Fall is here

For me this was the first official weekend of fall.We went to the pumpkin patch.
We hunted and hunted and looked each pumpkin over.
Inspecting each and judging each for best stem, color, and carving potential.
And we finally we found our pumpkin.

Okay, so we didn't actually end up buying the deformed pumpkin.
But we did feel sorry for the Charlie Brown pumpkin and totally saw HUGE carving potential in him. Unfortunately, Charlie Brown had some soft spots that indicated early rotting so we passed on him for a more aesthetically pleasing and traditionally shaped pumpkin.
Boring and vain are we.
But yep; fall is here.
The weather was cool enough for a jacket and boots.
Fall fashion--hip hip hooray!
Sure, I know, it won't stay--next week is bound to be in the 80's but there is color in the trees and some leaves have even fallen and there has been crisp air--I breathed it. I ran in it on Saturday and barely broke a sweat. I wore long sleeves on Friday and wasn't hot.
We even had our heat on this morning.
So fall is here.
Yesterday we celebrated baby Pat's first birthday.


I think everyone had a better time at baby Pat's birthday than baby Pat but that is how first birthdays go. . .
--First birthdays, they aren't for the kid but for the parents, grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, friends. . . . First birthdays are a celebration of having offspring survive a year. So congrats to Meme and Pat! Great job on making it through the first year!

The kids had a blast with the informal games-- of Tackle, I mean football.

And the more formal games, like the painting of the pumpkins;

And then the made up games. Like the Crab race:

Wheel barrel race:
The leap frog over the pumpkin race:
Dad and son shirt relay:

Hay fight:
Great first fall weekend. We loved it.