Pumpkin Patch 2011

The annual Schienbein family trip to the Country Mercantile today was AWESOME!

That place has always been such fantastic part of our Autumn traditions.

When we were there last year, I was pregnant with Elin. We were also in the midst of a house selling and buying, so it was a very hectic. But this year, we had hours of time, and the weather was beautiful.

Even though Elin and I didn't climb up the hay pyramid, we watched Brian, Tayler, and Carson scale it, and still had a great time.

Then, Carson and Tayler gave the hay bale maze a shot. They did great. And kept going back for more. And when Carson finished, he ran up to me and said

"Mom! I run TOO FAST!!!"

Then, it was off to the patch! Carson was pretty stoked that we would be riding

a tractor out to the pumpkins! We searched.......

And quality checked......

And finally selected the perfect ones.

I hope we are able to go to the Mercantile every year. As we were riding the tractor back to the "barn", as my family sat around me, I looked at the beautiful rows, and rows, and rows of big orange pumpkins, then at my healthy, happy kids, and I could help but think about how lucky I am. Days like today remind me that

THESE are the best days of my life.

TEN

Sweet baby Elin just turned TEN months old, and I seriously have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like we just brought her home from the NICU, so thankful to have our precious girl on the path to health. She's grown, and thrived, and made our lives happier than we could have imagined. She is crawling, and exploring with such excitement. She LOVES her brother and sister so much. And the smile on her face when her Daddy enters a room seriously could melt snow. It is darling to see. And her frequent "Dad. Dad. Da Da Da Da's" positively has her Daddy in love.

She's recently been sitting with us up at the table on the rare occasion when we go out to eat (instead of in her car seat)....and to say she's thrilled with it really doesn't do it justice. She loves to eat, and grab, and shriek (much to her Daddy's embarrassment), and throw items to the floor. It's so sweet to see how much happiness it brings her.