Another Year at the Pumpkin Patch

After so much fun at Sinkland Farms Pumpkin Festival last year, we couldn't resist going again this year. Going with the same friends, made it even more fun! All the photo ops are, of course, one of my favorite parts. Thanks, Jeet, for the great family photo!

Hunt snapped this one of me and my boy in the preschool hay maze.

Check out last years blog post for a similar shot that shows how much Archie has grown.

More pumpkins that one could count.

Archie had fun again on the pony ride. Grace was still too scared.

Face painting was more her style. She got a cute pumpkin.

Archie loved this crazy Hokie thing. It high-fived with him.

He also got to milk a fake cow.

The mini-pumpkin chunker (catpult) was lots of fun. Because Archie helped clean up the pumpkins, he got some free shots.

What's Cooking?

First, for my father-in-law who is quite allergic to shrimp, you might want to skip this post. To everyone else, welcome to the world of raw shrimp cooking. The grocer at our local Chinese store is very persuasive. I'm really not sure what I was thinking the other day when I went in and asked him for shrimp when I was hoping for pre-cooked, deveined, peeled. I mean, I know what kind of shrimp Chinese people like to eat. Sure enough, that's what I was offered. He made such a good sales pitch, I just couldn't say say no. Plus, I wanted to serve authentic for my guest coming that evening.

Shrimp are actually gray until they're cooked.

Yum, Yum! (Actually, I much prefer the other kind. Getting the brains out is rather messy work.)

I forgot to take a pic of the discarded shells, legs, brains, etc. You're glad, right?

Crossville Fun

When Grace got hand, foot and mouth disease the other week, we didn't let it spoil our fun. (Thankfully, she didn't have a very bad case.) We took the time off to go see Memaw and Papa. We got to help Papa celebrate his retirement AND birthday. The kids LOVED running down this hill.

Rolling down the hill was also pretty fun!

The Game

No need to talk about who won or lost - just the fun we had being together tonight while Grandma watched the kids.

I was pretty mesmerized watching the majorette twirl three fiery batons. Don't think I've ever seen that before at a football game.

Preschool Fun!

Archie loves preschool and who wouldn't with all the fun things they do. His school is called BUMP (Blacksburg United Methodist Preschool). He goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. He is really sad on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings when he finds out it's not a preschool day. His teacher's name is Miss Leslie and she's an 18 year veteran. She actually babysat some of my best friends from college when they were little.

Getting ready to leave home on the first day...He told me he would be needing the car, but I opted to drive him :)

Archie got to bring in donuts, tomatoes and bananas for his birthday. Our whole family came for snack.
They have all kinds of interesting work.

Archie loved show and tell. He, of course, brought in his guitar.

They have several class pets and are always hatching monarch butterflies.

Happy FOURTH Birthday, Archie!

After two years of relatively quiet birthday celebrations, Archie got to have a big party this year and he LOVED every minute of it. We were so thankful our park party went perfectly and the weather was splendid! Every guest Archie invited came! He had a blast. I think all the kids did.

Before the cake, we let Archie open his stomp rocket. After busting open the pinata, all the kids shot it off. We found it much less stressful and just as much fun as traditional party games.

This pinata was meant to withstand serious blows from school-agers. The preschool crowd had quite a time getting it busted open (and that WITHOUT blindfolds). Archie had been talking about a pinata for months. He fell in love immediately with the firetruck we selected together. (Grace has already decided she wants a fish one for her birthday NEXT year.)

I made his cake. (Hunt helped spread the icing around the sides.) My mom bought the cool ARCHIE candles. Because of the breeze, it was a bit tricky to keep them lighted.

Grace was so glad Memaw and Papa were there. It helped make the all-about-brother day a little more palatable for her :)

Archie loves being four already. So far, the highlight is 4-year-old preschool. He goes three days a week and would definitely go more if we would let him.

Best Friends