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Naturally, we headed down to the Grand Ole Pumpkin Patch this year for some pumpkin patch fun. It took longer to get down there than expected, so our actual time at the patch was a little short. But, we still had a great time scouting out our pumpkins. Samantha and I walked the whole place looking for the perfect pumpkin, while Ellie was content with a graham cracker in her hand.

Hm. Which one?

(This was originally posted a while ago, but got partially lost in the hard drive crash.  I’m just getting around to fixing and reposting.)

I caved.  I joined a social network.  *GASP*

The force of Apple’s iOS5 compelled me.

Yes, I’m on Twitter now.  I have a fascination with amusing hash tags, so look out for my silly attempts at making some of my own.  If you’re on Twitter, then do the right thing–follow me please!  You may just be granted a follow in return.  :)

We tried to get a family picture today.  This about sums up the morning.  (This picture has not been cropped.) I think we have entered the phase when it’s easier to hire a photographer.

During the summer, Brian decided that he would start reading to Samantha (and inadvertently, Ellie) from a big book.  We were collecting points during the library’s summer reading program.  A big book would mean more points, right?  Brian went rummaging through my boxes of children’s fiction (yes, still boxed up from the move) and picked out the first book in the Collection of Doctor Dolittle.  He started reading The Story of Doctor Dolittle with a chapter on most nights.  I thought it was a fantastic pick, all about animals and travel!  We keep a globe in the living room, and it came in handy when talking about the doctor’s travels.  (It also comes in handy when showing her where our family lives, where they travel, and where current events are taking place.  I would highly recommend it.)  The chapters were short, but Samantha wouldn’t sit still for most of it.  (There’s hardly any pictures!)   I think both of them got a little frustrated and stopped about halfway through the book.

Then, a month or so later, Samantha randomly asked me on the way to the babysitter’s house one morning, “Why is Doctor Dolittle stuck in Africa?”  I knew it was time to continue.

So, I took it upstairs so we could read it before bed.  And it wasn’t long until we finished it.

I really was amazed at how Samantha picked up on the characters (with funny names like Jip the dog, and Dab-Dab the duck).  I think she really did enjoy the story.  Somehow she knew there were more books, so she immediately asked about the next one.  Next up is The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle.  It’s considerably bigger, but we’ve started.  She doesn’t want to read it every night, but I love to curl up with it when she asks for it.  We’ll see how long this lasts.

We’re still working through all of our pictures, but here’s one for proof.  We had lots of fun.

UPDATE:

What a trip!  We stayed in the big house again, and it seemed like there weren’t as many people there as usual.  I guess that’s because there wasn’t.

Sam enjoyed the water this year, but was still a little anxious at first.  Every year, it takes less time for her to get used to the water.

Ellie didn’t mind the sand at all, but I think the heat bothered her.

I think she enjoyed Patrick’s truck almost as much as he did!  We also discovered during this trip, that she likes push toys and wheels!

Some kids:

And some family: