KEEPING UP WITH THE JENSENS: October 2008

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin and chili party at Schnepf farms for the first time with Tim, Cindy and all the boys! Rex and I have been wanting to go to this for the past couple of years so we jumped at the chance to go with our nephews. They decided to surprise the boys with the trip so I teased them the whole way. The whole way...meaning about 5 minutes, as the farm is just around the corner from our house! I kept telling Garrett that we were going to Walmart or QT , but he was way too smart to be tricked. He would say...."Aunt Jessica that's not a fun place, where are we REALLY going?"

Once we got there, we discovered why its the hit of the town. So many things for everyone to do..We started off with a few rides and the giant slide...and then it was time for the AMAZING dog Frisbee show. We even got to see one of the rarest dogs in the world as its almost extinct, looks something like a dingo..doesn't bark, just makes a singing sound, but I couldn't tell you the name if it off hand. So anyway they were selling the same Frisbees their dogs were catching to help save this type of dog and we bought one. I left there thinking how cool would it be to teach Huck or Buster (our basset hounds) to catch the Frisbee at the park. As I shared this idea with Rex, he looked at me like I was crazy and reminded me that for two dollars you don't get a MAGIC Frisbee:) Oh well..it was for a good cause.

After the show all the boys played minature golf, Cindy and I took off and she bought a large bag of freshly made kettle corn for everyone. I am not a big fan of popcorn, but this was way different and very good. The older boys went off for more rides and we tried to take Ethan on a train ride through the farm but he wasn't in the best spirits at this point. So we visited the country store and the old farmhouse museum until we figured out everyone was getting hungry for dinner. We opted to eat at the restaurant rather than spend $6 on a hot dog or chili. We got there just in time as a long line of people formed shortly after and were seated right away. Besides the delay due to a busy night, the food was pretty good. And best of all most of us enjoyed a large cup of hot chocolate for dessert. To all of our surprise, it was a pretty chilly night. And when I say all, I mean our group...everyone else around us had jackets, coats and blankets. Oh well...next time right.

After dinner we stood around a fire pit to warm up a little and some of the boys roasted marshmallows. Spencer really wanted to go on the train because after dark it turns into a "Spooky" train, so Cindy and I took him and Garrett to do that while the others went to see the Pig show, petting zoo and visit more of the attractions. Some of the other kids on the train kept yelling "its a death trap", but neither Garrett or Spencer got very scared. We all met up afterwards and at this point the farm was almost closed and Ethan was ready to go. The poor little boy was freezing and oh so tired. He managed to go on the Bumble Bee ride with Cindy, but that was pretty much it.

Tim came to the rescue and took him to the car to rest and warm up. The other boys went on the country road rally again and we discovered they were playing ET on a large screen. As soon as the boys were done we went to the pumpkin patch and they all picked pumpkins. We ended the night just shy of the firework show, mostly due to the lack of jackets. But we'll be back another day, they have so many activities throughout the year.