MR. TANNERS: Fall Festivities

So I’m still playing catch up…

Here’s the fun things we did this fall…on top of having a baby, my brother’s wedding festivities, and celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving. Whew…

The Pumpkin Patch

The search for the great pumpkin commenced at one of our new favorite KC traditions – pumpkin patches! With hayrides and fresh popped kettle corn, who can resist?

Tanner found a cool multi-color pumpkin that was just perfect

Well, Brooke, I’m pretty sure she had NO clue what we were doing at a pumpkin patch. Her job was just to look cute :)

Although I was blown away by how much she’s changed…seriously…just take a look!

The kids also did a corn maze that had a fun look-out tower and slide to go down. They were so excited, you’d think these kids had never seen a slide before :)

Rylee also came along, she didn’t leave the comfort of her car seat and stayed all bundled up. At home, she had several adorable Halloween outfits, but neither lasted more than 5 minutes after her soaking through them. #milkaholic DSCN0974

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving is always a family affair. But Anthony has the awesome fine-motor skills so we put those money-making dentistry hands to work. And this year, even Grammy was in town to join in the festivities too, helping clean out the seeds so we could roast them.

Tanner desperately wanted a power ranger pumpkin face…and that’s exactly what he got. Except if you ask my brother Lance…

Katelynn and Scarlett also joined us…

But I’m still not quite sure what Brooke was up to…

My mom caught up on some cuddles with Rylee

And we snapped a four-generation photo while we could!

Deanna Rose Farmstead

We visit this place in the spring, summer, and fall – but the fall is my favorite. My mom and grandparents came along with us, which was awesome considering it was one of the first times I ventured out of my house after having Rylee.

Papa told all sorts of stories from growing up on a farm. And he actively engaged with the kids doing all sorts of things – like mining for hidden gems amongst the sand, catching/releasing baby fish, feeding baby goats a bottle.

Feeding chickens ,

And Brooke waving hello to the baby goats. She LOVED them!

And Avery and Tanner got a glimpse of what milking a cow would be like.

And while everyone else was going on the hayride, Brooke and I playing in the secret garden. There’s really nothing secret about it, but we pretended it was :)

And even more exciting, there was a kitten that didn’t want to leave the comfort of my stroller. I admit, I’m not an animal fan, and I was NOT excited about that kitten being so close to my newborn maybe. Several people later…we got it to hop out.

But this was nothing compared to what happened later. I parked my stroller as we were feeding the goats, and a full grown animal with horns (okay, I really should know the name) reached over the fence and started licking the tray with leftover goodies. And then helped themselves the the juice box. All while baby Rylee was asleep in the next seat over. Yuck!!!

Haunted House

For family night, we constructed one of these foam houses. It served to be the perfect hideout for his Lego guys the next day…

Brooke’s only mission was to try to destroy it…so it finally got put up high. Sorry, Lego guys, maybe next year!

Halloween Parties

We had so many Halloween parties it was a little ridiculous. But for school, Tanner decided at the last minute he didn’t want to be Darth Vader and instead dressed up like a Pirate.

Eat yummy snacks (well, kinda), Tanner wasn’t a fan of the white-chocolate covered Twinkie…and I can’t say I blame him.

Make another fun Jack-o-latern!

And he got to be on a team with his BFF, Gage, who I hear so much about! And these two actually one too. Aren’t they so stinkin cute!!!

How I Became a Pirate – Play

Tanner has a small fascination with pirates. So when I heard they were making a play out of one of his favorite books, “How I Became a Pirate”, we just had to go. It was a mommy-son date and we loved it!

Outdoors

But the best part about fall is being outside. We had some beautiful days and enjoyed the picturesque leaves turning colors every where around us, and out the front door.

True story—My brother Lance came over to help us mow the lawn. Tanner followed behind him with his lawn mower, but eventually tired of pushing it, but still followed him around. And when uncle Lance took of his shirt, guess who else did??