Pumpkin Patch

This past Tuesday, I got off of work at a normal time (4:30pm!!!) and when I pulled up in our driveway, Ryan was right behind me. As I was walking down the block to pick up our mail, I felt like a normal person for the first time in a long time. Normal as in, normal work hours, arriving home at a decent time to actually feel like I have the time/energy to do something. The weather was SO incredibly nice so Ryan and I decided to head to a pumpkin patch.  As we pulled into the parking lot/field, we saw lots of kids running around. Ryan made the comment that we were likely the only ones there without any kids. He was wrong :) Although there were lots of little kids I did see one of younger couple with no kids in tow. Ryan and I had such a good time and there was so much stuff to do. We actually, believe it or not, left the pumpkin patch without any pumpkins!? We forgot to bring our nice camera so all these pictures are from our cellphones.

Our first stop was the petting zoo...

These little goats were so cute. They really wanted attention {or actually, they really wanted to food that people could feed them!}

I thought this little guy was so cute all climbing up on the fence in order to stick his head out!

The older goats were out of luck when it came to sticking their heads out!

I was a little scared to feed them at first but they used their tongues to get the food from my hand - no teeth!

Two for the price of one :)

Everyone wanted in on my feeding action but unfortunately the food went fast!

Ryan getting up close and personal with one of the llamas :) Ryan did make the comment that he was surprised they didn't spit at people {especially the little kids}!

Pumpkin launcher! It sends pumpkins flying over a quarter mile on only 15 pounds of pressure.

Ryan loved this. He told me "forget about the potato launcher, I want one of these!" He then texted Ryan C. a picture and I could picture the wheels in his brain turning.

Ryan next to some old John Deere machines {not to mention a beautiful big red barn}.

They had an apple barn. We didn't spent much time in there as one of the employees was sweeping the floor and the dust was HORRIBLE.

We spent some time getting lost in the corn maze.

Here's my attempt at taking a picture of the two of us :)

And here is Ryan's more successful attempt :)

The end point of the maze was this NASA rocket. I'm not quite sure what the significance of this was...

I tired to be all creative with my photographic skills and all we got was a picture with some heads and fat bottoms - ha!

There were lots of different photo opportunities!

Looks like I'm shrinking. I thought I used to be 5'4".

We ate a big turkey leg for dinner.

This is awesome. They had these big jumping pillows. They looked like so much fun! Ryan and I didn't give it a go {I was wearing a white top and white socks and I didn't want to get all dirty.} Maybe next time, but everyone on the pillow was having a blast!

These pumps were for rubber ducky races :)

They really liked their John Deere stuff at this place!

We couldn't leave without buying this huge bag of Kettle Corn. It may {or may not} last until Halloween. {It's delicious!}

There were tons of other activities there even though we didn't take pictures of everything. We went through a haunted farmhouse. It was okay. I'm not really one for scary things {I don't like scary movies and haunted houses remind me of being a kid going through the haunted house in the basement of the hometown mall and being terrified.} There was a sno-cone station with over 40 different flavors that you could add to your own shaved ice. We didn't get a sno-cone but it would be so fun as a kid to add your own flavors. They had hay rides and go-cart races. They had bonfires and train rides through the pumpkin patch. They had mega apple sling shots and hay loft slides. It was so much fun for adults and kids alike. I'm glad we went during the week and a few weeks prior to Halloween so it wasn't so busy. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of people there for a Tuesday night but there was still plenty of parking available that I can't imagine what it is like on the weekends. It is definitely feeling more and more like fall!

~Ashley

Hockey, The Great Escape, a Dill Pickle Smelling Garage and Something Disturbing

A few high {or low} lights from this past week.

1) Ryan's parents came down to visit this past weekend. It is so hard to find good times for people to come down as I probably only have one full weekend a month off :( But that's besides the point. They came down this last weekend and it was good to see them. The weather was awful - cold and rainy. It really felt like winter was right around the corner. They got in late Friday night. I stayed up just long enough to say hi and then I hit the sack. I had been up since 5:00 am and they got in somewhere around 10:30ish if I remember correctly. I slept in on Saturday. Oh Man!! Let me tell you, it felt SO good to sleep in :) Since the weather was bad, we just hung out around the house. Ryan and his dad made some chex mix. I tired my hand at making homemade apple sauce as Steve and Renee brought down a big bag of apples from their apple tree. It turned out really good! I'll likely make more in the future. Saturday night Ryan had old man's hockey league. Ryan's parents went to watch while I stayed home and got a bunch of studying done. I was sleeping before they even got home. On Sunday, Ryan had another hockey game and I went with this time. This old man's league stuff makes me laugh. Some of the guys take it SUPER serious while others are playing just to have fun. There is a 59-year-old on Ryan's team. Crazy, right?!

There's Ry! Number 28. Clark! I have no idea about Clark.

Hi Clark!

There's Clark, chilling on the boards. Ryan is the one with red gloves and a white helmet.

