Pumpkin Carving

I don't know why we are always scrambling to get our pumpkins carved...and this year proved no different!

Harvesting Corn

With both of my parents growing up on farms...and with us living in the midwest, the best farming land in the world...I wanted to give my kids a harvest experience. Matt asked some friends from church to see if they had started harvesting yet. We were blessed by "Farmer Bob", as we affectionately call him! He had us come out one afternoon and we all got to ride in the big John Deere combine! It was an experience that I will never forget - and I don't think the kids will forget either!

Will watching the combine - carrying his new friend, a grasshopper.

Katie with Pollyanna

Maddie & Matt riding the combine
Alex taking her turn on the big combine!

The Pride of the Wapsi Pumpkin Patch

We decided to try another pumpkin patch this year. We actually drove to Princeton, IA to try the Great Corn Maze, but it wasn't open for the season yet! So, we traveled a bit further and had a fun afternoon at The Pride of the Wapsi.

The kids rode a pony -


Had their faces painted -
Enjoyed a hayrack ride -

Got lost (and found) in the corn maze - and we even found Waldo!!! What a wonderful way to kick off our month of fall activities!

Hiking & Letterboxing

We made a few day trips this fall - one to Rockford another to Starved Rock.

On our trip to Rockford, we decided to drive Rt 2 along the Rock River. It is a beautiful drive, one we've always enjoyed! We stopped at Castle Rock and climbed to the top of the overlook to see the valley and river.

We stopped in Oregon, IL at a little park. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks into the water and seeing the small waterfall.We ended our time in Rockford playing at our favorite children's museum.

A few days later, we loaded up and headed to Starved Rock for the day. Matt & I hiked here a bit when we were first married and we took the kids there a few years back, but we didn't hike much due to the heat and the twins were very small. This day was much better weather wise and the kids all did great with the long hikes.We really enjoyed our time - climbing, hiking and standing in awe at what God had given us in this beautiful park! We were disappointed that the water levels were drastically low, so most of the waterfalls were only a trickle (if that!). We had a great lunch at the lodge and got to see pictures taken for a wedding. We were pretty sore the next day, but it was worth it!

Feeding the Giraffes

We met my mom at the zoo one morning. It had been raining, but it let up when we got there. We were fortunate to see the peacocks wandering around the grounds...

We rode the train while it wasn't raining...

And then headed back to the giraffe exhibit. We were very excited to see that it was feeding time for the giraffes! Grammy surprised the kids with some lettuce (purchased at the zoo) so they could each feed them.