We {heart} Fall!



Nothing says fall quite like a trip to the Pumpkin Patch!!!  It seems as if each year I am able to get this tradition in earlier and earlier!  We generally visit Bart's Farm the first weekend in October, but this year the weather permitted and our scheduled allowed us to get there just a smidge early!  

 

I have to admit, I am not sure who is more excited about this tradition at this point, me or Lila?!  She is completely aware that this is something we do every year and has not stopped talking about Princess the pony she road last year, so no doubt, she was excited to visit again this year!  But, there truly aren't many things that top this experience for me.  I love driving down Alburnett Road and seeing the field full of bright orange pumpkins, I love the smell of fall as you drive with your windows down, the gravel driveway as you pull in looking for a spot to park, knowing that when you venture back you will have a wagon full of goodies!!!!  And knowing that each pumpkin, gourd, cornstalk, and bail of straw we pick will be on display ever so perfectly on our front porch through Thanksgiving!!!  I love it!

 

We met Jason, Jen, Celia & Ruby at Bart's and we weren't going to get far without getting those girls on the horses!  So, the first stop was to get a ride! 

 

Lila was thrilled to be at the farm!

The first up on the horses was Celia.  She opted to get on one of the big horses this year vs. riding one of the ponies!  She is such a big girl, yet when she climbed up onto the big horse, it seemed like she was so small!!!  She did such a great job riding!

Next up was Lila!  She was almost floating over to Princess due to her sheer excitement!  Too cute!  She walked right up to her, put out her hand to give her a pat, and up in the saddle she went!

 

"Hi, Princess!  Do you remember me?  I remember you!!!"

This year she didn't need Daddy to walk her around, she took off with the girls working the rides and rode Princess so confidently.  It was so cute!  Mike and I have actually looked around at riding lessons and hope to get her some for her birthday in April!!!

 

Miss Ruby was up next!  Just like her big sister, she wasn't up for riding a pony this year...she wanted a big horse!  Talk about a confident little girl, hopping right up there and off she went!  It was actually kind of fun, we saw a friend of ours Justin helping out at the farm, so he guided Ruby as she took her spin!

 

Lila & Ruby on their rides!

Our little cowgirl!

What a difference from last year to this year!!!



After the rides were over it was time to check out all the pumpkins!  Bart's has so many pumpkins to choose from, even really big ones!   Lila wasted no time going over to the huge ones to pose!!





This one makes a very nice stool!

 

It didn't take long and we had a wagon full!  We walked up and down the rows of pumpkins trying to decide which ones would go home with us?!  Lila picked a very special pumpkin to call her own!  A little white pumpkin that she named Mooma and she carries her around with her like she is a living, breathing thing!  

 

We've got quite the collection!

It is a tradition to get your picture taken on the straw bails that Bart's has all put together for the perfect photo opportunity!

The girls!

The Smith Family

The Eddins Family

We loaded up the truck and headed home!  Lila was anxious to help us get the porch started!  After her nap we all headed back outside to decorate the porch!

Lila was sure to make sure that Mooma, the white pumpkin, was right by her side until the very end when we finally picked the perfect spot for her to live on the porch!

Lila and Mooma!

Where will we put all these pumpkins?!

It doesn't take long and voila! we have a beautifully decorated porch and fall has officially arrived at the Eddins house!  As I said above, the house stays deocrated this way until Thanksgiving and then we tear it down for the year and say goodbye to fall as we start to welcome in the winter months and string the lights for Christmas!    But not too fast...we have a lot of fall fun ahead of us in the next couple of months!!!

Our cute little pumpkin(s)!

Game Day Tradition!

 

This Saturday marked the Annual Eddins family tailgate!  Lila loves the Hawkeyes and was so excited that she got to go along to the game with Mom and Dad (not to mention Grandpa, Laura, her cousins and all the rest of the family)!

 

Black & Gold Attire...check!

