Pumpkin-palooza

Fall is in full swing 'round these here parts and we have pumpkins out the yin yang! Our neighbor, Christopher, planted some pumpkins on his hill, forgot about them and then realized one day they had grown to the size of boulders! We asked if we could have one and he agreed as long as we could roll it up the hill, we could take it. Now Audrey is the proud owner of Jumbo pumpkin #1. Chris also brought over a few smaller ones especially for lil A and Grandma S. cooked one up yesterday to make a homemade pumpkin pie. YUM!


As if that wasn't enough pumpkiny fun, Audrey and I joined the MOPS group at the Country Mercantile pumpkin patch this morning to pick out yet another addition to our expanding gourd family. We got to traverse a hay-bale maze, play on a hay pyramid, pet a bunch of animals in their barn and then we took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect Audrey-sized pumpkin. They had snickerdoodle cookies waiting when we got back and Audrey even let me have a bite. It was a heck of a morning! Of course, I couldn't resist a trip to Country Mercantile without buying a jug of their yummy apple cider and now I'm paying for it because Bailey L-O-V-E-S cider...and snickerdoodles...and I might have eaten a brownie too. My belly is tired just thinking about it.

Speaking of Bailey, she's getting bigger and I've been trying to keep her out of my ribcage for the past few weeks. It's only a matter of time before she wins that battle. In the mean time, I'm craving sweets constantly and indulging in them just means another opportunity for lil B to beat my innards to death. Most nights I go to sleep feeling like my belly has been the ring for a wrestling match. And I'm only 26 weeks. Oh, Lord!

Our weekend was pretty productive. The menfolk pulled out the carpet in Marlene and Bob's room and put in a laminate floor. The Dragon got some quailty time with her cousins and we've been eating Italian for most family meals, as Grandpa Bob has been craving marinara sauce like nobody's business.

Speaking of Grandpa, he's not feeling too hot. He's been at home, but it seems like he had a pretty rough night last night and is worried about being able to travel to Spokane for his heart surgery this Thursday. He has two doctor's appointments today and is hoping to hear whether they'll let him travel up and admit him to the hospital early. Either way, I'll keep you posted.

Also, just wanted to let you know that Karen will be having minor surgery on her gallbladder this Thursday as well. It's kind of a crazy coincidence that these two have surgery on the same day, but please keep them both in your prayers.