grandpa's pumpkin patch.

this year, like every year, the kids couldn't wait to go pumpkin hunting at grandpa's pumpkin patch! in the spring, all the grandkids help grandpa plant the seeds in the little trays. then, as the plants get bigger, they transplant them into the pumpkin garden. they check on them periodically during the summer to how much they've grown, but mostly to scope out the biggest ones. then comes the picking, hauling up to the house, washing, hauling to our house, and then finally selling them. it's been such a fun thing for the kids to do each year. a lot of work, but such a great experience for them. thanks to grandpa and grandma!!

before the "reeping"

just a few...we had more than 200 this year.

first of 2 trips up to the house. we used the suburban this year...

...don't know why we hadn't thought of using it before...

elsie found her perfect one.

the second trip up to the house.

the first day of selling. i never got a shot of all the pumpkins, 

but they had probably close to 100.

back at it for a second day.

third day...the pile slowly gets smaller.

the last day of selling they decided to drive around and drop a few of the pumpkins off on the porches of some of the older couples/widows in the neighborhood. such cute kiddos.

thanks for everyone who came by and supported the kids!!

halloween wrap-up.

for halloween this year we had 2 black kitties with tutus and one awesome baseball player! we carved pumpkins for fhe a few days before. the kids did an awesome job gutting their pumpkins and carving 2 hello kitty's and one hammerhead shark. we had incredible weather for trick-or-treating, i don't remember ever trick-or-treating in flip-flops!!

proud of hello kitty #1

hello kitty pumpkin #2

connor's hammerhead shark. came up with the idea all on his own!

mabel at her parade/halloween singing program.

the whole preschool class.

connor @ the annual elementary parade.

getting ready to get the "loot."

can't go without posing for the camera.

even connor got in on doing poses!

after wearing the tutus diligently about 10x before, the girls shed their tutus and just wore their tails for trick-or-treating. can't go anywhere without a wardrobe change these days!

it was an very super fun halloween!

pumpkin hunting and selling.

one of our favorite fall activities each year is pumpkin hunting at gpa packer's pumpkin patch. this year did not disappoint! the kids went and searched for the perfect pumpkin and then each sat on their pick until someone came to cut it free. after everyone has gathered enough pumpkins for their family, all the rest are divided amongst the grandkids and they take them to their house and have a pumpkin sale. our kids love this and have looked forward to this all year! they started with about 40 pumpkins plus a bunch of bitty pumpkins and had a very successful patch!

all the grandkids and gpa packer {plus nate}

connor's prize pumpkin...the biggest one of the patch.

hauling up from the bottom of the yard is no easy task!

getting ready for the sale.

they sold for 2 days and had all but 5 gone!

way to go kids!!! {a big thank you to gpa packer too!}