Pumpkin pickin

On Friday we made a second trip out to Three Cedars Farm. This time our trip was not just for fun but to get down to some business, the business of pumpkin pickin.

To find our perfect pumpkin we first had to load up in our wagon to head out to the pumpkin patch.

Once we made it out to the pumpkins Chase and Leah dashed out to find the perfect pumpkin.

After we headed back from finding our pumpkin there was of course some time for playing. Chase had missed this train the first time we were there so he of course did not want to stop playing on it this time around.

So glad we were able to make it back out to the farm and pick a good pumpkin for carving!

Your friendly Kroger store

So I was pretty perturbed with my children on Thursday afternoon. They both decided not to take a nap which equaled no down time for Momma!  On the positive side, since they decided not to nap I suddenly had some open time to do my grocery shopping.  Kroger here we come...

Well guess what? Thursday afternoon my local Kroger store was having a trick or treat kids afternoon.  They had over 12 stations set up for kids to play games, decorate cookies, make crafts, candy apples, and trick or treat.  My kids hit the jackpot!  Chase ate 6 cookies, popcorn, candy, apple cider, chocolate milk, and a snow cone, all within an hour.  Don't worry Leah was not left out of the sugar fest. She had 2 cookies and someone gave her a tootsie pop in which she ate the entire thing like a professional.  Needless to say then I had two overly tired kids hyped up on sugar. They had a wonderful time. Next year I will pay closer attention and we will make sure to dress up like most of the kids that were there.  I did not have my camera and did not think about taking pictures with my phone until our last station...

Thanks Kroger, you made a potentially very bad afternoon a pretty darn good one!

Shop till you drop

Wednesday we headed to the outlet mall for some shopping and poor Leah shopped until she dropped.  Life has been crazy around here (as previously stated) with sick kids and a teething Leah but we have still managed to stay busy with everyday life while getting back on track!
We have had some play dates with fun piano time....

 We have played some dress up...

 Splashed in the tub....

 Made a few messes.... (FYI this was a Sunday morning before church in which after church we were going to get pictures made)

 Checked out some monster Michigan squirrels...

 

 Watched a little T.V....

 And that is it for us for now. Leah has a kiss for you to say bye bye....

Boat

All good things must come to an end.  We really debated hard and finally decided to sell our boat.  Chase really loves the boat but what he really loves about it is climbing up and down the ladder, and when we get to the lake he likes anchoring and swimming.  At his age he didn't like riding in the tube and really did not enjoy just crusin around the lakes.  Sweet Leah was also starting to get to antsy for actual boating.  It was a tough decision but for what we were using it for at this point we could just take the kids to a beach area.  I know that someday we will have another boat but not until the kids are of an age of enjoyment. 

A couple of weeks ago the boat sold and Chase waved goodbye to all the fun times they had together.  Hopefully we will find more fun activities next summer to keep him from missing his boat. 

Cider anyone?

Hello again everyone! Sorry that it has been a while since my last post.  Life has been a little crazy in the McMahan house the past couple of weeks. We have had colds, fevers, puffy eyes, stomach bugs, and teething issues.  All of which have involved many sleep interruptions. In the brief days of no issues we have been busy catching up on things that were in urgent need of getting done. I think you get what I mean, blogging has been a low priority.

With all that said, last Saturday we had a really busy but fun day. First we took Chase to the RV show in Novi.  Chase loves his Grammie and Papaw's travel trailer so we thought this would be an event that Chase would love. We were right! Chase had so much fun checking out all the campers and was ready for us to buy one right then and there.  Luckily he was OK with us not bringing one home that day.  Sorry I don't have any pictures, I forgot the camera. 

After naps that afternoon we headed our to Erwin's apple orchard for a friends birthday party.  It was Nathanial's 2nd birthday.  We were hoping we could make it out there in time to go out and pick some apples but we were running late and we never realized how busy the place would be on a Saturday night.  Erwin's is also know for its fresh doughnuts and apple cider and the line was proof of that.  It was over a 45 minute wait to get doughnuts and cider but luckily we were there for the party so we were able to check other things out while the party host waiting in line for us!!!  And let me tell you they were well worth the wait! 

When we first arrived they had bounce houses out front and Chase would not settle into the party until he had checked them out.

After some bouncing around it was time to sit and have some food...

After a little food Kevin took Chase around to check things out. First he got a picture of the pretty fall colors up here...
Then it was time to feed some goats...

 Obstacles anyone...

 Peek-a-Boo...

 A little tractor driving...

It is definitely a really cool place and I really hope that we can make it back out there one week night in October to pick some apples and of course get some more doughnuts and cider!  Happy Birthday Nathanial, we had fun!

Zoo

My friend Lindsay has a zoo pass so we were lucky enough on Monday to get invited to join them at the zoo. Her pass is a member plus so were were able to get in free with their pass.  The zoo is so LARGE and pretty expensive, so with small children if we had to pay to get it even if the kids were screaming the whole time you better believe they would see some animals. Well luckily we didn't have to pay and the kids had a fantastic time and were very well behaved!  Lindsay and I were the first to arrive with our crew...

While we waited on others to arrive, we killed some time taking pictures of our cute kids...

Seth wanted a picture of his turtle on the turtle. Note the small turtle on the head of the turtle.

Finally our crew all arrived and the stroller brigade was ready to see some animals...

The stroller in the background was part of our crew too...

 The tiger was fun to watch because she was actually being pretty playful. Here she was getting in and our of her pool.

And these were the craziest animals we found at the zoo :).  As you can see it was nearly impossible to get 7 children 4 and under to sit down and look at the camera. Chase loved the monkeys, the lemurs made some crazy sounds that Chase thought were funny, and he loved the polar bear/seal exhibit. 

The wall of ice...

Leah was fun to watch. She loved running around with all the kids and amazed me at how well she kept up and climbed around just like the older kids. 

We had an wonderful day! Thanks Lindsay, Seth, and Jillian!