The first week of October both Turner and John Burke had field trips in the same week. Very fun and very exhausting!
Turner and his buddy H - we went hiking at Ruffner Mountain with all the 4 year olds from his school. It was a beautiful day, and Turner LOVES to hike, so we had a ball! Also, he indulged his current map obsession, as seen here. And - because he is a giver - he told every single child that walked up to go and grab a map. Apparently he is not the only child obsessed with maps/guides...sort of stressed out the Ruffner employees. We always make an impression:)
This was a picture of his class on top of Turtle Rock - it appears he had taken the climb very seriously
Then on Friday, John Burke and I headed to Old Baker Farm/pumpkin patch. It was a dream day for him. I was excited because it was my first field trip with him - I rarely get alone time with the boys. They are usually a package deal. We were able to pet animals (he can still recall exactly - a goat, a rabbit and a chick) and we saw cows, pigs, geese. His favorite things!
Running around with his boo, Read
Picking out pumpkins with his new friend Judah.
John Burke took the pumpkin process very very seriously. Literally (Now I know why John Burke has been throwing "literally" in conversation lately...hmmm. Except he says things like "I literally just ordered pancakes"...we are working on context). Anyway, literally, we have no less than 11 pumpkins on our front porch right now. 2 from this trip to the pumpkin patch, 2 from The Great Pumpkin Patch and then 7 from an out of control visit to a local church pumpkin patch. My fault for indulging. Also, since John Burke is a detail guy, I tried to stack those really cool shaped pumpkins in light green and orange that look all fancy. Every time I walk outside they are unstacked, sitting next to each other and I get rebuked from him for even trying. He makes me crazy but he cracks me up.
The Mountain Brook Baptist pumpkin patch - in a moment of insanity, I thought it would be cute to take them (and our friend Read) and let them help me pick bigger pumpkins than the tiny ones John Burke and I brought back. We got in the car with 2 typical big pumpkins, 2 Auburn painted pumpkins and a white, light green and light orange...an attempt to add sophistication:)
The Great Pumpkin Patch - our final patch visit. We are nothing if not festive this month:)
Turner was asking to go to the pumpkin patch because John Burke was bragging about it incessantly. And I had never taken Collins before, so Columbus Day we headed with our friends H and J (and their mom) to this super fun pumpkin patch! We jumped on the jumpies and did a hayride and they spent a WHILE playing in dirt.
And my little animal lovers got to ride a horse for the first time. Collins actually got a turn too, but it was short-lived and undocumented because of the crying and whining.
We fully enjoyed the Great Pumpkin Patch!
The second week of October, our church put on its second annual "Family Camp" at Alpine in Mentone, AL. It is a beautiful camp and the weather was incredible!
This wildcat/Miss Independent didn't make the trip with us to Camp. She got to stay back with Gigi and Pop Pop. I may be heartless, but it was nice to enjoy the boys without our little princess...and we picked her up just 24 hours later!
We stayed in cabins and got to hang with several of our great friends from church and get to know more. We had a bunch of free time to play and run and canoe - it was fabulous!
Oh, and golf cart rides with 12 other kids:)
John Burke and one of his favorite girls, Martha Ann
Taking a break from running and playing with our bud Brooks
Such a fun time with our family and church body
We left family camp a night early to head to Opelika to surprise Heath's dad for his 60th birthday. I wish I had taken a picture of the boys giving Pap the birthday card they made for him. They spent almost a whole hour coloring in the carefully plotted bubble letters. I am loving that they are both into drawing and coloring (except for the experimenting I am finding on front door, windows, bathroom and staircase and playroom walls). It is the first time John Burke has sat still for any extended period of time, and he is actually (also a word he loves to throw in conversation - ashally) a talented little artist!
The men played golf all morning on Sunday, so we were able to play by the gorgeous pool and splash pad. In the middle of October! Then, we headed to downtown Opelika and ate at a cute coffee shop and delicious popsicle place. Quick but fun time to celebrate our Pap (even though I didn't get a picture with him)!
Then, last weekend we headed to my cousin Caylen's wedding in Orange Beach.
The original Starr 5
My mom with her adorable sister Barbara, the mother of the bride
Our favorite girl Kina came with us and kept these 6 weasels in the condo while we were able to go child-free to the wedding. So nice!
All the cousins except Chloe, who stayed back in Birmingham
So much fun family time for the kids...and the adults. Lindsey and I experienced our first trip to the Flora-Bama. How have we lived this long without visiting?
Don't worry - Derek went too, but had actually been before so he didn't get documented
Whew! So much fun and travel this month. We are tired, but wouldn't trade it. We even stayed home this weekend and rested for the big week of Halloween ahead! Happy October...we have adequately celebrated it:)
