Gourd Times

Some good ol' family night pumpkin carving.

Sam's preschool field trip to a pumpkin patch:

Sam and his best school friend Lucas, who we got to take in the van with us.  I so wish I'd have had a way to record the cute four-year-old boy conversations coming from that back seat.

And Declan, because he just loves having his picture taken.  (And wouldn't you if you were that really really ridiculously good-looking?!)

Riding in the tractor trailer at the farm.  Thank goodness for that gorgeous sunshine. 

In typical Sam-fashion, he bypassed all the cute, normal-sized pumpkins in search for the biggest and best.  

This was the monster pumpkin he picked.  I nearly threw my back out trying to lift it into the trailer.

Riding in the caboose.

Having a yummy fall snack - apple slices, apple cider, and popcorn balls.  This was the first time my kids ever had a popcorn ball - they didn't even know that it was a real thing and not just made up for a cute Primary song.

Today was Sam's costume parade and preschool program.  The kids all came marching into the room where the parents were waiting to see all their cute costumes.  Sam Cullen made the best entrance of all, flapping his cloak, baring his razor-sharp vampire teeth, and growling at the people he passed. 

And the most exciting new development at the Ratchford house?

This guy:

Our new little 18-month-old foster baby, Evan.  He has been with another foster family, so we have been able to make it a slow transition for him.  He will spend some afternoons with us this week before moving in officially on Monday.  And let me tell you, we could not have custom-ordered a better fit for our family.  This kid is tough, funny, and about the cutest thing ever.   We are excited to get to know him better!

 And then there were SIX little crazies to keep life exciting in the Ratchford home!

Some Kind of Wonderful

I don't mean to brag, really I don't, but I have to say that I got pretty lucky when I landed my husband.  Let me tell you just one of the reasons why.

Last weekend was a typical one for us - we wanted to go out but didn't decide that until late Thursday night, so of course we couldn't find a babysitter.  So on Friday night I came downstairs from putting the kids to bed and found this handsome man in pegged pants:

who informed me that it was 80's date night and to go put on my best 80's outfit.  With the sounds of "99 Luft Balloons" and other great 80's tunes playing in the kitchen as my inspiration, I emerged from the bedroom in record time with my side ponytail and this lovely ensemble:

and we proceeded to eat a yummy dinner of hashbrowns, pancakes, and eggs (all prepared by Garreth), then watched my favorite 80's movie of all time, "Some Kind of Wonderful" while eating chocolate-covered raspberries and strawberries on the couch.  It just does not get much better than that.  

I tell you what, I sure love that man.  

He is most definitely the Keith to my Watts. 

Fall Fun

Hooray for October - my very favorite month of the year!  I love the weather (it's still sunny here!), I love all the fun fall activities, and I love Halloween, which has all the fun traditions of celebrating a holiday without all the pressure to make it perfect.  Here are some things we've been up to lately.

We have been visiting some local farms (one more thing to love about the Pacific Northwest is tons of local farms that are open to the public.)  First stop was apple picking at Apple Creek Orchard.  Look at how charming it was:

Grace mentioned that it was a good thing we didn't go there when Cait was here because there were tons of birds running all over the place:  turkeys, chickens, geese, and ducks.  (Cait is slightly creeped out by fowl!)  

The farmer told us that we could eat all the apples we wanted while picking, so the biggest challenge of the day was to get Declan to finish one before throwing it down and taking a bite of another!

These cute little guinea hens followed us the whole time we were picking.

After an hour at the farm, we went home with a big box of these beautiful Jonagolds (for only $7!)  

So yesterday we made caramel apples.

Blissed out Sam!

I can't seem to master caramel apples - Garreth had to pry his off the wax paper!

And this morning the boys and I made a batch of applesauce, and for a few delicious hours, my house didn't smell like a dog.

On Saturday we went to Bellewood Acres to pick out pumpkins.  First we took a golf cart on a tour of the orchards.

Then it was on to the pumpkin patch,

where the kids chose some very large pumpkins!

Pumpkin love.

And last, but not least, here's my little baking buddy making cookies.