It never ceases to amaze me how much we can squeeze into two weeks! Some of you may have already seen this perfectly adorable face, but I love this picture so much--I had to break my own rule and use it again!
In my new favorite season, we have been doing lots of outdoor activities! Once or twice a week, we have gone hiking and exploring around town. This is a small, yet deceptively frigid creek we had to check out. Seriously, it was so cold that our feet were a little pink when we got out!
John Thomas loves to climb on rocks and (if they aren't too high) jump off of them. This picture cracks me up because I told him to smile like a dinosaur and this is what he gave me. Now that you know, he totally sold it didn't he? :)
My little munchkin also woke up really early one day this week. This is the cuteness I spent the early morning with while I finished getting ready for work. I had a very tough time resisting the urge to crawl back in bed and get some snuggles with my boy and my doggie!
We also had a chance to catch up with some of our stay-at-home friends. These two always have a super duper time hanging out together! Thanks Kins for always being such a gracious hostess!
And we even managed to meet Lola and baby Brooks on one of their first outings together with Mama. Not surprisingly, Sarah makes toting around two kiddos look like a cinch. Even though John Thomas hadn't had a nap and was pretty ornery, he had a blast!
As part of our Fall Break fun, John Thomas and I tried out a local Pumpkin Patch. We had SO MUCH FUN!
He ran all over the pumpkin patch!
Petted all sorts of animals, like cows, goats, llamas, pigs, horses...
Got to go on a tractor ride!
Got only slightly lost in the corn maze :).
Got to sit on the big blue tractor!
Because the Powell game was on a Thursday night, we were able to go check it out! John Thomas loved it. He yells when the crowd yells, claps with the band, and screams GO PANTHERS! He also loves all the attention my students and former students give to him when he walks by. He even had to stop and do a little dance in the aisle as the band playing a tune.
Cleaning my car was on my to-do list over the break. I quickly discovered that John Thomas was going to need his own bucket of suds, a rag, and a car that he couldn't scratch. Next thing I know, he's giving his dump truck a showroom shine!
Today, we stole away for a picnic and hike. He enjoys watching the leaves fall from the trees.
We probably hiked over two miles and he walked most of it. When we finally got to our destination, we had both worked up quite an appetite!
We set up lunch right beside the local airport. We watched several planes take off and land while sharing PB & Js, pickles, and pistachios. If you look closely in the picture above, you'll see that John Thomas has his ankles crossed. This boy sure knows how to relax!
I'm fairly certain he scored the biggest leaf in the park! He carried this trophy almost the whole way back to the car!
I also found two acorns in his pocket when we got home. I guess he was stowing some souvenirs away to remind him of our awesome day!
The true confirmation of how much fun John Thomas is having is when he says, "we come back" as we are leaving. From hanging with buddies, going to the pumpkin patch, football game, or on a hike--he said it every time.
There are many reasons that I love Fall. The weather, the colors, the football... But, it is especially apropos to me that Fall is death made beautiful. May the old contrivances in my heart and life, look splendid as they continue to die and fall away so that in the Spring, my heart will be ready to bloom anew.
