the kids I managed to sit down with one leg in, with the child in my lap and my other foot hopelessly stuck outside the cow. We had to completely disembark and try again only narrowly making it the second time. The boys had a great time going up and down the hills, round and round the path. I on the other hand was sure I was going to be be black and blue from the beating I took with every turn, and bump along the very, very long ride. The boys on the other hand loved it and were ready to do it all over again.

I am pretty sure that sign is at least 3 inches too short. :) While the munchkins are short, they aren't that short. But at least we will have something to compare it to next year!

And last but not least the super duper slide. The boys thought it was wonderful. And if it had an escalator we might have, too. :)

Rewind - The Mulberry Tree

The thing about mulberry trees is that they shed. ALOT. The tree was still 90% green and leafy though you wouldn't know it from the drifts of leaves piled up like a childs dream.

It didn't take the boys long to find the leaves.

And figure out that throwing the leaves in the air was lots of fun.

So is stomping on them.

They also had a bit of help - Great Grandaddy showing Connor some new tricks.

Ryan and Great Grannie having some laughs.

Ryan running laps around the motor home.

And walking the plank.

Connor doing his best to avoid stepping on the plank.

Rewind - At the Park

While we were visiting Grannie we stopped by the super cool park to play one afternoon.

The pictures don't do it justice. It's one giant interconnected walkway with chutes, ladders, and slides galore.

Connor practicing his head first slide.

Connor proving he really does know how to go down on his bum.

Ryan checking out the pea gravel.

Connor playing in the gravel.

What happens when your brother comes running across the bridge at the same time as you.

Picking up treasures along the way to the ball fields.

Ryan running the bases. He really is my child. Only faster. :)

Connor - definately mama's boy - ready to pitch already!

Rewind

Remember Thanksgiving? Yeah. Totally never got around to posting it. So here is the cliff notes version. We drove. 500+ miles. And were still in the state of Texas. Nuts. We waited until we got off work around noon then headed out at the boys' naptime. While they spent most of the time in the car contentedly sleeping it put it us in at my moms super, super late. I think it was around 1am, but I am not entirely sure my eyes were still open at the time so who knows... :)

We Thanksgivinged, we went the park. We played in the leaves the yard man thankfully hadn't had time to pick up at Great Grannie and Grandaddy's house. And we went to Fiddlesticks farms. We visited, we ate, we laughed, and it was over far too soon.

I can't imagine where they get it from...

Like father like sons...

When Daddy's "in charge."

This is apparently what it looks like when daddy's "in charge." :)

Lights, lights, and more lights

Weekend before last we ventured up to The Woodlands to see the lights around Market Square. Despite the mist and the lateness of the hour we managed to get some cute pictures of the boys in front of the giant Christmas tree.

Ignore the posessed crazy look on my face. I was doing crazy things to make the boys smile. :)

Hey - it worked!

Festival of Lights

There were nutcrackers, and angels, and polar bears on skates.

There were hippos, and giraffes, pirate ships and rug rats.

There were elves, and their toys, santas and snowmen.

Good friends one and all, such a wonderful night.

Jesters

The boys got new hats today. Not that they will have many chances to wear them, or that they will likely want to, but I loved them from the moment I first saw them. They are so silly and fun. And I think they look so darn cute in them. But don't take my word for it. Judge for yourself.

See? Adorably cute.

Children of the Corn

While Grannie was here we took her to Dewberry farms to show her all our favorite things there. We discovered a few new things since our last visit. Like the corn house. Imagine a GIANT sandbox filled at least 2 feet deep, only instead of sand it's filled with kernels of corn. Add a bunch of Tonka trucks, and you can imagine what a little boys' dream it was. The boys had fun wading through the corn and filling up and dumping out the truck beds. For the next few hours we were easily tracked by the nuggets of corn that dropped here and there from another pocket, or a turned up cuff where the corn had found a hiding spot.

We also played on the playground. The slide was fun, but less of a hit than the wheeled vehicles this time. The boys both loved the little twister cars though they just pushed them with their feet. They managed to get going pretty fast on the concrete and did a pretty good job steering, too.

Before long the boys' attention turned to the ducks safely just out of reach on the other side of the fence.

After a stop to see the chicken show we took Grannie to see the animals.

First the goats who seemed as interested in us as we were in them.

Then off to the barn to see the chicks. Only they weren't tiny little hatchlings anymore. They were much bigger and more dangerous as Connor discovered when we got too close and one kicked sawdust in his eyes. Poor baby.

We also petted the donkey.

Having seen all the animals we decided it was time for a run through the maze and maybe a little nap.

Connor helping to pick up the fallen corn stalk so Grannie could get by.

Ryan pointing out the corn.

Kevin and Ryan surveying the maze from the bridge trying to figure out how to get us back out of the maze again.

After safely finding our way out and picking up some refreshments we headed over to catch the hayride to the pumpkin patch. Along the way we saw Ryan's favorite "yewwow bus!"

After a short wait in line we made it onto the hayride, past the Christmas Tree farm finally stopping at the pumpkin patch.

The boys had fun running through the patch and checking out the pumpkins. They did an amazingly good job staying out of the rotten pumpkins.


As we walked back from the patch we stopped by Fort Dewhickey to show Grannie the big tunnel and our favorite super slick slide from the top of the fort. After playing for a while and wearing everyone out we finally called it a day.