Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch today. The weather was perfect!

The first few are from the corn maze. Here is one of Ken & John braving their way through the very LONG corn maze.

And next is one of Kenny at the very end.

Then we took a few shots next to the growth charts.

John...driving the tractor.

 Kenny & I went for a tractor ride as well...on a little tour of the farm.

Kenny managed to take a rare picture of Ken & I...

 Ken & John...

 My boys:) Don't they both looked thrilled to be getting their picture taken?

 One last shot before we left...



Trip to the Schoolhouse

We took a little trip down to the Schoolhouse this weekend. The 'Schoolhouse' is a Poling-Family tradition. It is a old schoolhouse located in Steelville that has been in Ken's family for a few generations now. In the past, it was used an actual school that children in the area attended. Once purchased by the Poling's...it was converted into a living space...with kitchen, bathroom, living room & bedrooms. And ...it is a fun place for the Poling's to escape to for the weekends, mostly in Summer:)

Here we are getting ready to leave...the boys are ready to go!

And...I thought this should be captured. It's a picture of the car all loaded up. Keep in mind--this is what we need to survive a day & a half! We were prepared for anything!!!

Our first day was spent in the 'creek'...also known as the Huzzah. I didn't get any pictures at the actual creek this time around. I have plenty from years-past. However, I did manage to get one of John, post-creek. He was wiped out!

After a little rest, we had a DELICIOUS dinner...steak, zucchini, potatoes, corn-on-the-cob. Yum!! We followed that with a few board games.

Once it got dark, we had a little fire...

And also enjoyed a smore:)

After a good nights sleep, we woke up, ready for more fun. Kenny & Pa-Pa went for a ride on the 4-wheeler. Here is Kenny...ready to go with his helmet on!

They had a little friend who wanted to ride too...

And...they are ready to go!

John kept himself busy with a few bubbles...

And...I'll leave you with a few pictures of the actual Schoolhouse...

When did this happen?

When did it happen that I got old enough to have a kid in the FIRST GRADE??  Geez--I do not feel that old!?! But--it is true, I do have a first grader now:) And-today was his first day. From the sounds of it, it was loads of fun...but a LOT of work! He said that his teacher worked him super hard today! I already warned him that it will only get better:)

Here are a few pictures from the big day. The first one is from today. And the second one was just about one year ago...on the first day of Kindergarten. I thought it would be nice to compare how big the boys have gotten in the last year:)

And a couple more of Kenny just being silly...