Halloween-y

 Every October, we visit the Chesterfield Berry Farm to get our pumpkins, 

because really, pumpkins from a grocery store are just not as exciting.

 See what we would miss if we went to the grocery store?

Yes, the PIG RACES ARE AWESOME,
and YES, the Scary Fun Barn is not to be missed.

 Part of the appeal is riding on a big trailer full of hay with strangers, 

pulled by a tractor that is at least 100 years old and could break down at any second--

the suspense is all part of the fun.

 This year all the pumpkins were pretty much the same size--

no monsters for Jeremy to choose from! One year he got one that was like 33 lbs.

 This was the duck race:

rubber duckies propelled forward by the gush of water 

from the old-fashioned water pumps. 

Yeah, I totally smoked those kids!

 In case you were wondering, this ride-on lawn mower 

is now on Parker's Christmas Wish list, 

since he is responsible for mowing the lawn at our house.

 On Halloween night, Parker was "Something Scary". 

Sadly, it rained the entire night and was a balmy 49 degrees, 

so Parker and his friend had two nice moms who were willing to drive them around, 

house to house for trick-or-treating activities.

LEGO KidsFest!!!

 It came....the closest event there is resembling a Lego Convention. NERDS UNITE!

 For weeks, we were all excited.

 Parker could barely sleep.

 We drove for 2.5 hours to Raleigh, NC and joined about a 

BILLION kids and adults who all love 

or enable someone they love to collect all things Lego.

 The Lego KidsFest boasted THREE ACRES of Legos, 

including building stations, competitions, shopping, 

enormous Lego statues, and lots of screaming, happy children 

and their exhausted parents.

 The statues were AMAAAAAAAYZING! 

This Lightning McQueen was 350,000 legos and weighed 3 tons.

 This is the Brick Pile. Basically a dump truck 

came into the convention center, 

dumped a heap of bricks, 

and all the kids jumped in and started building.

 Monochromatic brick build: featuring the cheddar cheese assortment.

 Parker literally screamed when he saw the 

another building station with the bricks in his all-time favorite color.

 Parker had a hard time at the Lego retail store 

deciding what to spend his allowance on. 

He saved for weeks!

 This is Creation Nation. Everyone gets a small base plate 

and they can create whatever they want, 

which is then placed on the map of the U.S.

Parker got so excited he broke out in his customary 

Heat Rash of Excitement, so we knew he had a great time!

Yearly Camping Trip

 The first weekend in October, we stuffed the car to the gills 

with all our camping gear and hit the road for the mountains.

 We spent Friday afternoon-Sunday afternoon at a new campground

which proved to be the best one EVER:

 Perched on the banks of a stream!

On Saturday morning, we embarked on a 3.4 mile round-trip hike up a serious mountain to view the falls.

 Lots of scenic views along the way 

(and resting spots for those boys who seemed to get tired a lot!)

 Parker almost had us convinced to turn back, 

but we kept creeping up the side of the mountain. 

If we hadn't, we would have missed this:

 Or this!

 It took three hours to get up and back.

 Ah! We reached the top!

 Parker enjoyed the hike, but honestly, the kiddo really came along for the S'mores.

 And the fire-cooked breakfasts.

 And the excuse to get really dirty and whittle a stick for hours.