We had a great Halloween! Lindsay, Justin, and Keller came over Saturday afternoon for pizza and football, and then we headed to church for the Covenant Carnival. Our church did a great job, and we had tons of fun getting Camryn and Keller all dressed up in their costumes!
Since the end of summer I have been dreaming about all of the wonderful, lasting family memories we were going to make this year during our first trip to a pumpkin patch. I had visions of snuggling up close together on a hayride, picking the perfect pumpkin off the vine, taking great family pictures in the pumpkin patch, grabbing a little snack at the general store, and visiting the animals at the animal barn ... all things that were promised at the pumpkin patch I chose for us to visit. Well, our Friday trip was one great big bust, and my perfect family memories were ruined.
(Can you tell I'm being a little overdramatic here? ;) Really, I am laughing about it now, but I almost cried on Friday!)
We pulled up at the pumpkin patch on Friday afternoon to find a great big closed sign on the gate (by the way, the only thing listed on this patch's website is "Open September 18 - November 22" ... no mention at all about particular hours of operation). Half of the gate was still open, and there were a few cars inside, so we decided to drive in anyway. We found a worker who told us they actually were closed until later that evening but went to ask the owner if we could get a pumpkin and see the animals anyway. He kindly said yes, and the girl directed us to the pumpkins. The pumpkins weren't on vines or in any sort of patch or field. They were pre-picked, and while there were a million smaller pumpkins to choose from, there were roughly 10 large, porch-sized pumpkins that really weren't even worth having! We would have felt bad not getting anything at all since they let us in even though they were closed, so we chose the best one we could find (which I later found out had a huge rotten spot in the bottom of it!) and got two smaller ones.
After we paid for our pumpkins, we started to head down to the animal barn but got stopped because the co-owner decided we couldn't go down by ourselves after all since they weren't officially open, and there wouldn't be an employee around for liability issues. So, away we drove, with no hayride, no animal barn, no sweet family pictures and no special little treat from the general store. Oh yeah, and with crappy pumpkins.
On our way to supper, we passed by a road side stand with the biggest, fattest pumpkins you've ever seen. We decided to stop on our way home and get a better pumpkin. Of course, it's our luck that they were closed by the time we finished supper and went back.
So, here are the few pictures I did get, plus one of Cam on Sunday with the pumpkins on our porch. Any one have any suggestions for a better pumpkin patch in the area we can try next year? Maybe I'll get my memories in 2010!
We ended our weekend in Anderson last week with a trip to Bloom for triple coupons! What better way to cap off a birthday weekend for a couponing birthday girl? Here's the list of what I got (sorry, no picture - we got back into town around 8:30 pm, and there was unpacking to be done and a USC game to watch!)
6 packages Knorr pasta sides
2 Uncle Ben's wild rice boxes
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights (yum!)
4 jars Skippy Natural peanut butter
2 boxes Mueller's thin spaghetti
2 boxes Quaker chewy granola bars
2 Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers
2 Old El Paso taco dinner kits
1 Old El Paso taco seasoning
2 boxes whole grain Cheez-its
2 packages Hillshire Farm deli ham
2 packages Perdue Perfect Portions chicken
2 packages Green Giant frozen potatoes/vegetables
1 package turkey burgers
1 package Hormel pepperoni
Total paid for everything above: $12.54
Total savings: $76.05!
Gotta love triple coupon events!
Have a mentioned lately that I have an awesome family and the best friends in the world? My 30th birthday was great ... I can't think of a way I would have rather spent it! Jason took the day off on my birthday so we had the entire day to ourselves. That night, my dad took the three of us plus my sister, Justin, & Keller out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Friday, Jason, Camryn, and I spent the day shopping at the outlets in Gaffney, then headed to Anderson for a birthday dinner with our very best friends. Chili's, balloons, a "Birthday Princess" headband, and a cheesecake birthday cake ... who could ask for more? Saturday morning, Kelli, Sarah Ellen, and I had a girls' morning out. We got pedicures together, did a little shopping, and had lunch before heading back to the husbands and kids to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. What a perfect way to spend my birthday! And the best part is, it's not over yet! In November, I get Jason's present to me, which is two nights away for the two of us at a bed and breakfast in Asheville, NC, and a trip to the Biltmore House to see the Christmas lights. Can't wait!!
