Glorious Northwest Saturday

First of all, a big thank you to all of you who managed to get through all three parts of our Hawaiian vacation story! (And especially those of you who took the time to comment!) Thank you for taking the "virtual adventure" along with us... but without the actual pain of sunburns or shaking beneath your feet! It's soooo good to be home again. And for the first time in a very long time, I am truly appreciating the vibrant Fall colors like never before!

Saturday afternoon, our family enjoyed an incredible time as we stopped by an "open house" at a small local airport, and then later at one of the local pumpkin patches...at a farm we had never been to before. I have to say that it was a near perfect day...weather-wise and enjoyment-wise. Just plain good. At the little airport, the girls got free trinkets, badges and got to sit in the cockpit of a privately owned plane. A free poloroid was snapped of them, and they later decorated a frame to put them in. Free hot cocoa and cookies and water bottles. All free! and a learning event, to boot!

Then, off to the pumpkin patch in gorgeous farmland.
I was determined to find a place that gave pony rides, since their beloved Alpenrose now closed it's rides this year. And these were even better, in that a teen led each one around the large area of pumpkins, instead of just going around in a little circle. They absolutely loved it!
Actually, there was one large pony and a donkey making the rounds of the field. Lil Cherub got the donkey and she bonded with him right away! She's a true animal lover, through and through.

There were farm animals galore...a Jersey calf to be petted, pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits, cows that bellowed back at us... Just about everything Old McDonald ever had was right there for the kids to see and sometimes touch.
They could also slide down a ripple slide and play on a big ole tire swing. Ahhh, farm livin'. It's actually been a dream of mine all of my life. Maybe we could just buy an old mobile home and ask if we can rent a piece of their farm...I'm sure they'd go for it, right? Our kids are pretty cute and all...

All four of us were enjoying it so much, we didn't even want to leave as the sun began to set. But there was a definate chill in the air and we were beginning to get hungry.
That, and we were pretty sure it was officially past closing time. We were afraid the owners might make us sleep in the barn and get up to work the farm in the morning if we stayed a minute longer. But as we were leaving, we were treated to one last "country sight"...a bunch of hens resting up in a tree, getting ready to bed down- or up- for the night.! I had read about hens doing this in the pioneer days, but this suburbs family had never actually seen it before!

One sort of sad related side-note... I remember hearing sirens and thinking, such peaceful beauty here, it's strange to hear the sirens. My Lil Cherub, who always prays faithfully at every siren, said a prayer right there, waiting for the pony ride. Later, I got an e-mail from my mom, saying she had heard on the news that the youngest little Roloff - Jacob-(Little People, Big World) had been in an accident at their farm as he tried to help with the pumpkin catapult.
The place we were at yesterday was right next to theirs! He had been rushed by ambulance and had to have surgery, but the last we heard, he's going to be OK. But our little girl was actually praying for him, we're quite sure. It was a good lesson to all of us, that we're not always praying for random strangers. (At least, to us, we feel as though we know that family, since we watch the show so often.)
And of course, to God, no person is ever "random".

But except for that news, it was a blessed time with our family this weekend. And a beautiful fall day tromping through the leaves of the countryside, getting to know the farm animals, and generally just enjoying each other's company.

Oh, and finding the perfect pumpkin along the way.

Happy Fall, Everyone!