Phillips Farm

I knew going to a farm with lots of fall festivities was going to be difficult this year.  The boys' sports activities take up so much of our weekends.  So when I saw a Groupon for the farm where we bought our Christmas tree last year for one of its first open weekends in September when the boys were still out of school, I thought we should go ahead and get this done.  Evan had a by that Saturday with no game scheduled, and Brody's soccer game was early in the morning.   We basically had one nearly free Saturday.  Of course, it was still pretty hot that day which did not make it feel very much like fall.  The boys still managed to have some fun though.

We began our fun with a trip through the corn maize.  These boys led the way with their map of clues and flag. 

I was going to let Mattox attempt walking through the maze, but the ploughed rows in the ground made walking more difficult and were a tripping hazard for him so he rode in the stroller most of the way. 

Some silly corn pictures as a reward for finishing the maze. 

Big brother Evan got to hold his baby brother on the crazy Cow Train.  Yes, I was a little nervous as these tractor pulled trains can go pretty fast.  Mattox loved it though. 

The rode around the pond and made it back safe and sound. 

And those must have funny cutout pictures.  Evan took the picture with Brody and Mattox as our little cow and goat.  It was quite difficult to make Mattox keep his head in the cut out.  My hand was on his head the whole time. 

I took the big boys through this crazy "fun house" set up in an old barn.  It wasn't supposed to be scary, but it was so dark inside I had to use the camera flash to help us get through it.  It was also very hot inside with no air conditioning, and I did experience some paranoid claustrophobia while trying to find the way out.  They had a whole section hung with those red and white vinyl curtains where you had to find which way was the way out, and it seemed to go on forever.  

The boys raced their ducks.  They were pretty much in a close tie race for most of the way, but Evan took the lead at the end. 

Then, they raced in the barrels so I gave Brody a little push to help him defeat his big brother. 

Daddy attempted the big strength challenge and made it up to Pa. 

Evan got his up to Farm Hand, but I wonder if after all his intense football training this season he may have gotten a little stronger since then. 

Brody didn't seem too thrilled by the big slide. 

But he loved the bounce houses. 

Mattox enjoyed learning to operate his digging machine in the gravel pit. 

Big brother also helped Mattox in the bounce house. 

He loved playing in the corn pit.  You can tell he looked so hot here. 

We moved into the shady part which felt nice.  

Bouncing on the big bounce pillow. 

And racing these little pedal cars around the track. 

Boys love to drive. 

Evan tried out the slide.

And they both loved shooting the big pumpkin cannon. 

Two little spiders in their web. 

And last but not least, riding on the wagon around the farm.  We could have visited the pumpkin patch, but we decided it was too hot to look for pumpkins at this time. 

Love these boys. 

I think this little cutie had a fun day! 

Simple September {2016}

Last year's September post was labeled "sensational."  I think this year's is more aptly titled "simple."  We didn't travel or go on many exciting adventures this month, but the simple month was actually very nice and much needed.  Of course, with the older boys' busy schedules playing sports and other activities, we still felt we didn't get a lot of opportunity to slow down.  September was also still fairly hot here.  I get annoyed a little that we don't enjoy our yard more because it is either too hot in the summer or too wet and yucky in the Fall.  We don't have as much natural shade at this house either which we really miss about our Charlotte house.  Oh well.  We definitely know what to look for in our next home.  Haha!  For memory's sake, September is deserving of a post so here goes:

Mattox and I started the month off watching some toons and napping on the floor.  Okay, maybe that was just him.  I tried to get him to lay down with me, and he refused.  Then, he passed out on the floor.  Sigh. 

We went to see Brody's end of first quarter Eric Carle class presentation.  The first group did Brown Bear Brown Bear and then Brody's group did The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  He was the one little apple the caterpillar ate first. 

Then, he read me some of the books he wrote. 

The boys wanted pictures on the Pokemon ball on a trip to Target.  Our area really got into the Pokemon Go craze. Sigh. 

I just love watching this little guy sleep.  I also did a much needed closet clean out and got rid of this big bag of old clothes.  Whew, that felt good! 

The boys and I enjoyed a doughnut treat for my birthday on Labor Day. 

And yikes, I celebrated my 36th birthday.  These sweet boys and my chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory made it all better.   They also took me shopping, and we all got some great deals on new clothes we needed. 

Mattox went to his first library story time.  He loves exploring around the library. 

Oh this kid.  He loves movies and CDs.  

We will try to capture the memories of Evan's football games in a future post, but Brody passes the time by taking selfies and working on his photography skills. 

