{Around Town: Pumpkin Patch}

Dear readers, breathe easy. The radio blog silence is over. I just know you were all wringing your hands anticipating our return. I really hope you are picking up on the sarcasm here...

Anyway, during the past few Octobers we've visited the pumpkin patch at Grace Avenue United Methodist Church in Frisco, which perfectly meets our family criteria. There are so many options around the metroplex that pumpkin patch selection can feel reminiscent of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Some are too big, some are too small, but for us, this one is juuuust right. There's an abundant pumpkin selection, plenty of photo ops, entertainment for small kids in the form of hay rides, pumpkin launching, and bounce houses, and it's not too far from our house.

Adding to the fun, Andreas' parents have been in town and were able to accompany us on our annual pumpkin adventure. Disclaimer: please do not judge our hairstyles by any of these pictures. The wind is a cruel stylist.

One of the many perks of having the grandparents along - a family pic! Okay, sure, Anders is looking overly enthusiastic and Aksel a bit goofy, but all four of us are looking in the general direction of the camera! Success!

Anders mostly darted around the patch, inspecting pumpkins and observing other children, while I hurriedly trailed behind, begging him to be still long enough for a picture. Most of the time he couldn't be bothered, but I caught a smile directed my way on rare occasion. 

Aksel gave smiles away much more freely. The challenge with him was moving fast enough to catch a photo before the handfulls of hay he was scooping up made it to his gaping grin.

I attempted to take a picture of the brothers together, but soon discovered that was a mistake. They are usually more cooperative, but both boys were sleepy and sick of posing for photos by this point. This is real life, people.

We didn't take advantage of many activities this year, but Anders did get to test out the bouncehouse for the first time. He absolutely loved it! 

And just as Anders climbed out of the bouncehouse and I laced up his shoes, the skies opened and rain poured. Luckily, we managed to make it to the car without getting too wet. It was a fun afternoon, and we will definitely be back next year!

{Around Town: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington}

While my parents were in town, my brother and sister-in-law came to visit too! Kirk and Megan made the long drive from Missouri to spend a few days with us, and I am so grateful they did.

Growing up, my brother was always playing baseball. Always. I honestly don't think I even realized there was a baseball 'season', because it was a year-round event in our family. And we loved it. The people who sat alongside us on those bleachers and fold-up chairs were friends, family. We ate together, traveled together, celebrated wins and mourned losses together. We watched young boys grow into young men. 

So, it was especially meaningful to me when Kirk and Megan presented Anders with his first tee ball set. 

Anders' interest in the tee was short-lived.

He thought it was far more exciting to have someone pitch the ball instead, and his Doc was more than happy to oblige.

Did you know the ideal batting form includes closed eyes and rainboots? Well, at least it does according to Anders.

Be warned, however, that wearing rainboots during a Texas summer can induce (even more) excessive sweating.

Anders actually managed to make contact a few times! Whether it was skill, luck, or precision pitching, who could say? I love that Andreas is proudly watching in the background and that Kirk is unknowingly photobombing the picture while practicing his soccer moves.

Anders also spent a fair amount of time instructing various suckers family members to 'catch', a brilliant ruse to con the lucky recipient into pitching for further batting practice. 

During the weekend, Anders coined his latest mantra, 'Hit. Bat. Ball.' Repeat this 1000 times over, and you will still be nowhere near the amount of times that phrase has been uttered in our home since Kirk and Megan's visit.

Aksel watched the action from the patio as long as we would allow. When we worried he was too hot, Nina was happy to take him into the cool house.

With our baseball enthusiasm piqued, we made a trip to the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. This was definitely nostalgic for my family since we've been cheering on the Rangers together as long as I can remember. (My favorite Ranger was, and still remains, Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez in case you were wondering...which I'm sure you weren't.)

I was a little concerned about the boys missing their bedtimes, but judging by this face I'd say it was worth it.

Some other random shots from our night...

Kirk and Megan were such good sports about our busy day and late evening, even though they had made such a long drive earlier that morning.

Aksel chose this outfit especially for the occasion.

Anders loved hopping from lap to lap.

Aksel spent most of the night sleeping in the sling. (I love my sling and I love snuggles with my littlest!)

Andreas and Anders took some sweet selfies during the game.

We had a great time at our first family Ranger game. I see many more in our future!

{Around Town: Perot Museum of Nature and Science}

A couple of weeks ago my parents came to town. I had planned to write about their visit in one post, but we did so many activities while they were here! I'm afraid if I attempted to put together a single blog entry it would be so unbearably long that no one could actually get through the whole thing. Instead, I've decided to let myself wax nostalgic and blog about their trip in multiple posts. 

Our first outing was to the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science, which boasts five floors of hands-on learning experiences. Judging by the sheer number of school field trips present, the Museum is a welcome addition to all K-12 curricula in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Despite the crowds, we managed to have an excellent time, and Anders was perpetually entertained.

On the main floors, his favorite exhibits were the T. Boone Pickens Life Then and Now Hall and the Texas Instruments Engineering and Innovation Hall. The former included all things dinosaur related while the latter supplied ample opportunities to send ping pong balls through ready-made chain reactions and steer remote controlled cars.

The real magic for Anders was discovered on the lower level, however, which houses the Moody Family Children's Museum. Anders had so much fun that we are considering a family membership to the Museum simply to return to this area over and over again.

The delivery truck was part of the Dallas Farmers Market exhibit where kids could pretend to be vendors or customers, making sales or grabbing groceries. 

When I finally managed to pry his fingers from the delivery truck's steering wheel, Anders filled a shopping basket with apples (I think a bell pepper snuck in there, too).  I have to admit, I would buy anything that sweet face tried to sell me at a Farmers Market.

The Children's Museum has construction ramps and a giant water table.

Working on site. Future architect or engineer? You decide!

Anders absolutely loved the water table, and I loved watching him in that adorable apron. It was so fun to watch the concentration on his face as he carefully poured water from container to container.

There were sand boxes for digging fossils and rock walls for climbing.

There are actually a number of attractions in the Children's Museum that we didn't even get to see during our visit.  We can't wait to return and explore the rest!