Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

On Friday, Dan's class field tripped to the pumpkin patch!  This is their only field trip of the year so we were very excited.  (All of the other "field trips" come to the school: postal worker and truck, dentist, firefighters, etc.)  The weather on Thursday was gorgeous--75 and sunny--but Friday was cloudy and windy and chilly.  The kids didn't seem to care, but the parents were freezing.

Ben tagged along and pretended like he was one of the class.  He even tried to photobomb the class picture but I hustled him out of there just in time.  The kids had a great time--they did a craft in the barn, rode the barrel train, picked out pumpkins, and rode the hayride.  And of course Dan and Ben had to play in the sandbox at the end of the morning when I was frozen solid.  Successful field trip!

Standing (l to r): Mrs. Schultz, Brody, Cole, Brady, CJ, Mrs. Borgensen, Emily.
Sitting (l to r): Josanna, Drew, Ethan, Jessica, Alex, Dan, Ryan, Mikala, Joey

Botanica

The boys and I went for a little mini-vacation to Wichita last weekend.  Dan had Friday off from school, so we packed way too much stuff and made the 3 1/2-hour drive on Thursday.  (Zach was pretty busy with school so he took advantage of a quiet house to catch up.)

After an 85 degree day on Wednesday, I don't think the temperature made it over 65 the whole time we were home.  Maybe fall is finally here to stay!  The chilly weather didn't keep us inside, though.  On Friday morning, my mom and I took Dan and Ben to Botanica, a fantastic botanic garden in Wichita.  My parents have lived in Wichita for 20 years and my mom loves all things floral and gardening and outdoors, yet she had never been there!  Unfortunately, her first time was spent speed-walking after the boys so she didn't get to stop and smell the flowers.  Maybe a membership will be in her Christmas stocking this year (hint, hint, Dad).

The gardens were beautiful and it felt like we were the only ones there, even though the sun came out and the weather turned out to be just fine.  Botanica has an amazing children's garden with herbs and vegetables to water, a treehouse to climb, a sandbox for digging, and a cave to paint (with water).  Dan and Ben loved all the secret paths and bridges and rocks and ledges.  We had a great morning and I can't wait to go back at Christmas to see how it's decorated then!

KC RenFest

The fun did not end with apple picking on Saturday.  That night, Dan and I went on a date to see Ice Age: Continental Drift on base.  Movies are so cheap in the base theater!  Kids 5 and under are free and adults are only $5.  They show two movies a weekend, usually about two months after the movies are in the real theater.  When I told Dan that it was just me and him and we were going on a date, he said, "Just like Holly and Mater go on a date!"  As long as I'm Holly....

On Sunday, we drove the 20 minutes or so to the Kansas City Renaissance Festival.  It's held every weekend from Labor Day to Columbus Day and it's pretty cool!  Tons of booths with food, games, stuff to buy, magicians, feats of strength, animals, etc.  They even had a few rides for the kids.  I think Dan and Ben were a little confused about all the people in costume but they didn't seem to be scared, which is weird considering how much Ben hates guys with beards.  Another fun weekend in the books!

And here's a video of our little daredevil:

More Apple Pickin'

Whew!  What a fun-filled weekend!  On Friday evening, we headed onto base (I just can't make myself call it "post" like the Army folks do) to check out Oktoberfest.  They had the normal beer tent/schnitzel dinner but they also had bouncy houses, horse rides and a climbing wall for the kids.  Dan was all about it but Ben was terrified of the giant inflatable bouncy house man.  He hated him almost as much as he hated the bearded guy at the pumpkin patch.  So we didn't stay too long.  Instead, we headed over to the bowling alley to roll a few frames and have some pizza.  The night was a success!

On Saturday morning, we got up early and went to the farmer's market.  After that, it was time to hit the apple orchard again.  Zach and Dan missed out on the first trip so we had to remedy that situation.  The trees are still very full of apples (to the point where the branches drag the ground!) so we picked until we couldn't pick anymore.  The boys loved the hayride and roasting marshmallows afterward.  And I love that I can take a ton of apples with me when we go to Wichita at the end of the week so my mom can help me make my first pie!