Washington Farms

This was our third year going to Washington Farms...but this year was by far the best. With a new set up and a couple of additions...we had an awesome time. In the order of what they liked best there was: 1) Pillow Jumper 2) Corn Box 3) Cow Train 4) Vortex 5) Ducky Races 6) Mega Slide 7) Petting Zoo 8) Hay Ride 9) Corn Maze 10) Picking Pumpkins (last only bc they were tired after everything else)
We all did the Pillow Jumper...that thing is a riot! It's like a party jumper for the whole family...plus a bunch of people you don't know.


Then there was the Vortex, which Laurel and I did first. All I knew was that it was a dark tunnel that spun around you. So she and I stepped into a black shed...maybe 15-20 feet in length. It's so dark you can barely see...then you notice spinning stars...and you're on a metal walkway. Then you start to get dizzy, and about halfway through I couldn't believe it but the walkway was tipping over. It was rotated nearly 90 degrees...and I couldn't figure out how the hell they expected children to get through this without falling off the walkway. But I had Laurel in my arms and I had no choice...so foot after foot I trudged forward and came out of the tunnel and into the light. Then my senses came back to me and I realized that the walkway never could have done that...it was all a trick played on my mind...or a trick my mind played on me. But it was SO real...it was THE VORTEX. Laurel went through 4 times. Jon twice, me twice, Luke Twice. I couldn't do it any more than that. It's been 3 hours and I still feel a little queasy. I got a lot of pictures and a lot of video.
The corn box was a huge hit again and I literally had to drag Laurel away.

They had so much fun and were so tired that Luke almost fell asleep on my shoulders while walking through the corn maze. (Though somehow they made it through the ride home, the pumpkin pizza and our Halloween movie) ((The pumpkin pizza wasn't actually pumpkin...just pepperoni shaped into a jack'o lantern.))

Locks for Love

My hair was getting so long.


And I just didn't have the time to do it anymore. And I had a 50% off coupon from a salon in town. So...maybe I should get it cut. Wait...what about Locks for Love? I think my hair is long enough...


It is...it was. It's all gone. Now my hair is on it's way to Locks for Love to become hair for a child with cancer. That's a pretty awesome use of my old hair.


(whoa...I have a neck?!?!)

Pictures are courtesy of Laurel Dorman

Fall Banners

I learned I don't like the feel of burlap. It's rough on your hands, and after sewing for a while you feel like you've been out working in the fields all day. Yuck. (But, there is something to be said for not having to finish the edges)
In the end I couldn't decide what to add to my Halloween banner, so I didn't. I stuck to the basics and hand cut and sewed the letters down. Simple and cute. I can really picture this hanging from a rustic farmhouse porch.

The fall one I wanted a little more color for, so I added the fall leaves and colors. I also changed to a square shape. Anyway, I like them both, but to be totally honest after the fall one was done I wished I had done more with the Halloween one.
Anyway...it's a quick easy project whether you paint the letters (most on ETSY I've seen are painted) or whether you sew them (I prefer the look better...but to each her own).

Gazing

Cupcakes with Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Frosting

I'm not one that normally cooks with pudding, jello or coolwhip (much to the chagrin of my husband who loves all three)...but yesterday while my husband was running errands I thought the kids and I could make a treat. At first I was thinking a cake, but I was lacking any ingredient that would make anything but a boring yellow cake.

(I didn't even have vanilla extract, lemon juice, or a single fruit or nut!)

((I think that means it's time to go shopping!))

Anyway...I realized I had pudding in the cabinet. Jon buys them on sale and we NEVER use them. So they sit and sit and sit. So...I decided to make a standard yellow cake, but then I dumped a box of powdered vanilla pudding mix in. (I had to thin out the batter a little with some more milk, and it was still a really thick batter)
Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled I decided to make buttercream icing with one of the chocolate pudding mixes. So my recipe called for 4 cups of powdered sugar to 1/2 cup butter...so I dumped in the pudding mix first and then measured up to 4 cups with the sugar. I started mixing, then set in to add the 1/4 cup of milk. Since I rarely measure, I just figured I'd pour until the consistency was right. This was fine until Luke wanted to help and dumped too much milk in. But as the mixer mixed...the pudding began to do it's pudding thing and thickened up the excess milk. (Of course!)
So here's the deal...these are totally awesome just as they are, and at room temperature taste like a pudding frosting. BUT...when you put them in the fridge and let them set up...different story altogether. The cake becomes almost custard like, and the frosting on top sets up like a smooth milk-chocolate fudge. A total keeper of a recipe. (ok so it's pushing it to call this a recipe...it's more like a vague idea of something tasty)
Hopefully I'll remember it for next time.


You know what...I kind of miss old fashioned cupcakes. Like the kind your grandmother would make...not these new fangled cupcakes that look good enough to be a wedding cake. (With so much icing on them you can't find the cake)

Pumpkin Carving Number 1

This is going to be a BUSY week of Halloween fun for us. We have two festivals, two parties and one trip to the pumpkin patch planned. We will be carving pumpkins three times...Sunday with Grandma's church party, Friday with Daddy since he won't be there the other days, and Saturday at Hallie and Abby's party.

This was round one...Kids 2, Pumpkins 0. (Suck on that pumpkins!)










(RELAX...it's a butter knife)

Overboard

No...not like Goldie Hawn. But I've gone a little nutso this past week making Halloween stuff. (A more prepared person might have started making this stuff weeks ago...oh well, I am what I am) So far this week; Laurel's PJs, Luke's PJs, Luke's pillow, Laurel's skirt and shirt, Luke's jeans and shirt.







The next (and last) Halloween project is a burlap Halloween banner. Sort of like this from bumbleshop on ETSY.

I've seen others I liked better, but they're all basically the same. I want one that says Halloween for outside, and another more generic one that says Fall or Harvest for the fireplace. I might do a Give Thanks one for Thanksgiving.
(Mostly it depends on how much burlap I have left over)

But I like these, they are simple and cute. And maybe after I finish the banners I can decide what I'm making for the ETSY shop and reopen. (or maybe I'll just start being nutso about Thanksgiving crafts...tempting...)