Fall Favorites

 Fall is here!  One of my favorite things to do is can.  I'm not great at it, but I do make applesauce and this year tried my hand at raspberry jam.  I'm very spoiled...I only will eat homemade raspberry jam.  My mom makes it the best, and I don't like any other jam or jelly.  Now I've learned to do it myself!  A friend from church has a raspberry (field?  patch?) area and invited us to come pick this week.  It was so very kind of her.  The kids had a great time and now we are well stocked for the winter as well as some for gifts.

 For my birthday #1 gave me tickets to the Country Living Fair.  It takes place each year in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio.  #1's parents were kind enough to take the kids for the weekend (except Sweet Pea of course!) and we had a great time.

It is almost impossible to get a picture of Sweet Pea right now when someone isn't holding her.  She just is way too interested in everything around her.

 A new fall favorite is going to the farm!  It has been a summer favorite for quite some time, but when our friend mentioned they have a fall festival where they show how harvest happened back in the 1800's...we were excited!

 I always tell Miss B. that it is a good thing she comes along on these trips so that my children have someone to explain things to them while their mother is busy snapping photos.  Here they are pressing sorghum to make sugar.

 I am glad this photo didn't turn into a milk carton picture (do they do that anymore?).  At one point LMM was NOWHERE to be found.  It was VERY scary.  He had been standing with everyone watching the blacksmith at work and then he was gone.  I found him a few very long minutes later  down the path towards the entrance.  He had followed a group of people with kids and didn't realize it wasn't us and then he didn't know where he was.  We were with two other families that day (I didn't ask the one family if I could post pictures of their kids so there are a few  cute ones I'm not including) and between us we had nine children.  I can see how he would see a large group of little people and follow along.

 Sweet Pea had her first encounter with a Pumpkin.

 Like everything else in life, it was fascinating 

 We haven't done this in WAY too long.  I don't think we even got one at my cousin's wedding.  If we did, I don't think it turned out this well.

 The kids got to make rope, I'm so glad it isn't made that way today, it is a very tedious process.  Part of why he got lost was because he was waving his rope around not really paying attention.

 Not the best picture I got of her...I took several that I love.  However, I think this gives me a glimpse of her when she is much older.

 Always fun to visit the farm.

 Next up on my list of fall favorites (that we have done so far, there are tons more things to do before Thanksgiving!)  is cooking out in the backyard.  We don't really love camping/cooking outside when it is hot and humid.  We prefer cool comfortable days for that.  While we didn't have the time to campout due to the fact that we have several projects going on around the house, we did stop and have a hot dog roast around a fire.

 I cannot recommend one of these contraptions enough.  I'm not even sure how I had three other children and didn't own one.  It folds down like a portable chair and goes into a bag.  Seriously a wonderful thing.

 Our dogs enjoy fall days when we're all outside too.  While they are no longer indoor dogs, they are really good with the kids and stay in the yard.

I had giant roaster marshmallows left from making Snug's birthday cake (they were the "dots" on his Lego cake).  They were a big hit.  

We have so many fall things planned from the pumpkin patch to hiking to trick-or-treat.  I LOVE fall!!!!!!