Punkins, punkins and more punkins...

*Warning: Long, photo-laden post ahead. Pics of babies, kids, grownups and lots of pumpkins...

Our week began with a pumpkin patch/cookout planned with mine and Becky's families. It started out small, and grew and grew into a huge event. With the weatherman calling for a perfect fall day, both my sister and my in-laws decided to join in on the fun. It was a terrific day, filled with great photo ops, (free) hayrides and corn mazes, apple cider slushies and a bazillion punkins!

Becky and I were so excited to get a picture of our families together. As you can imagine, this was quite an accomplishment! Thanks, Kay, for snapping the shutter at just the right time...



The "babies" of our families...

My sweet niece, Kylee. As blond as the day is long, with the cutest little voice...

Joe's parents, Bob and Kay, with their first grandson, courtesy of MOI. Yep, I'm totally taking the credit for that one.

Mike, Tatum and Summer enjoying a little snack. Mike decided to save some caramel for later (on his shirt).

My sister, Rhonda, with her hubby, Paul, and their babies, Katlyn and Kylee. I'm so glad they decided to tag along; they had a great time, and I loved spending the afternoon and evening together. I don't see my big sis near enough...

The corn maze was just right for little ones (and did I mention it was free? Definitely a bonus for the grownups forking out the bucks).

Joe and his momma hanging out among the cornstalks. Gabe was nowhere to be found, as he was too busy looking for the aliens from "Signs". He was "gonna kick them and fight them" when he found them. Lucky for the aliens, he never did.

Man, I love this girl. Everytime I hear evil MIL stories, I thank my lucky stars for Kay. She is an incredible grandma, mom and friend; I don't know what I would do without her. (Go crazy, I'm pretty sure.)

We had to stage this photo a bit. There were too many people in front of Isabel and Katlyn at first, so we waited for them to pass, then told the girls to "walk normal but slowly". (The things we do for a memory.)

After the punkin patch, we headed to my house for a cookout. Hotdogs, hamburgers, pasta salad and Becky's incredible apple cake (yum). It was the best day I've had in a long time.

Fast forward to Wednesday. I probably should've made this into another post, but I didn't (sorry). Joe took the day off, and joined Gabe and me on his field trip to another punkin patch, one we've never been to before. It was incredible! Only one year old, the barns were new, the horses were friendly, and the play area was awesome.

Whaddya think of this place, Gabe?


Remember Gabe's little "girlfriend" from preschool? Yep, Macy seems to always be where Gabe is. Funny how early this starts...

We were so glad to have Daddy come along. He was a great help with all these energetic preschoolers.

This horse used to be a "school horse", used for giving horseriding lessons to kids. Now he is "retired", but still loves the attention from the little ones. He loves to hold this ball and let the kids use it as a punching bag. Of course, Gabe showed no fear and went right up to him.

Gabe got the chance to pick out his own "perfect" pumpkin. Didn't take him but two minutes, and he was done. (He was really ready to play on the huge "mountain slide".)

Climbing up the manmade hill, which housed a big section of pipe used as a slide...

Once again, fearless...

Another day, another pumpkin. Off to another great adventure...We are officially "pumpkinned out". (And we still have to carve them all. Hate the guts, love the seeds.)