Fall Festivities

It may not quite yet be "the most wonderful time of the year" that is referred to in the popular Christmas song, but in our household, we're pretty big fans of fall. We love the changing leaves, the cooler temperatures, and (for Daddy, of course) the fall football. :) Now that we have little boys in our family, we can add a few more fall favorites to our list. Here are some of the recent fall activities we've done in our community:

Harvest Fest

This local event was similar to our downtown summer farmers' market-- food vendors, local farmers' crops, and a variety of crafters' ware. The morning of the Harvest Fest was VERY chilly, so we all bundled up.

Don't you love the beautiful fall colors?

We were mostly just "window" shoppers at the event this year but decided we had to try one unique kind of food. We stopped at a crepe stand and bought a crepe filled with... ready?.... bananas, strawberries, cream cheese, and Nutella. Yum!

The boys were such big fans that we probably should've ordered two! What a festive morning!

THE PUMPKIN PATCH

The fall season didn't quite feel complete until we picked out our annual pumpkins. This year, we ventured out to a pumpkin patch to pick some of our own. The day we went, unlike the Harvest Fest, was a gorgeous, warm day. The actual pumpkin field was a bit of a walk from the farmer's barn, so we gave the boys a ride in the pumpkin cart.

Whoa, a ride without seatbelts! The boys hardly knew what to think. :)

We only made it in the cart a few more feet after this picture was taken. Both boys wanted to walk on their own.

Upon arriving to the actual pumpkin patch, both boys eagerly ran around the field, tripped on a few vines, and touched as many pumpkins as they could.

Jaden tried picking up the pumpkins butquickly became frustrated when he realized they were a bit too heavy for him.

Cody was perfectly content just pounding away on the large pumpkins.

The field was HUGE!

Finally, it was time to pick out our pumpkins for-keeps. We searched high and low...

After finally finding a few perfectly-sized pumpkins, Cody helped Daddy cut them off the vine.

Meanwhile, Jaden created his own sort of pumpkin chair.

We loved the fact that we could leave our jackets and gloves behind. God gave us a beautiful day!

In the end, we decided upon 4 pumpkins-- a Daddy-sized, a Mommy-sized, and a set of twin baby pumpkins. The boys had no problem at all staying in the cart on the way back. Can you imagine why?

We were thankful for the warm temperatures and the enjoyable family memories at the pumpkin farm on this day. And now, our porch is fall-complete! :)

REVERSE TRICK-OR-TREATING

Amy's Mothers of Multiples Club annually sponsors a reverse trick-or-treating event. We were excited to join in for our first time this year. All the sets of twins don their Halloween costumes. After a few adjustments to the stripes (to allow the shirt to squeeze over our boys' large heads!), our little jailbirds were ready to go.

About 10 sets of twins and their parents met at a local assisted living facility. There, we walked up to the residents and handed out candy to them (hence, the reverse aspect). First, we visited with all the ladies who were sitting in the lobby. 

Then, we split up into 3 groups and knocked on doors down various hallways to greet additional residents. After receiving candy from us, this kind woman was eager to show us her pet kitty. At nearly every door following this stop, a little twin girl along with us would ask, "Where's your kitty?" :)

We were proud of Jaden and Cody's willingness to hand off the candy we gave them.

Both boys caught on fairly quickly to the concept of giving away their treats. (Obviously they didn't quite understand the tastiness of what they were holding!)

One of the sets of twins in our group was another identical twin pair-- 2 year old girls dressed as astronauts. They were very good at waving good-bye to all the residents and telling them to "have a good day."

We definitely put a lot of smiles on these residents' faces during our visit!

What a great idea for an event! We look forward to attending again in the future and reminding our kiddos that Halloween doesn't have to be all about receiving.

Despite what this picture shows, our boys really did seem to have a good time at this trick-or-treat event. We were trying to end with a cute outdoor costume picture, but that'll have to happen another day! :) After trying to take the picture, we realized that Cody was sitting in a wet spot on the lawn. Oops, sorry, buddy!

We've enjoyed creating some new fall memories with our little family of 4. It truly is a wonderful time of the year! :)