Family Outing to the Pumpkin Patch

This past Wednesday we decided to get out into a pumpkin patch. Its the fall thing to do right? Well it was a gorgeous day here in Portland and we were thinking that those days are beginning to be few so we took advantage of this day and headed on out to Sauvie Island to The Pumpkin Patch. The perk on going to such an outing during the middle of the week in the afternoon is that it is not overly crowded and so we felt like we really got to enjoy ourselves! There was animals to see, pumpkins to pick and a hayride to ride. In fact, this first photo is of Michael and Maia on the hayride. It took us out to the actual patch where pumpkins were still on the vines or at least the vines were still there.

Little Maia with her country get up sitting on a pumpkin. And no this is not the one we picked. We took the hayride back to the main place with our pumpkin in hand. However, I did not get a picture of the pumpkin we chose, but it is sitting on our front stairs outside. We also came home with a sweet meat squash in which I intend to make a pie out of. Mmmm mmmm!

So we left that pumpkin patch with our pumpkin and squash and headed to another one nearby to see if they had any caramel apples since the first one did not. Yes, I was a little disappointed because that is one of my favorite things about a pumpkin patch or any fall festivity. So at the other pumpkin patch there was caramel apples and we were so excited. Maia especially enjoyed our little treat, however, I think she mainly enjoyed the caramel. Who doesn't enjoy the caramel right??

As Michael and I finished the caramel deliciousness Maia ran around enjoying a new environment. Lots of ground for her to explore.

We headed back home after we devoured our caramel apple and was appreciative of what a fun outing we had. Its great to have places like these to go to. Its great to get out as a family and enjoy one another. I love fall and I am glad it has arrived, a change of season is always nice. Sometimes its refreshing to move on to something new. To eat some soup and make apple pies.

Happy Fall to you!!

The Priviledge of Visiting Friends

I find that this month we have had the privilege to visit some friends who have made impacts on our lives and people we cherish. What a privilege it is to be able to do so. Although we seemed faced with times that are not what we would expect, we are able to fly around to different parts of the country at a minimal cost of free! Thanks to Jet Blue for hiring Michael a year and a half ago! This would not happen other wise, or at least as often as we have gotten to go and visit. So I hope for us to look back at this time and feel blessed!

The first weekend in October Maia and I (Jeanette) made a trip out to Oklahoma to visit some friends from my college years. It was great to see the McNalls and Kilpatricks and other friends that are living down in the area. We had fun playing in the pumpkin patch and also good times of conversation in the evenings. We certainly enjoyed our time out there and was glad to make it the second annual visit! Two weeks after the trip to Oklahoma we were able to make a trip down to Southern California to visit a few of Michael's friends from college. It was a fun experience to have all our families together. The Smths were down in the area visiting before they were to head out to Germany and so we decided to go down at the same time to see them before they took off. We also got together with the Brovers and got to meet their sweet baby girl Eliora.

In that same visit we were able to take some time to visit friends of Michael's that attended the same church he did while he was in college. Erv and Ermalee were a sweet couple who took in Michael and his friends as kids of their own. So it was a joy to be able to spend some quality time with them. Maia had a blast as well!

We are blessed with relationships that will last a lifetime and into eternity and we are grateful for the moments we get to spend with them. What a privilege to have friends who you can share your life with. What fun to have memories that can make you laugh when you are together!

One Year Old Photos

We did a little photo shoot of Maia at the Rose Garden here in Portland. It was quite a challenge to take photos of an active little girl, but we had a lot of fun and it was nice to see a few turned out. So enjoy Maia's one year old photos!