Pumpkin Patch 2011

It's time for our annual visit to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. As soon as the kids came home from school, we headed out to see the pumpkins.

There were some pretty big pumpkins out there. But they were also pretty expensive ($30-$40 for some). So, we just looked at the pretty pumpkins and decided to buy a big one at Kroger for $5.99 (and it benefits our family!).

The kids always love running through the long rows of pumpkins.

In fact, here's a pic of Kaitlyn doing the same thing in 2007!

The horses liked eating the pumpkins too.

The kids always like posing in the wooden cutouts.

Craig likes to pretend he's 'driving' a tractor.

Here he is in 2007 'driving' a tractor too. Such a country boy at heart! Yes, that's Preston when he was 1 yr old with lots of curly, blond hair.

Here are my 2 favorite kids!

Kaitlyn took this picture of Craig and I. It turned out pretty good!

Then it was time for a hayride. Like I said before, I enjoy going on hayrides.

Here is our view from the hayride.

The kids loved the mazes too. This is the smaller maze.

There goes Kaitlyn into the bigger maze.

Kaitlyn and Preston walking around the maze.

The only way to get out, is to come down the slide. We should do this in our backyard!

Ever since the State Fair, I've been looking out for unusual things to share with everyone. As we were waiting for the kids to come out of the maze, I saw a mom holding this bag of snacks. They looked like pretzel rods and are called 'Matdongs'. The bag says it's a 'lactic-acid fermented snack'. Don't even know what that means, but it doesn't sound appetizing. However, her kids seemed to enjoy it.

We always let the kids go in the big house made of pumpkins to pick what they want. Preston had a hard time deciding at first.

They each chose a pumpkin and I picked out 3 minis to use as decor in my house. Stay tuned to see how our pumpkins turn out!

The pumpkin patch is a fun tradition that we look forward to every year. I hope we have many more memories to come!

Vintage Photo: This picture was taken in 2008. Kaitlyn was almost 5 yrs old and Preston was 2 yrs old.

Harvest Stew Festival

It's time for our annual visit to the Keller Harvest Stew Festival. Craig had to work so it was just the kids and I. We are always willing to attend local festivities, especially when they're FREE!!

First, the kids got to make fish masks.

This year, there was a petting zoo. Preston was not afraid to get in the pen with the animals.

Kaitlyn was a little more hesitant and just reached over the fence to pet some of the animals.

Then, they got their faces painted. They both chose witch's hats.

Kaitlyn and Preston really enjoyed all the different games because they got to choose the prizes. I was so happy there weren't any candy prizes, but toys. They actually had some decent ones too like silly bands, basketball hoops, bouncy balls, etc.

Everyone loved the cookie decorating table.

Next, we loaded up on the trailer for the hay ride. I actually really love hay rides. It's one of my favorite parts of Autumn.

We had entertainment on our hay ride.

The kids went in the bounce house after our hay ride.

Finally, we had some popcorn and lemonade. There was stew and cornbread, but I like to know exactly what's in my food before I eat it. I figured popcorn and lemonade was safe enough.

It was a fun night, perfect weather, and lots of activities.

The State Fair of Texas

Craig received free tickets to the State Fair through his work. The kids had a half day of school yesterday, so off we went.



There were metal states on the ground and we found Texas. Craig told Preston and Kaitlyn to go stand where they thought we lived. It seems like they think we don't live in the same place. Ha!

One of the big draws at the State Fair is the big Texas/OU game. Craig is a huge Longhorns fan (I went to UTEP so I'm a Miners fan-Go Miners!) and happily posed by the team's semi.

We saw a couple shows: Amazing Dobermans and the BMX Stunt Show.

Here is the mascot of the State Fair, Big Tex. At regular intervals, he talks to the crowd.

Here are the police on horseback!

We also got to watch the Starlight Parade.

Our favorite part is always the auto show. The kids loved sitting in the different cars.

We got our picture taken courtesy of Chrysler.


This is a truck that had scenes from 9/11 painted on the sides.

Yes, this is a pool table.

There was also some interesting people watching. You've heard of the site People of Walmart. Well, there needs to be a site called People of State Fairs! These pics are blurry because I had to take them quickly so I wouldn't be caught. lol

There's a guy with green on his head. It's a light-up mohawk. His friend had a pink flamingo hat.

See the red on the girls heads walking away? It's actually their bright pink hair. And no, they weren't wigs. As I was taking the pic, this guy walks by with a green, stocking hat on! Perfect timing!!!

Since this is Texas, it's still pretty warm here and everyone wanted to show off their skin.

As we were leaving the auto show, we made it outside just in time to see the Illumination Sensation. It's a choreographed water and fireworks show.

The big concert last night was JB and Moonshine Band. Never heard of them, but people seemed to enjoy them.

It's all fun n games until someone gets hurt. Preston got in a fight with a tree. He was running backwards, turned his head, and the tree attacked him. I took him to the bathroom to clean off his face. He has a small cut above his eye and scrapes all around. Of course, the way he was crying, you'd think is eye was falling out. Have you ever had one of those moments where your child decides to let everyone know their pain and cry at the top of their lungs in a public place? You know they are just going overboard with their crying, but nothing will calm them down. Then everyone around thinks you, the parent, are just tormenting the child beyond belief but yet they don't offer to help and stare instead. Yeah, it was one of those moments.

But after a good night's sleep, Preston woke up in a great mood, with evidence of the tree fight still on his face. :( I'm so glad his school pictures were last week!

So, we didn't eat any fried food. There was plenty of it: fried bubble gum, fried lemonade, fried chicken skin, etc. But we just couldn't bring ourself to eat any of it. It didn't look very appetizing. We just had cotton candy and ice cream.

It was a fun night, but we realized it's not something we would want to do every year. Every few years of the State Fair is about all we can take. Plus, I don't think Preston wants to come home scraped up again.