2) Ryan and I have been sleeping with the windows open lately since the weather at night has been so mild. We left the sliding door open with the screen door closed the other night as sometimes Ryan can't find the heart to shut the door when he goes to bed when the kiddos {Zoey and Cooper} are sitting at the door enjoying the first air. Cooper especially loves the fresh air and the wind blowing on his face. Well, one day this past week when I got up for work, I went out to the kitchen after I got ready, turned on the kitchen light {it's still dark outside at this point} and freaked out. The screen door was open!!! I think my heart skipped a beat! Zoey was sitting by the door and looked like she wanted to go outside but was kind of a big chicken so she just sat there. Cooper on the other hand was nowhere to be found. I just knew he was outside. I was freaking out. I quick ran back to the bedroom and woke Ryan out of a deep sleep by yelling, "RYAN, THE SCREEN DOOR IS OPEN!!!" He flew out of bed! I was panicking that Cooper was a goner. I ran downstairs, grabbed the cat treats and started shaking them like mad all the while continuing to call for Cooper. {If the neighbors had their window open, we likely could have woken them up.} Well, during this whole ordeal, I ended up shutting the screen door. As I'm inside getting my shoes on to go searching for Cooper outside, he showed up at the screen door. He acted all cool like "Hey guys! What's up? What are you freaking out about?" *sigh*

3) Ryan works at a couple outreach clinics during the week. Today after work, he decided to stop off at Sam's Club to pick up a few things. Well, when he got home, he asked if I could help carry in all the goods. I must admit, I had just sat down on the couch and it felt SO good. I gave him a little sad face and can of whined and complained. {I know, I'm not a perfect wife, but hey, sometimes I'm just tired.} Well, anyways, Ryan finally said, "OK, I'll carry them in as long as I can change out of my dress clothes first." DEAL! So, I admit again, I sat on the couch doing nothing of importance. Ryan went back out to the garage. Less than 30 seconds later I hear glass shattering. I didn't know what all Ryan had purchased but I had a feeling that the jar of pickles just busted on the garage floor as I had just been telling Ryan earlier that we needed pickles. I get my lazy bum off the couch and head to the garage. Yep, it was the pickles alright. Gotta love the smell of dill filling the garage. There were baby dills and glass everywhere. So I get to cleaning it all up. That'll teach me not to be lazy for a few moments and help carry in the groceries next time! As I'm cleaning up that last pieces of glass and washing the floor with water, Ryan looks at me and said "At least I didn't buy the huge Sam's Club jar of pickles." *sigh* Yes, I am glad you refrained from purchasing the super size jar of pickles Ry :)

4) Oh, and here is something I am finding very disturbing. Cooper just recently {or what I would like to think is just recently} discovered that he is a boy and Zoey is a girl if you know what I mean :( It's rather disturbing. Really disturbing. Ryan thinks it's funny that I find this disturbing.

~Ashley

Best Buds (most of the time)

I can't get this to rotate....

Bad Cooper!

Prior to leaving for a long weekend in Minnesota last week, Ryan had picked up Cooper a few new toys. Cooper is in love with these little mice things.  They look like this...

Here is obsessed. He goes crazy with them!

And he is rather protective of them.

So, how does this involve Cooper being bad? Well, these mice come in pack of eight or so. We had only given Cooper a couple of the new ones to play with and the others were on the island in the kitchen. When we got back from Minnesota, the package the mice were in was on the floor and was empty.  Mr. Cooper must have watched and known they were up there and apparently helped himself while we were away. While this is Cooper being bad, it's not as bad as this...

These are the bananas I bought a couple days ago. When I bought them, those little black marks were NOT on them! Here's a closer look...

Teeth marks!! Yeah, bad Cooper. These bananas were sitting on the island in the kitchen and Mr. Cooper decided to give them a little nibble in the middle of the night! Bad, bad Cooper!! We have strict rules at our house and they are not to go on the counter. And how do I know if was Cooper and not Zoey....well, simply put, Zoey's large and in charge and can barely get up on the couch let alone over three feet up to the top of the island. *sigh*  I have yet to any catch him in the process of being, but I know he's been there. 

I have proof.

~Ashley

Apples Galore!

Steve and Renee and a big apple situation on their hands. Anybody need any Apples?

Their apple trees are loaded with apples this year. Unfortunately high winds took half of one of the apples trees down {you can see it in the bottom of the above picture}. Renee is sick of picking of apples. I don't blame her. She told me that she's giving up for a while. She had this whole area picked up and a few days later it looked like the above. I thought it was kind of comical, as we were sitting on their deck, we were constantly hearing apple thumping the ground; Steve and Renee would simply look at each other and ask "Does anybody need any apples?"

~Ashley

Free Kittens

This last weekend when we were up in Minnesota, we learned that Ryan's parents had a new liter of kittens. Ryan was in heaven {of course}. I'm lucky one didn't end up coming back to Omaha with us in Ryan's bag. They sure are little cuties. If you know of anyone that is looking for a kitten...they're free!

This one is the cutest. Mainly because it is the only dark colored one.

Her markings are really pretty.

Here is one of four grey little kittens.

They are living under and around the air-conditioning unit.

This little one has a neurological problem. She is super wobbly when she walks and shakes/bobs her hand when she is standing still :(

All five of them are in this picture.

I wasn't kidding when I said in heaven. He is such a cat lover.

~Ashley

Kleenex

This is what happens when you send your husband out to buy kleenex:

Ryan is such a kid at heart :) I love it!

~Ashley

Hummingbirds

My mom has been feeding the hummingbirds all summer long and this past weekend, there were tons of hummingbirds at the feeders. I went out to take some pictures and within seconds of standing next to the feeder, nice and quiet, they all came back and started feeding again. Normally you just hear the Star Wars-like sounds as they zip by you, but standing there, I realized that they actually have a really pretty sound when they chirp. I went nuts taking pictures. Enjoy.

I think this is my favorite out of all of the pictures I took!

~Ashley