Silo Pumpkin Patch

On October 10, we visited the Silo Christmas Tree Farm, which also hosts a pumpkin patch in the fall. First stop was the hay pile.











We ran into Adam and Lottie's good friends, Max and Meredith. They were super excited to see each other.

Lottie "jumping" off the hay bale - more like stepping.

Riding the horse is always a priority. They are getting to be pros by now.

The petting zoo was a big hit too.

We took some pictures on the big rock next to the silo (where they made fermented feed to get the cows to produce milk, back when it was a dairy farm).

We had to take some pictures with the pumpkins, but the kids only wanted to make goofy faces.

We took a hay ride this year, instead of the little train. Adam wanted to sit by himself!

One last picture with a super-tired Lottie.

Picking out our pumpkins.

Hauling them to the car.

Lampasas Herb & Art Festival

After finishing up at Fort Croghan, we stopped in Lampasas on the way back. They were holding their annual Herb and Art Festival - although it was more like an Herb and Crafts Festival. Still fun. We checked out the pretty fall decorations and ate some food.

Our last stop was to ride the train!

Fort Croghan Day

On October 9, we visited Fort Croghan, in Burnet. It's an old Army fort that was only open for three years until the Army was sure that the citizens of Burnet could protect themselves from the neighboring Indians. They have since moved some other period houses to the fort. Once a year, they hold Fort Croghan Day, where you can try living like a pioneer. First up was candlemaking.

Then we made our own rope.

Rope is good for hours of fun!

Then we tried some old fashioned baseball.

We checked out an old gun.

Then we tried out some old fashioned toys. Some coffee can stilts...

A punched tin craft.

We watched a pioneer woman make some gingerbread men in this covered cast iron skillet on the fire.

Finished product - yummy!

Adam was invited to roll his own tortilla - then they cooked it for him on the wood-fired stove.

We washed some clothes.

Scrub, scrub, scrub.

Our last stop was to get educated. The one room schoolhouse was a big hit. Adam and Lottie wanted their own slates to take home.

And we had to try on the dunce cap, of course. It was a fun and busy day - we highly recommend it!

Fire at Storytime

On October 4, the firefighters visited our storytime. After going over some fire safety tips and reading an exciting story, we all went outside to see the fire trucks. They also had a remote controlled, talking "firetruck." It was like kid catnip.

Lottie got to climb into the firetruck.

And climb outside of it too.

Posing with her friend, Mary.

Soldier!

I don't normally take many pictures of Chris in his "soldier outfit," but we got a few before Gram and Bapa left for Arkansas.

Last pictures with parents (and Lottie) before deployment.

Day Out with Thomas

On October 2, we headed out for our annual trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine in Burnet.

We met up with Tonyamas, Bryan, and Claudia. The kids were VERY excited.

Adam wants to ride the train... right now!

Watching Thomas pull in to the station.

Posing with the engines.

We got to play a little mini golf while we waited.

We finally made it on the train!

We attempted to take a picture of the kids in front of Thomas as he left the station. Fail! They were way too busy looking at Thomas to actually look at us.

We also had to check out the room of Thomas merchandise. Lottie had more fun dancing with Gram, though.

Fredericksburg

Before Chris left for deployment, his parents came down and graciously watched the kids so we could take a night away from home - our first since the kids were born. We headed to Fredericksburg. We stayed at the Hangar Hotel, right on the runway of the Fredericksburg airport. It's fully decorated in WWII style.

We enjoyed some good food (anytime you don't have to cut up food or yell at children about their manners is fun), sampled some wine and chocolate, and browsed some shops. The hotel also has a beautiful lounge, also decorated in period style. I didn't take pictures there, but it was swanky! It was a nice break before the deployment. Thanks for watching the kids, Gram and Bapa!