Friendship Pumpkin Patch

there was a short window where the rain calmed down a bit last week and we decided to visit the pumpkin patch. it's something that makes our 'fall bucket list' of traditions every year. i love traditions, keeping some from my childhood and creating new ones with my family. it doesn't have to be grand, just something that we all love doing together to help cultivate memories and to help savor and be intentional about the seasons and up-coming holidays.

this was the first year for this darling little pumpkin patch to open in denton! and it was so precious, the church that hosted it did such a wonderful job. there were so many pumpkins and gourds, ranging in all sizes to choose from. there were fun little hay and train rides, pulled by tractors and a John Deere, face paintings, and they also set up little photo-op stations with stacks of hay that were curated beautifully with pumpkins and flowers.
we somehow lucked out and had the entire place to ourselves, it was so wonderful, and simple. sparrow and juniper just got to run around all the fields and play with the pumpkins without me worrying about them getting lost in the crowd of other parents and little ones. and no lines for face painting or the hay rides, which meant they could on as many times as they wanted. I really recommend it for next year. especially if you like a little more low-key,or maybe you have a little one with sensory needs who can't handle noise or overwhelming situations.

we normally trek up to the town south of us {flower mound} and visit their pumpkin patch...and it really is worth it. on a weekday. {don't ever make the mistake of going on a Saturday morning unless you have grandparents with you, also known as, extra eyes + hands to help}, it has all the bells and whistles, corn maze, bounce house/slides, pumpkins everywhere + tons of little wagons that your littles can pull to help haul your pumpkins around. but, something i have learned over the past year in towing two littles around is simple is often times the better choice. i am naturally full of ideas and love making things extra special or creative, but sometimes just choosing to slow down and go the simpler route, often times means its more flexible and relaxing, which is more enjoyable for everyone, but especially little ones. and sometimes you can get caught up in the chase of the better thing. the better park, the better view, the better, whatever that may be. this little pumpkin patch was a lesson in that for me. simple is good. real good. just like my journey in finding beauty in the ordinary, in the mundane of life. find the good stuff right where you are at.

no paintbrushes allowed

a favorite fall craft in our household, is painting with leaves! so when I saw that our local library was hosting a series called 'no paintbrushes allowed' and this months activity was painting with leaves, I made sure to mark it on our calendar!

it's a really simple craft, all you need is paint, leaves, + paper.

first, collect some fall leaves that have already fallen off of the trees, and try to gather different textures + sizes. make sure to get your littles involved in this part, we like to take mason jars, or even a lightweight basket on our walks, and sparrow has fun filling them up with keepsakes along the way.

second, if you don't already have paint - make sure you pick up washable paint. any brand will do, but this is my favorite kind. and third, gather paper. you can use construction paper, computer paper, or my personal favorite watercolor paper. I like to have different sizes on hand - depending on the art project sparrow wants to do. and you can pick it up at any of your local craft stores.

now, to prevent messes, or rather to create an easy clean-up for you (because, kids + paint, everyone knows it gets a little wild!) make sure you put some kind of paper over your table (butcher, newspaper, ect..) - unless you have a designated craft table and you don't mind. but, in our home, most of our art projects just happen on our kitchen dining room table.

so once you have your table protected, let your little one choose 3-4 colors of paint, and give them a little dollop of each on a paper plate - set up your pile of leaves - and a fresh sheet of paper, and watch the creativity flow!

the only rule : no paintbrushes allowed! they must use the leaves to create their painting!

life lately

                     (sparrow loves going down the big slide at the park)



(i finally got to meet baby lilah, her mommy blogs here)

 

pumpkin village

    

 

a couple of weeks ago Christopher surprised me with tickets to the dallas arboretum! It's no shocker that I love surprises, and he is really good at surprising me. he is so romantic, sometimes I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world. so naturally i was excited, but when we pulled up and he announced that during the fall it has the largest pumpkin patch and has the only pumpkin village in the world, i was just giddy. man, he's good.

the arboretum was beautiful, it overlooked white rock lake and was acres of woodsy secrets that we got to explore, there was even a poetry garden! and it had all of these little pumpkin houses that you could go inside and sit and talk if you wanted to, all named after fairy tales like cinderella and the legend of sleepy hollow, it was so adorable. and there were pumpkins and gourds everywhere!! I really want to go back around Christmas time and see how they spice the place up, I can just imagine it with Christmas trees and lights everywhere! It is naturally a very beautiful place, I just love to see how the seasons have an effect on a place. i love date days with Christopher, he usually works nights and will have a random day off during the week, so we always try to make that day a little special! we ended the day by eating stuffing ourselves at karma cafe, this funky eclectic place with the best hummus i have ever had! mmm, it was so good, with a food coma to follow!

love,

meg