The Pumpkin Patch

We had Nana and Pop Pop here for the weekend and squeezed a lot of fun into 3 days! We spent Saturday morning at a local pumpkin patch. We saw cows, chickens, roosters, turkeys, sheep and goats. We went on a hayride, played on a jungle-gym, dug and played with dried corn in a big trough and so much more, just at the farm!

We also blew bubbles, went to the park, the mall, our favorite TJ Maxx, saw some new houses, ate out and had a great time together. Thanks Nana and PopPop for a great visit! We miss you already.

Flamingos

Well who would have thought that flamingos would make such an impact.

Earlier this week, I had a spontaneous moment at breakfast and announced to the kids that we were headed to the zoo. It's an odd day that I set aside my to-do list for something so spontaneous, but I'm glad we did.

We haven't been to the zoo in several months. I tend to avoid it during the summer when it's so hot and crowded. This week we chose a perfect day - it was cool and cloudy with a chance of rain. When we get there, I think we were one of three families there. We spent a good amount of time in the reptile building where Elena enjoyed watching the fish.

I had heard that the zoo had just installed a new flamingo exhibit, but it didn't strike me as anything exciting. If you ask Noah what new animal he would like the zoo to add, he usually responds with hippo or rhino. However, both Noah and I were somehow captivated by the flamingos. I'm not sure what it was about them, but we spent a lot of time there on the little bridge over their water and watching them. We had a great time with those amazing birds!

Fall is Here

Fall has arrived! The weather has been incredible lately, so we've done a lot of outdoor activities. We went to Heritage Day where a local catholic school celebrated 150 years in Nashville with an outdoor festival, taking us back 150 years with old-fashioned games, a horse & carriage ride and of course, the authentic old-fashioned magic show! :) Here they are waiting on the show to start ...



Then the next weekend, we enjoyed the Celebration of Cultures which is Nashville's one-day festival where a local park gets turned into a mini-Epcot with exhibits, games, entertainment and food from the many cultures that are represented in Nashville.



Last weekend, we had a great time with Bryan, Ashley and Emma at the park. Noah and Emma were tough to keep up with! We got them to slow down just a bit for these shots...





We've also enjoyed playing more outside at home now that it's a little cooler. Noah is enjoying his Big Wheel and t-ball set and Elena loves the climbing slide in the backyard. She is still fearless and I can't turn my back on her when she's near it, which I of course, learned the hard way. She likes to climb up the slide and then stand precariously at the top. The other day, she somehow went down the slide all by herself like a bullet - on her belly, face first, with her hands up at her side. I got to her right as she landed at the bottom of the slide with a faceplant into our grass and she just stood up and giggled and laughed! Here she is climbing up the slide and then a few pictures from around the house...