We went on a nature hike in our backyard the other day to collect sticks, leaves, acorns, etc. for our "Give Thanks" collage.  We simply glued our gatherings onto the letters to spell out "Give Thanks."  Both Elijah and Rachel enjoyed this project.  I hung it on our dinning room wall.  It's a wonderful reminder of giving thanks during this holiday season.  And the banner also reminds our family of this weeks memory verse:

Is is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High

Psalm 92:1

We went to the Pumpkin Patch again this year.  Grandma came with us again too.  It was a gorgeous day!  We had a lot of fun!

The kids loved all of the animals.

  There were goats, chickens, a turkey, a pony, rabbits, and a cow.

Evan got into the fun too.

He petted the goats backside and was so excited about that.

They enjoyed milking the "cow."

That was neat for them.

Here they are on the bull.

This pumpkin shot was fun.

How tall this fall?

Looks like Elijah is 3 1/2 feet tall.

And Rachel was about 3 feet tall.  I couldn't get Evan to stay still long enough to see how tall he was. 

They loved climbing all over this old tractor.  And look how blue the sky was.  It was beautiful!

They were all over this old covered wagon too. 

My silly man, Elijah.  He takes after his dad. 

This was the best picture we could get of them in front of the wagon.  Hey mom!

I really liked this shot of Evan so I had to include it.

I was surprised that Rachel wanted to have her face painted.  She stayed sooo still, too.  She loved it. 

And they're off to pick their pumpkin to bring home.

My mom waiting with Evan.  Hey mom! 

Elijah's chillin' on the pumpkins.  I just love this shot! 

We stopped on the way out to look at the horses.  I love the way each child is posed.  Elijah reminds me of how a cowboy would lean against a fence.  And Rachel has more of a feminine pose.  I marvel at the differences that God gave male and female. 

And now for a little extra.  There were several moments when Rachel had attitude this day.  I thought that I'd share those moments with you. 

To be 2 ~~ Ya have to laugh! 

We went on our first field trip for this school year.  We went to Sunny Farms.  I had never heard of this place before.  It's tucked away in the middle of south Baton Rouge.  It was a really neat place with lots to see and do.  I took the two older kiddos with me and left Evan with my mom.  I wasn't sure how a stroller would be able to make it around a farm.  Horses, cows, and poop, Oh My!    

Before we got to the farm I told Rachel that they may get to ride a pony.  That's what I thought the brochure said....  pony.  Rachel started saying that she wanted to ride on a "pony tail."  It was funny.  That was the first thing that Elijah and Rachel got to do.  Except it was no pony.  It was a huge horse.  I was a little nervous at first about letting Rachel ride by herself (she's only 2!), but when I saw the back saddle I felt a little better.  The saddle in the back had a handle to hold onto.  I thought she could do that ~ and she did.  They had a blast!

Next they got to pet and feed other animals.

And then there was this rabbit.  But this was no ordinary rabbit.  I think it was the Were-Rabbit!!!

Next came a hay ride.  But before they took off they got to search for doubloons that were hidden under the hay.  That was pretty cool!

Off to the trails in the woods:

Here they saw a fox hole and a rabbit burrow.  The rabbit burrow was much smaller than I would've thought.  The trails were really neat.  It included a bridge that went over a creek.  And at the end was a slide that was kinda buried on the side of a huge dirt hill.  They climbed up the dirt hill to get to the slide and then slide down.  Elijah went up the hill and down the slide too fast for me to get a picture.  And I had to help Rachel up the hill and couldn't get down in time for her picture either.  Oh well.  They loved it though.

Now they're headed back to the farm.  Can you find Elijah and Rachel?

Hint:  They're on opposite ends. 

Back at the farm they enjoyed a HUGE tire swing.  I forgot to get a pic of that.  Ooops.  There was a ton of other swings, playhouses and Indian tepee's for the kids to play with.  It was a really great field trip.  Here's a group shot.