Pumpkin Patch Babies and a Few Goodbyes

Casey has worked his last day at the Andover Whole Foods. 

I think it is safe to say that he is ecstatic.

Three weeks of vacation before heading back to the grind.

To kick it off, on Tuesday morning, we headed out of town 

to spend a couple days with my father and Carla.

We had a really nice time in Williamstown...

especially Casey who got to go golfing every day we were there.

Apparently, him and my father dominated the 

"nursing home golf league,"

as my father calls it.

Saying goodbye was sad,

but my father is planning a trip out to Oregon to visit us soon,

so it won't be too long before we see him again.

On Saturday, Colleen and Rowan came up to visit us for the weekend.

Saturday we spent the day relaxing with the babies and

playing board games.

On Sunday, we woke up to a perfect fall morning:

cool air, bright sun, crunchy leafs... and decided it was time to

get into the holiday spirit with a little pumpkin carving.

So we headed off to Smolak Farms.

The farm was packed.

We weren't the only people who woke up that morning 

and thought "pumpkins!"

By the time we arrived, the pumpkin patch had been 

substantially thinned, but Rowan managed to find 

a good pumpkin right away.

Orin used a very complicated method of pumpkin selection,

which involved, among other things, whether the pumpkin

had a stem long enough to support him while standing up.

This one made the cut.

And, because it was the last time the boys were going to 

see each other for awhile,

we allowed ourselves to indulge in a few pumpkin patch portraits.

After selecting our pumpkins, we went to see some of the 

barnyard animals.

Orin liked the guinea hens the best.

We told him he could take one home if he could catch it.

Needless to say, we have not acquired a new pet. 

When we got back from the farm,

it was time to say goodbye to Colleen and Rowan.

Orin was so sad about their leaving, that he refused to wake

up from his nap to bid them farewell.

By the time they left, it was nearly 7pm: Game Time!

So we got together our Boston gear

and did a quick carve before the game got underway.

I was feeling really pumped about the post-season

and decided to express myself via pumpkin.

The best part about the design was what was left over.

Yummy B!

Actually, after I took this picture, I tried to take the B away

and Orin screamed in protest,

so I let him keep it... that's a true Boston fan.

Here is the street view:

But enough with that... here is Casey's haunted pumpkin.

Pretty scary, huh?