Pumpkin Patch and Pumpkin Carving

We love fall and all the activities we've made family traditions.  But, before I share all about our latest adventures, I need to give a Liam update.  Since having a conference with his PreK teacher, Liam's PreK experience has been great.  He has been on yellow or above for 7 days in a row.  That means he's had excellent behavior for more than 2 weeks.  I'm not sure what the change has been, but it's been a positive one.  We are so proud of him!  He's such a smart and creative boy.  

We went up to Michigan this past weekend to get our family pictures taken. We always take a family photo when a cousin turns one.  Hudson turned one in September, so we had to take another picture.  The kids were so excited that Uncle Rem flew home.  Liam missed him a lot.  On Saturday, we went to Three Cedars pumpkin patch.  They had a great kids section where the kids could play.   Then we rode a wagon to the pumpkin patch.  We ended our trip with apple cider and doughnuts!  Liam loved everything at Three Cedars, but especially loved trying to put together the play tractors that had come apart.  Lilly liked riding the wagon, but was not too excited about the mud at the pumpkin patch.

On Sunday we carved our pumpkins.  Liam named his pumpkin Jack (short for Jack-O-Lantern) and so we decided to name Lilly's Jill.  We had Liam and Lilly daw the face with marker and then Dave and I cut them.  Everyone pitched in to scoop out the goop and seeds.

Chain O Lakes 2014

Each year we take a trip to Chain O Lakes State park and enjoy the fall colors.  This year in addition to hiking, we also rented a canoe for an hour.  It was a beautiful fall day!  The next evening we made a fire in the fire pit in the back yard, roasted marshmallows, and ate s'mores.  We love this time of year and spending time together as a family.

Liam really wanted to take one of the turtles home as a pet.  There were so many sun bathing.

We didn't see the woodpecker, but we saw its work

Daisy was not thrilled with the canoe ride and felt much safer right next to Dave.

Liam moved the caterpillar off the path into the grass, so it would be safer.

Last year on our hike, Lilly was just starting to walk and I had to carry her in the Ergo baby carrier most of the hike.  This year she walked most of it!

Dave almost stepped on the frog.  Liam really enjoyed examining it up close.