We visited the Nelson Farm again this year. Everyone enjoyed the warm fall day. The girls and Corbin started out riding the barrel train.
While they were off on a whirl-wind tour of the farm, Caleb sneaked into the chicken coup to snuggle some yellow balls of fluff.
A calf was tied up nearby. Ella and the calf sized each other up, and decided they were both friends.
Soon the barrel train was back...
Of course, they had to each try out a chick for size.
After checking Caleb for hidden chicks, we moved on to the petting zoo area. Caleb and a goat eyed each other suspiciously...
The boys quickly thought that was boring and decided to conquer some huge hay rolls instead. Here's Caleb...
and Corbin...
Meanwhile, Ella found a pony just her size.
The boys finally got to do their favorite activity: the wagon ride. Here's Alex and Caleb racing down the hill:
and Corbin and Caleb:
From there the kids rode on the crazy tractor ride. The cars wildly zigged and zagged back and forth as the tractor pulled them.
The cars at the end whipped about the most. Corbin shouted "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" the whole time, much to the dismay of poor Caleb.
The girls loved panning for gems and marbles, so we did that next. Here's the gang hard at work:
Anna loves the color blue, so she was happy to find a blue marble. Here she is panning away.
Corbin and Nora went swinging in the barn. Here's Corbin in action:
Here's Caleb being attacked by a grass dog:
After a mini-donuts break, we toured the barn basement. This was unlike any other barn basement, however. We discovered a room full of rabbits just waiting to be held...
We also discovered that Alex looks like an alien under florescent lighting!
We reemerged from the depths and entered into an empty silo. Here's Ella and Lee looking in at us inside the silo.
I got a kick out of this friendly reminder: (Which made me think of 1 Corinthians 11:3.)
Back outside, Corbin hung out with some real stiffs.
Corbin and the girls noticed some bunnies in an outside pen, and after a brief chase, they had a bundle of softness to cuddle.
Here's a cute picture of Ella on a wagon full of pumpkins:
We all took the wagon ride around the corn maze. Here's Nora and Anna being sisterly on the wagon:
We got through the corn maze in record time, but not fast enough to prevent Alex from growing a mustache and Ella falling asleep.
We wandered through a wooded trail and came across a tree fort. The gang was all over that!
The girls all had to ride a pony. Here's Nora:
Rosa:
and Anna:
And a picture of all three. Anna actually cried when she had to say goodbye to her pony.
After prying Anna away, the kids had a ball in the bouncy ball area. Here's a shot of Nora bouncing:
And Rosa:
Here is a cool shot of the Corbster in mid-bounce:
Anna even enjoyed herself:
All too soon it was closing time, and we slowly started for the exit. Caleb, forever the bird-obsessed, spotted some finches hanging around some old farm equipment.
I got a couple more shots of Ella in the pumpkins:
So cute at 8 months old!
Here are some final shots of all the kids at the farm:
What a bunch of hams!
School was well underway. Nora somehow incorporated a cat theme into almost everything she does for school. Here she is with a cat sculpture she made.
The girls went to our community's Fire Station open house again this year. Anna loves their mascot, Sparky the Dog.
Hanging out in their newest firetruck was way cool.
Before we left, Nora got to spray the big hose again this year. What a pro!
Before autumn signed its last colorful leaf to the ground, we went to an apple orchard to reap some of the harvest. We met up with some extended family there and had a wonderful time reconnecting. Here's Rosa picking some apples:
Ella had a grand time exploring.
If you ever get a chance to ask Caleb if he thinks high school is great, this is about the face he will give you:
We will end with some photos of Ella at 9 months old.
She crawls everywhere, can stand, and loves playing with her sister's toys.
We hope you also had a fun and relaxing autumn!
