While Momma was away . . .

I've finished telling you all about the great time I had in Chicago with my besties, but you may be wondering what my kiddos were up to while I was gone. Well, my husband graciously agreed to take two days off work to take care of the children so I could go on my trip. Without him agreeing to do that, I'm not sure I could have worked it out to go. I'm very thankful for his willingness to take care of the kids, but I think they all had a great time! 

This photo was on the camera . . . I'm not sure what it is or where it was taken, but I kind of love it! My serious little man:

So, on Thursday morning, Chris and the kids met my sister and her family at a pumpkin patch that we traditionally visit during Fall Break. The patch is in the town where my sister and her family live, and we always have a great time there! 

Chloe Jo and Brianna:

Our three little sweeties!

The pumpkin patch generally has a little station set up to decorate Autumn themed masks. This year was the first year that the children showed much interest in it, though.

Brianna's mask:

Chloe Jo's mask:

One of the kids' favorite things about this patch is the little train. It's the only patch we visit that has a train. Brianna was obviously excited about riding it!

Chloe Jo ready to go:

Brenson, unfortunately, did not want to ride the train this year. I'm not sure why? I asked him why he was crying in this photo, and he just told me that he didn't like that train. He is definitely a boy who knows what he does and does not want, and this is one thing he did not want!

The girls sure had a good time, though.

Russ texted me this photo while I was in Chicago. It made me miss my little guy!

Brianna always loves the animals . . . and she's generally the only one!

Chloe Jo has made some progress this year . . . in years past she wouldn't even stand close enough to the animals to get a photo.

Feeding the ponies:

I'm not sure what's going on here? I can't imagine she was actually feeding the animals, but maybe?

There is also a fun hayride there that we generally enjoy. Chloe Jo and Russ look like they're having a good time.

Chris and Bren on the hayride:

Brianna and Lisa:

The kids both told me how much they loved visiting the pumpkin patch! I was sorry to miss it, but I'm so glad they got to go anyway.

After naptime that day, Chris helped both kids decorate some pumpkins they got at the pumpkin patch. It was just a little sticker kit, but they sure turned out cute!

Brianna LOVES cats. So, naturally, hers was decorated like a cat.

Then, Chris decided to clean out the garage (we had been doing a lot of garage clean out to try and make room for baby things), and found some old paint. He decided to let the kids paint these huge pieces of cardboard in the yard with the paint.

These photos tugged at my heart a bit as most of these colors were what were in the kids' rooms before we repainted and rearranged rooms to make a nursery for the twins.

If messiness is a sign they had fun, there's no doubt that fun was had!

Their masterpieces:

I'm not too sure what they did during the day on Friday, but that evening they attended a little Fall Festival in the neighborhood where our friends, Ross and Tia, live.

Brenson enjoyed the haybale maze.

And apparently, Brianna really loved this pumpkin, ha!

My sweet girl:

My handsome boy:

This photo cracks me up . . . it's very uncharacteristic of Brianna. She looks so calm and thoughtful! I love it, though!

Both of the kids really enjoyed the balloon artist, but Chris said he was about as slow as could be. I guess Daddy wasn't in a very patient mood :-).

Brenson got a brown pumpkin with an orange stem from he balloon artist.

And of course, Brianna had to have her face painted. Girl loves face paint!

This is one of the best face painting jobs I've ever seen! And I love this photo of Brianna!

The next morning (Saturday), Chris and the kiddos helped out with our church's monthly food pantry, then went out to visit Chris's grandparents. I'm telling you, they had a fun time doing all kinds of activities!

While at Chris's grandparents house, they spent some time enjoying the outdoors and picking pears.

I guess Brianna thought this was great fun!

I wasn't sure what to think when I saw this photo . . . does this look safe to you??? Ha!

They also picked me a whole bunch of flowers. They were so proud to give them to me when I got home.

Brianna and Brenson with their great-grandparents:

And finally - one of my favorite photos from the bunch - Brenson is looking through grandpa's binoculars out the sliding glass door at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa stands there and does this all the time, so it's so cute to see Brenson mimicking him! 

I'm so glad that they had a great time with their Daddy while I was off having fun of my own! It certainly made it easier for me to be away from them. Now, in the future, we'll see how Chris does with FOUR children, ha!