Daddy and I enjoyed a date night at the Darius Rucker concert.  It was such a special performance.  I have loved his voice since the 90's when he was the lead singer of his band, Hootie & the Blowfish.  He sang a lot of his old songs from that period as well as his newer country songs.  He also did a moving tribute to the USA in honor of September 11th the next day.  

The boys got in one more pool day before the end of summer, and Brody captured some pictures at lunch that day. 

My handsome boys wore their matching red, white and blue on September 11th.  

I enjoyed a little lunch date with these sweet boys, and Mattox loved eating big brother's ice cream cone.  He is so thankful Brody doesn't like the cone. 

Selfies and playtime.  Eddie and I were laughing so hard checking out some videos Brody had taken of himself singing and saying silly things.  He is a mess! 

Evan and Brody do really love each other.  Brody gave his big brother the biggest hug for teaching him to play Minecraft on the Wii U.  He became quite addicted that month.  Sadly, he broke the disk recently so he won't be playing Minecraft for a while.  I had two little men sharing my bed while Daddy and Evan were camping.  Mattox is my little helper who loves to sweep.  He loves a broom or vacuum cleaner. 

We did dress like pirates for Talk Like a Pirate Day.  We were going to go get free doughnuts, but I just didn't feel like going by myself.  Daddy and Evan did go later that evening although they didn't dress up.  

And we had to go see a movie while the boys were out of school on break.  We finally got to see Ice Age:  Collision Course.  The boys love all of those movies.  Even Mattox did pretty well during this movie.  He sat in his own seat and ate his snack until Daddy arrived.  The movie theater was nearly empty except one other group.  That is always a plus when you take small children to the movies.  I don't feel so bad about letting him get down and move around a little when he gets restless if other people aren't around.  

We went to double story times at the library for both Brody and Mattox.  Mattox loved dancing with big brother and seeing the bubbles. 

We got the boys dental check ups completed.  Both appeared to be doing a great job taking care of their teeth.  I have been expecting we would need to start thinking about braces and orthodontics for Evan ever since he was a baby, but he may surprise us.  His teeth seem to be coming in straight as he has gotten in his permanent teeth.  We were especially worried after he was such a long thumb sucker.  Brody had a baby tooth that wasn't coming out on the bottom and already had the permanent tooth in behind it.  We were worried it would need to be pulled, but they wanted to wait a little longer.  Thankfully, the tooth finally came out this week.  Whew, we dodged that bullet! 

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The dentist office had a fun little kids' area that Mattox and Brody enjoyed while we waited. 

These boys always enjoy a good ice cream treat. 

We took our big Cub Scout Webelo to get his new uniform, and the boys loved the Boy Scout store.   Mattox looked so cute in a Cub Scout hat.  I suspect Brody will be a Tiger next year.  It could get crazy having two boys in Cub Scouts. Evan will be in his last year then. 

We went to eat lunch with Daddy at The Flying Biscuit Cafe which serves breakfast all the time as well as other yummy options.  I hadn't been to one since we moved from Charlotte and forgot they do kids' eat free.  It was a nice surprise. 

Mattox enjoys hiding behind our pillows.  I am pretty sure I have an old comparison picture of Evan and Brody sitting on Daddy.  I need to find that. 

After dinner, these boys wanted to go for a walk/ride around the neighborhood and to play outside.  It was just so nice outside that night that we didn't want to go in.  Daddy and Evan were at football practice.  Mattox loves to drive his car, and Brody was practicing his basketball shooting. 

Mattox checking out the basketball goal. 

He also tried out the tricycle. 

And big brother tried out the little car, but Mattox wasn't too happy about that. 

For our last end of break adventure, we took the boys bowling.  It had been a long time since we went, and Evan missed it.  He bowls like such a big kid now.  Sigh. 

My boys enjoying a fun night together.

Evan got his first spare of the night and helped little brother.  Apparently, you have to hold the ball stand firmly or it will move when you push the ball. 

Brody got a spare.  Mattox just liked the ball return.  Sigh. 

Daddy helping Brody, and Evan bowling another great shot.

These were the scores for the second game in which Evan started struggling towards the end.  I think he was getting tired.  I wish I had taken a picture of the first game's score.  Daddy did finally break 100. 

Evan and Brody enjoyed a fun game of air hockey while Mattox enjoyed all the bright lights. 

Mattox loved helping Brody drive the race car. 

And big brother Evan was awesome to win this little dog from the toy machine.   Love those smiles!