Life on the Farm is Kinda Laid Back...apologies to John Denver

Back in October we went to one of my favorite places...Denver Downs Farm. No secret that I love a farm & am thrilled to get the chance to go play on one & not have to do any of the real farm work. It was a beautiful fall Saturday.

Josh stayed at home cutting some trees so Aunt Z came with us.

Sam & Troy enjoyed the tractor pulled cow train.

We spent a lot of time at this fun area.

You put rubber duckies in the "lane" & pump the handle for the water to woosh down & carry the duckies to the other side.

We also went through the corn maze...

Not much of a challenge this year (as you can tell). The corn was very short so we could see everything...actually my favorite way to participate in a maze.

There was some rope swinging in the hay barn.

And Sam's attempt to make a corn angel in the corn box.

Troy liked jumping in the corn. We had corn everywhere for days!

Doing my part to make them into cowboys & country boys. Thanks again Denver Downs!

Pumpkin Carving

Josh carved our pumpkin with the boys. Is it just me or has Halloween gotten way more scary & demonic than it was when I was a kid? We purchased a book of pumpkin carving patterns. There were 18 patterns & not a single one was a happy or fun picture. We decided to go with the "evil eye" because it was swirly & the boys thought it was fun...no idea it was an evil eye.

What Josh failed to realize while carving the pumpkin was that he had put the pattern on upside down & our evil eye ended up looking more like a...

turkey head!

It's the memory that counts, right?

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Sam & Troy had a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Mimi & Pappa were able to come up and go with us. It worked out really well because they were able to stay with each boy & it freed me up to get pictures of them both.

Troy & Pappa picked out a pumpkin.

Mimi went on the hayride with Sam & our friend Emily. I was on the other wagon with Troy. Pappa waited for us at the gate.

Troy & his class.

Sam & his class.

The Millers Lately...

Realizing that the holidays are just around the corner I'm going to attempt one mega post of all that we have been up to since the summer.

Our Sam turned 5 (really?) last week. We love this boy so much & are excited to watch him continue to grow & learn. We started off his birthday morning with waffles.

Announcing his age...a whole hand!

Josh is our waffle chef & the boys love to help him get the batter ready.

Josh did some research & selected a bible for Sam. Smart kid can already read so we want to give him every opportunity to read the bible.

He has also been crazy for these pet pillows & was pretty excited to get one.

Five candles on his birthday waffles.

I took cupcakes to school on Friday. Sam was happy despite what he looks like in this picture!

His classmates were very sweet singing "Happy Birthday" & they all enjoyed the cupcakes.

I can't believe he is 5!

We had a fun family party on Saturday. Pops, Nana, Aunt Z, Uncle John & Aunt Stacy, & Aunt Meg & Uncle Matt joined us for fun games, birthday cake, & pizza.

Great cake made by Cindy Keese!

Last weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather to go hiking. We took Shiloh & headed up to DuPont State Forest. There were two short waterfall hikes that we enjoyed.

The previous weekend the boys & I went to Nashville to see Uncle Jonathan. Mimi traveled with us & it was a great trip. We enjoyed getting to spend time with Jonathan & Chrissy.

Uncle Jonathan introduced them to Mario Kart.

We took a trip to Bryson's Apple Orchard with the boys' classes...I did not get lost like last year.

Mrs. Rose, Troy & his class. He has the same teacher that Sam had last year.

We went to the First Friday parade as our custom & stayed for the men's soccer game. We actually made it through the first half & then left to go get some supper.

Both boys are going to pre-school 3 mornings a week this year. First day smiles.

Josh took Sam & Troy camping with his friend Andy & Andy's son Benjamin. They camped at Oconee State Park & although they didn't get much sleep had a great time. There was fun at the playground...

mini-golf...

and a short hike to our favorite swimming hole & climb-able waterfall off the Foothills Trail.

It was a great Father/Son camp-out which I'm sure will be repeated as often as possible.