October Was Busy and Orange...

We've had lots of fun this October with the kids.  Two years ago we had just bought our house and had moved from San Diego to Richland so we were busy with 10 month old twins, figuring out which grocery store was the best, waiting in line at the DMV and all the fun things that go with moving into a new place.  Last year at this time we were getting ready for the arrival of Rachel, and all that comes with having a newborn again.  This year we've just enjoyed the season with simplicity.   We've gone to the last of the Farmer's markets, enjoyed the boys one-day-a-week preschool and church activities, and we have our home's front steps covered with pumpkins that the boys keep rearranging creating more of a hazard than a decoration!
Aaron and I lived in Austin, which was foreign to us and hip, I greatly miss the restaurants and adventures we had.  I have fond memories of our little rental house and being a newlywed in a brand new city.  San Diego had the beach, was closer to family and held great opportunities for Aaron's career.  The boys were born there so it was a time and a place of great joy and great stress.  But the Tri Cities has lousy shopping, too few restaurants and not the most exciting landscape, but it really feels like home.   People are down to earth, there's wonderful simple things to do with small children like orchards to go pick your own fruit, pretty country drives, a series of great parks along the Columbia river and a house with a yard and neighbors who brought me casserole when Rachel was born.  We have a church we like and supportive friends that love our kids and I'm rarely stuck in traffic or waiting in a line.  There's wineries on the other side of the mountain that my house sits on and we live two miles from Costco.... enough said...  I wrote a lot so I'm going to counterbalance it with a lot of pictures.  Here's what we've been up to lately:

We were going to buy pumpkins but Rachel fell asleep in the car so we stopped to throw rocks in the river for a few minutes

The pumpkin patch. 

Rachel is usually easy to take pictures of but not today.

This picture is cute but you wouldn't believe the fight that followed!

Add caption

It was Cowboy Day at preschool.  The boys were so proud of their costume.  Our friend Denise made it for her twins and lent it to us.  Crafty friends are wonderful! 

 

On the hay pyramid at the pumpkin patch we went to with my MOPS group.  I can just picture the conversation: "You see them geese up there?  When they fly like that it means a long winter."

A little to close to the edge for my comfort.

Rachel along for the ride.

Picking out the perfect pumpkin.