Fall Fun

Time speeds up in the fall for our family.  School, soccer, and the usual fall activities really keep us busy every weekend.  Here is a look at what we have been up to:

 

Olivia has been taking cake or cupcake decorating classes at JoAnn for a few months now.  Here is a fondant pirate treasure map cake.  We LOVE sampling her creations!

 

We recently visited the Illinois State Museum on one of their "Super Saturday" events.  This place is a fantastic place to take the kids!

Ethan lost his first tooth on his first day of first grade.  If that doesn't equal an ice cream treat then I don't know what does!

Broom's Apple Festival!  Both Joe and I went to Broom's growing up, and now it has become a tradition for our kids.  We walked away with two large bags of apples that the kids picked.  The apples made a very delicious pie and crisp.

We are probably not supposed to climb the trees, but that is how you get the best apples!

Our favorite part - all you can eat apples for free while picking!

Joe and I grew up in small towns, and nothing says small town festival like a drainage pipe slide on a man made dirt hill!  Love it!

Entering into the corn maze where Ethan was our fearless leader!  

The llama got a little close to Olivia.

Apples are picked, so next up was traveling back to Springfield to visit our traditional pumpkin patch.  I have a bit of a pumpkin addiction, so we require two wagons.  I keep waiting for the kids to get a bit bigger so we can upgrade to three wagons.

Our collection.  All are displayed in our front yard.

Joe and I on a date night in St. Louis at my cousin Kristina's wedding at Windows on Washington.

 

Some pictures of the kids playing soccer.  Olivia is on the Rockstars and Ethan is on the Sharks.

 

So back to my pumpkin addiction...my favorite Springfield event of the year - Jack Spectacular at the Carillon in Washington Park.  Imagine 2,013 carved pumpkins lighted around the Carillon, Halloween music playing from the Carillon, Pease's treats, bonfires, and Halloween effects.  You will notice Ethan making very crazy faces; that is because it is so dark that you cannot see what you are taking a picture of until after it has been taken, so I was not able to check for a "normal" expression from Ethan.

We went to Jack Spectac with our friend Ayla and her mom.

Our favorite pumpkin of the night - E.T.  The picture does not do it justice!