New tradition

Pumpkin farms abound in the Chicagoland area. There are websites dedicated only to finding one at a location near you. Of course, those websites also let you know that you need to take out a small loan to afford to walk through the gate. Luckily, there is one farm somewhat near us that does not charge admission, and the church happens to be on the way, so on the last nice day of the season (my prediction anyway) we picked Kurt up and headed to Dollinger's Pumpkin Farm for the afternoon.

What we discovered was that while this farm is pretty popular on the weekends and therefore has extra activities like face painting, hay rides, train rides and a haunted barn, it is pretty quiet during the week. We made our way over to the corn maze because we wanted to be sure to get through it before they closed the entrance for the day. It was the one attraction we had planned to pay for while we were there, but there was no one taking tickets, giving advice, or making sure those who went in also came out. So we wandered in on our own and spent a half hour making our way through the corn. It was fun and a little eerie since we never saw or heard another person the whole time we were in there. Myka informed us she was good at mazes and led the way.

Eli brought up the rear,

and made sure we weren't being followed.

Not staged at all...

They also had a free petting zoo. Kurt made good friends with a calf, but since he was holding the camera we don't have any pictures of the cow saliva all over his pants. We all had a good time with the goats,

even the ones who didn't want to be bothered anymore. I'm not sure but I think this goat's name might have been Eli.

We also had a great time playing in the miniature village and play area. And now that we know their official heights, we will have to go back each year to see how they've grown.

Sounds like a great idea to me!

Old tradition

We celebrated year 4 of the Bates/Hoover pumpkin carving extravaganza last weekend. It is always fun to see how Myka reacts to the pumpkin guts, as each year has been different. This time we started off pretty repulsed by the whole thing...

...but decided it had to be done and dug in anyway.

Eli's reaction surprised no one, as he wasn't having any part of touching the guts or seeds but reluctantly held on to a perfectly clean gourd for one picture.

And shortly after those three pictures were taken, this is where they happily spent most of their pumpkin carving time.

The creative carving crew.

Get that guy a tissue!

Can you tell which one is Kurt's?

Happy Halloween!

Little Fish

I took the kids swimming this morning and was reminded of just how much Eli loves the water-- when it is just the right temperature and the pool isn't crowded and he isn't running a fever that no one knows about...

I realized I have blogged about Myka's swimming many times but haven't mentioned Eli too much, and the truth is he is much braver in the water than she ever was at this age. At my aunt and uncle's house this summer he went off the diving board with me several times, something Myka did for the first time at the end of last summer. He also doesn't mind going under and could jump in over and over for hours if all the conditions are right. This morning we were the only ones in the pool other than a lap swimmer and two people doing some sort of self directed water aerobics workout. I think they expended more energy giggling at my children than any exercising they were doing, but who am I to judge.

So here are some pics of Eli and his love for the water from this summer. Enjoy!