We got to Iowa City around 10:30 and got settled in to our parking spot.  Lila hung out in the back of the truck while we got unloaded.  It was a lot warmer than we were expecting, so the back end of my car got a lot of use allowing a place for shade!

 

 

We had lots of family in attendance for this game as a lot of my family on my Dad's side actually went to UNI to school.  It seemed to be a Black & Gold & Purple tailgate!  

 

 

Eddins Family @ Kinnick!

 

Enjoying a Black & Gold cupcake!

A highlight of the tailgating was meeting the Hawkeye cheerleaders!  Lila held one of the girls poms and seemed to be a little in awe of these pretty girls in all their Hawkeye gear! 

Future cheerleaders!

Enjoying the afternoon together!

 

Game time was 2:30, so we eventually made our way into the stadium to see the Hawks take the field!  Lila loved listening to the band and dancing and cheering along with the fight song!  The game got underway and UNI scored on the first possession.  Uh-oh!  Were we in trouble?! 







All set to cheer! 

The Hawkeyes soon repsonded with a score of their own and the game was on it's way!  In true tradition, Lila was asleep before halftime!  I am continuously impressed that she can sleep through that many fans screaming, the band playing and the small space, but she does!  This year it was a bit more of a struggle to get her to close her eyes as she didn't want to miss out on all the fun, but ultimately she gave in!  She woke up sometime during the 3rd quarter to the Hawks leading the game!



 

Tired out from all the fun!

The Hawks had a victory winning 27-16!  We love this tradition and look forward to many more games together as a family!  It is amazing to think how this collage has changed over the years!  Her first game at 5 months old seems like it was just yesterday!  This little girl has been a Hawkeye fan from the start!



Our little Hawkeye is growing up!



Stuff.

I have started to slack on the blogging!  Not on purpose, I really enjoy doing it, the days just seem to get away from me and the next thing I know a few weeks have gone by and I realize I haven't made time to document what's been going on in our lives! 

A few weeks ago we had Mike's family over to the house to celebrate his Grandpa Wayne's birthday!  We all gathered, grilled and caught up!  Lila enjoys having people over to "her" house!  It allows her to show whomever is visiting all of her fun toys and she does a good job of bribing people to play with her!  Thankfully Aunt Maria and Dan were here to keep her entertained!

 

 

 

It is hard to believe that Labor Day weekend came and went!  We had a few things going on, but we were also able to find some time for a little relaxation!  The Hawkeyes kicked off their season on Saturday in Chicago, so it was time to break out the black and gold in the Eddins house!  Saturday was also Carson's confirmation, so I went to the service while Lila napped and then we headed up to my Dad's for a tailgate style reception to watch the Hawkeyes squeak out a win against Northern Illinois.

 

 



I asked Lila to show me her game face!

Sunday we went to Osaka to celebrate another special birthday!  My cousin Jorden turned 22!  Jorden is one of Lila's most favorite people in the world!  There were several of us who were able to make the dinner, so it was nice to all be together!  It was back to the house after dinner to eat some of Grandma Harvey's most delicious homemade cake!

JoJo & Lila

The weekend went as fast as it came.  As much as I love a long weekend, a short week at work can almost seem longer than a normal week considering you try to cram in 5 days worth of stuff into 4 days!  We did have a nice surprise this week...the girls came and hung out with us on Wednesday night for awhile.  Jen had a meeting and Jason was out of town so we were able to enjoy their company.  Lila was thrilled to have the girls come and play and stay for dinner!  They brought her the cutest monkey that we named Dottie!  Lila has slept with her every night since!

Cute Cousins!

This Saturday found Mike & I in Iowa City to watch the Hawkeyes play against the Iowa State Cyclones.  We had friends and family in tow, delicious tailgate food and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful...the perfect combination for a great day!  Even if the Hawkeyes did lose! 

Ready for the season!

Go Hawks!

I referenced how fast time goes above, but I truly cannot believe it is football season already!  Even though I struggled a little this year thinking that football season was upon us already, there truly is no way to describe the energy in the football stadium.  On a sunny, fall day...there isn't much better!