Bizi Farms and other Fall Things

Our tradition every fall is going to the pumpkin farm. We really like Bizi Farms because it is a. close to home b. not too big c. always a good time

We did not go last year for some reason, but now that Baelor can easily walk there is no carriers or strollers to deal with which is a HUGE factor. Maybe that's why we didn't go last year (9 months is not walking yet, but too big for carrier hours on end). Or it could be that we were in the midst of moving, I was finishing up a class session of students, or sewing Halloween costumes (Hmmmm....I think I was hitting the "overwhelmed" button last year at this time).

This year the weather was like Southern California harvest weather, hot! I planned on Reina wearing this cute little frock as you can see the sun was not out yet in the morning.

About 5 minutes in we had to strip down to the least amount of clothing as possible. I was even considering Reina running around in her undershirt, but decided against this as to not promote future exceptions. We all had to stay rosy-cheeked and just bask in the October sun!

Something new this year was the corn pool! This reminded me of the question, "If you could swim in a pool of anything, what would it be?" Apparently Reina would answer "corn" as we had to peel her out of the corn dust. That evening when she was removing her undies for a bath, about 30 kernals of corn tinkled to the ground. We all just busted up laughing!

Baelor's favorite activity was the hay maze. This is a miniature corn maze for the little kids. They love it because it is just their size. He did it multiple times all by himself. He actually did quite well, only finding a dead end two times! When met with a dead end, boy, the look on his face- ultimate "I got punk'd" moment. Made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. We passed up on the big corn maze this year because our kids aren't quite old enough to love such a big, long, winding path.

 Normally we just walk to the patch to pick out our pumpkins, but the line was rather short for the hayride out to the patch. We each got to choose a pumpkin. Baelor saw what we were doing and joined in on the task of picking it up and placing it in the wheel barrow. What a hard worker!

Baelor resembles my brother as a little boy in this picture. He looks like he is about to say "Pumpkin"

Cleaning the pumpkins

They of course had an old-fashioned cranking kernal remover, an apple press that squeezed out fresh cider (delish!), a petting zoo, pony rides, pumpkin launcher, and a folk band, but we just didn't get to every event before the kids were pooped and ready for dinner. Besides the hot chocolate and cider, we enjoyed our leftover pizza in the grass. Good thing mommies are always prepared for poops and food.

Now our pumpkins are on the front porch waiting to be carved. This is my first year truly decorating for fall since college so I have had to start with nothing. I originally made this wreath a few years ago. 

But it was just too big for our front door, so I stripped a few things I liked from it and made a more simple one that cost me only $2. Michael's had some summer wreaths marked down 90% so I just removed all the plastic flowers and used the wreath part of it!

I saw a "Trick or Treat" idea from Pinterest using your kids' footprints and decided to try it using Reina and Baelor's feet. I think it turned out better than expected! I got a Halloween sign from the dollar store that had a bunch of writing inside. I painted everything black except the border and went to work with tickling the bottoms of our children's feet with the paint brushes!

Burlap and banners are the "in" thing right now. I don't usually keep up with trends in decor, but I do like mixing rustic with new. I had a yard of burlap laying around that I intended to do something with for the Fourth of July. That didn't happen, but this did! Another Pinterest idea that was really inexpensive and cute! The trick to this is using "wonder under" to put TWO layers of burlap back-to-back to create a thicker and heavier lay. This will also keep it from fraying which can be a vice when using burlap. I intended on using the other side to say BELIEVE for Christmas but the HARVEST was still slightly visible on the other side so I'll just have to come up with a Christmas themed one.

I also have these apothecary jars that can be used from season to season. I already had candy corn-looking candles and just added some extras to them.

I like to change the entry cabinet for the season as to not get bored of my decor. Here is my current fall look. I like simple. Next year I hope to get a Halloween themed display.