Holland Farms Fall Fun

  We checked off going to the pumpkin patch early this "fall" season.  We went last week and I'm glad we did because the weather was beautiful. This week it is crazy HUMID.  Bleh.  There were a lot of different activities to participate in and the morning flew by as we really enjoyed being there.  And!, the girls were delighted to have Daddy back from his deployment to join us for the day.

I had to bribe Abby to wear her shirt before heading out to the pumpkin patch.  With help from Daddy, we were able to get Abby to put on her shirt without any tears!  Love my three matching girls.

These swings were perfect for Ellie to sit and gently swing on.  

The swings were a little juvenile for Kate and Abby, but they still happily hopped on.

Kate and Abby had fun pretending to be spiders.

These self-propelled go carts were by far the girls' favorite activity.  They went around the track at least two dozen times.  I still had to count to three to get them to stop and get off even though they were obviously tired and sweaty from riding them so much.

There was a little petting zoo area that had goats, a baby cow, and a long horn.  None of the animals got close enough to the fence to touch, almost seemed like they were avoiding us. However, when we came back later, the baby cow was lying down close enough that we could touch him.  The girls liked him but moved on after a minute.  The little guy was cute but not all that interactive.

We went on a hay/tractor ride to get to the pumpkin patch.  The girls enjoyed the, uh, rather long ride to the patch. After a 10 minute ride, I was ready to get off and find a pumpkin.

Everyone had fun walking around trying to find a good pumpkin to take home.

My strong Abby girl!

My sweet girl, Kate.

I'm so glad Andrew was home to go on this outing with us for a number of reasons.  One of them being how much more fun the girls have with him.  Like seriously, Dad's are the best.

The corn pit was second favorite to the go carts. I even got in for a little bit and enjoyed having my legs get buried.

We were all getting tired from our fun filled day in the fall sun but wanted to give the corn maze a go before heading out.  I don't know if this was the best idea or not.  ...we all came out alive and unscathed so I guess it could have been worse.  Upon entering the maze, we read the rules aloud to the girls.  One of them stated that we were to stay on the path.  Well, after being in the maze for 10 minutes and Daddy realizing he was not lost but was instead going around in circles, we decided to cut through the corn.  Kate was concerned that we were breaking the rules.  I told her that I'd rather break the rules than die in the maze.  She accepted that answer and followed closely behind as we made our way out.

Ellie tried but was not able to make it through the maze awake.  The girls still wanted to include her in the last picture of the day.

 So that was our fun fall day.  The girls had so much fun and I loved that we could enjoy it with Daddy.  Also, I love lots of things about living in the south but I sure do miss cooler weather in the fall and winter time.  I hope that 5 years from now we won't be sweating like crazy as we walk through a corn maze or pumpkin patch.  A girl can dream, right?

Kate's first soccer game and Andrew's first deployment

  I can't believe it has already been three weeks since Andrew deployed.  And I hesitate to use that word because Andrew was gone for 9 days, but, if you look it up, deploy means to move troops/equipment into position for military action.  That is exactly what was done.  And we weren't prepared for it.
  It was Friday (the 22nd) and because Andrew wasn't flying, he was planning on a full day of work at his additional duty's station. I wasn't expecting him home till dinner time so when he walked in the door at 1340, I was surprised to see him.  Especially without his usual phone call home to let me know he's on his way.
  He had been alerted and told to go home and get ready to leave with a 30-day deployment bag packed.  12 hours is what he was given. He was told to expect a call to be back at the squadron at 0100 Saturday.  After being told what was going on, I started a load of his laundry as he sat down at the computer to get more life insurance. My favorite.
  Andrew is not in a big hurry but he is getting his stuff together.  He doesn't know where he is going or when he'll be back.  I think back to President Trump's speech given at the United Nations a few days before.  He didn't hold back when talking about the leader of North Korea.  I also think back to Andrew's thoughts on going to war with NK and how, if AC-130s are sent, none will survive.  They are too slow.  I hold back my emotions and push through because as I'm thinking about all of this, I'm also getting Kate's things together for her first soccer game.

Kate right before "tryouts" two weeks prior to her first game.

  Back info:  She had mixed emotions when going to the "tryouts" two weeks before.  Those mixed emotions turned into tears and more tears.  She was brave and tried, as best she could.  By the end of "tryouts" she wasn't sad anymore and was having an okay time.  Then she got hit with a ball.  More tears.  I encouraged her to go back out on the field, and she did!!  I was so proud!  After that she was excited for soccer and all of her soccer practices since then have gone very well.  So her first game is in two hours and I'm getting everything ready for her, and for Andrew to leave late that night. 

  *Because there was so much to get ready for Andrew to leave, we got to Kate's game 20 minutes late.  It didn't really faze her though, and she happily ran up to her team and waited her turn to play.  Her game went well.  Both teams did great and everyone had fun.

  Andrew ended up leaving earlier than 0100.  It was a crazy rush getting him out the door but we got him back to the squadron to send him off to no-one-knows-where for who-knows-how-long.  Andrew's stuff got unloaded from our car, I gave him a kiss and he was gone.  

The next day, Saturday, Kate had her team's pictures.  We went to Walmart afterwards and found these fun hats/masks.  The girls were a fit of giggles as they tried them on!  

We had so many friends reach out to us once they heard that Andrew had left so quickly.  One friend gave us two jars filled with chocolate.  We were to have one a day till Andrew got home.  She also gave us chocolate bars, popcorn, fruit snacks, and a hug!  Her kindness and understanding made my day so much better! The girls had fun making these chains to also help with counting down the days till their Daddy would be home.

While Andrew was gone, we had our first book club meeting at our house.  We learned about volcanoes and did the typical vinegar and baking soda eruption.  All the kids enjoyed it.

The girls had fun playing in the water together.  Ellie was quite fussy while Andrew was gone.  Man, she missed him bad.  The whole time she was in the water she was happy.  I'm glad she could get her mind off of what was missing, even if for a little bit.

My crazy Abby :)

We met up with Aunt Kristen at Hurlburt's soundside.  The girls had a good time and I really enjoyed being out in the sun.

Kate made me laugh real hard with this one!  Oh, man.  This girl :)

And then, not even 10 days later, Andrew was home!  I feel SO blessed.  His entire experience was anything but normal, from the very beginning to the very end.  I'm SO grateful he was kept out of harms way.  I've told Andrew many times before that I don't want him coming home from a deployment with a mustache.  Most guys do, but I think they're gross, and I didn't want that to be the first thing I see when he comes home.  After this experience and hearing about all that went on, I told him I don't care what he looks like when he comes home, as long as he comes home ALIVE and healthy.