To the Patch!

In the middle of October, we took advantage of Josh actually being home for a full weekend last month and went pumpkin picking. Like last year, we went to Alstede Farms. Unlike last year, we went first thing in the morning and that worked out really well. Fewer people, WAY shorter lines, etc. It was a very enjoyable morning. Even if it was a wee bit cooler than it would've been later in the day.  Anyhoo.

 

While Josh bought the tickets for the hayride to the pumpkins, the boys climbed the hay tower. I went up too as Finn needed help. Coming down was super exciting as Finn insisted on being held on the way down.  Jumping down a hay bale mountain while holding a 35ish pound 2 year old, is not an easy task.  But we made it down, just as Josh had finished buying tickets.

 

 

After the tickets were purchased, we checked out some of the livestock hanging out around the place. The boys were super excited to see the sheep, ponies, and donkeys.

 

 

Then it was hayride time!

 

The pumpkin patch was full of pumpkins of all sizes, and so many crazy gourds.  Sadly, there weren't any small gourds like last year. But we did find some great pumpkins.  Finn only tripped over the vines a couple of times, which was much better than last year too.

 

After picking our pumpkins and taking the hayride back, Josh paid for the pumpkins while the boys ran through the hay tunnel.  Not my favorite thing.  It was long, and dark, and curved a little so you couldn't see all the way through from one end to the other.  The boys did well going in and out and in and out, until Finn decided he was done and tried heading back across the parking lot street (a little bit of pavement separating two parking lots) by himself.  Thankfully the crossing guard stopped him as I spotted him making his escape.  So, note to self: no tunnels when you're severly outnumbered.

 

Then it was time to head back home with our pumpkins and donuts (SO STINKIN GOOD!).  We had lunch, and the boys took some really good naps.  I guess spending a good portion of the morning outside, running around a farm is good for wearing out little boys.  And writing about it all is good for wearing out Mommy.  I'll finish writing about this day, another day.

 

Let's Try This Instead

So, I did a terrible job blogging every day Josh was gone this past month.  Especially the second half of the month, when he was gone almost all of it, and I blogged almost none of it.  I think I got here one day.  So, to sort of "make up" for it, I've decided to do NaBloPoMo again (NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth)!  If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of my blog, you'll see that I even put up the offical NaBloPoMo badge for this year.  Right now, I. am. committed.

 

I am also committing to actually sort through all of my pictures that I haven't gone through yet - I'll label, organize, delete, adjust, put on flickr, etc all of my pictures from July through October.  By the time I'm finished I'm sure I'll have to do November's pictures as well, but I am excited.  And also worn out just thinking about it, but it must be done.

 

That being said, I'm off now.  Josh FINALLY made it home this morning, and we have lots of stories to trade about the past few weeks.  You know, us surviving a hurricane to end all hurricanes, him throwing a hissy fit in the middle of Yuma, that sort of thing.  Speaking of the hurricane, I'll blog about it later, but we did survive.  We have our power back, and we're doing fine. I took the picture I posted here this morning when I woke up.  I felt it appropriate.  It's a new month, a new beginning, after a rough month, and a rough past couple of days.  See y'all tomorrow with some actual content.

Spaghetti Strikes Again!

And this is why we make sure spaghetti night and shower night fall on the same day of the week:

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First World "Problems"

Two Saturday evenings ago we were getting the boys ready for bath/shower time. Josh had the younger 2 in the tub, and I had Zeke in my room, waiting to take a shower. While Zeke and I were hanging out, Josh came in and asked me to turn off the shower because he was having a hard time getting the water in the tub warm. I told him I hadn't turned on the shower yet as I usually wait until he turns off the tub water since Zeke's showers take 1/3 of the time the other boys' bath takes. So I then sat in the bathroom with the boys in the tub while Josh went down to check on the water heater. Which, looked like this:

Oh yeah! So we got the boys out I the tub, told Zeke to just put on his pajamas (which he just could not understand), and then Josh called housing. One of the maintenance guys came by, took a look, and said he'd be back in the morning with a new water heater for us.  However, this meant no showers before church in the morning.

 

Now, rather than using this opportunity to focus on and pray for those in other places who don't have clean water to drink, let alone bathe with, I grumbled about dirty I was and how there was NO WAY I was going to go chapel without having showered (of course, my last shower had been Friday morning, so I was feeling a little extra dirty).  I was thankful it happened before Josh left so he was home to help deal with it, but I was cranky that it happened at all.

 

I did go to chapel that Sunday though.  We all did, except for Josh, who stayed home to help the maintenance guy remove the old heater and install the new one.  It took the whole morning, and a small portion of the afternoon, but by the time nap time was over Sunday afternoon, we had hot water again!

 

There's just one thing.  The water isn't getting "hot enough".  It's hot, don't get me wrong, but here I go again with my first world problems - it's not hot enough.  I turn the shower knob all the way up and it's not enough.  I like my showers HOT.  We keep the house kind of chilly at night and so I like to get in a shower that is going to warm me up right to my bones.  This new heater isn't doing that.  So now I have to call housing again to have them come out and adjust the thermostat by the new heater.  But I sort of feel like a brat because, hey, at least I have hot water, right?  Sigh.  Me and my first world "problems".

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone