HALLOWEEN I: Mother Nature's Halloween

The Tuesday before Halloween (which fell on a Friday this year), JC and I decided to take the kids to Mother Nature's Farm to pick out pumpkins with which to celebrate Halloween. It's a cute little (not so little) place just down the road from us that I've driven by about a million times and wondered what exactly it was almost as many times. JC seemed to have some kind of "I've lived in Gilbert since the second I was born" insight into its purpose and suggested we take the kids there to enjoy the festivities.

I was so excited.

Why, you ask? Is it because I especially enjoy Halloween? Mmm...no. In fact, I could really do without it. (I know, I'm a party pooper, blah blah blah) But I do LOVE all that is Autumn. And I love that we can DO stuff with the kids now! They are getting just a little older and more resilient, more independent and frankly, less of a devestating pain to take to public events. :) Now, I love babies and early-stage toddler more than just about anyone in this universe (especially mine) but do I want to take three of them out to crowded, hectic, unstabalizing (for them AND me) events too often? That's an easy no.

More power to Kate Gosselin. But I'll keep mine and my children's sanity, thank you very much.

HOWEVER, we are starting to grow up! (Oh yeah, and it also helps immensely that JC's mom was excited, as were we, for her to come enjoy it with us! Cousin Colton tagged along as well, making for an especially fun evening!)

SO, we can start to attempt "simple" outings like this now and it is a great feeling! Our adventures on the night of the pumpkin hunt went as follows...

The baby looking even more like a baby next to a pumpkin of the giant sort.

Bethany and James settled for pictures with smaller accessories...
Once we were inside, the hunting could begin . . . I should have taken a picture of the spread-o-pumpkins . . . it was amazing. So was the dust in the air. I believe that Ben's next bout of horrible illness was born on this very night. Darn dust.

James, bathing his feet in pumpkins, trying to feel out the best ones.

Ben was semi-content to sit in the stroller for the first half of the outing. Especially since Colton is a champ at playing with babies. This is Ben "giving five" which he was happy to do repeatedly.


Bethany, surrounded by gorgeously striped, spotted and color-splashed pumpkins.

She found a winner...this is Bethany's first choice for the night...

Just chillin...

Here's James, excited about his selection.

Bethany's second choice for the night...the first one was thrown to the curb...

Colton found a one-of-a-kind specimen

James continues to peruse the harvest.

Ben got tired of being a spectator and, after enough wining, convinced me to let him down. In nothing but socks...to walk all over the hay/straw (JC would usually tell me which this was, but he's not here) and breathe in all the nasty dust.

And what a joy it was.

Aw, sweet cousins...

My lovely family, underneath a harvest moon.

Ben, back in the stroller, accepts a pumpkin from his thoughtful cousin.

Grandma Teri gave her input on Bethany's indecisiveness, pointing out the good and bad points of each pumpkin.

Ben decides to choose his own.

He decides on one that calls out to him. Then HE calls out, as he grunt-ingly heaves it up. Notice his mouth, open and grunting. I adore this picture.

Bethany, with her final answer!

As we headed back out the way we came, Bethany and James climbed over every possible hay(straw?)stack and pumpkin, getting the most out of their experience.


What a fun way to start celebrating Halloween! I would like to think we will do this every year but after breathing in all that dust and how sick Ben eventually got with all that junk in his lungs, I just don't know if it's something I would brave again! I guess only time will tell.

We had a lot more fun on this week but my updating is as slow as my housekeeping these days...neither my blog or my home are in great working order. But, hey, I do what I can. :)

More to come soon!