pumpkins

Howdy folks,

The weekend is waning and we are already reminiscing about the time together since I'm heading back to work tomorrow. I'm very happy to have a job, but also wish God would have allowed for a Mom and Dad team at home instead of the whole "toil by the sweat of your brow" thing.

Here's a self-aware tangent for you: I've never bothered to explain my job on the blog because it is neither interesting to anyone outside of the computer world nor exciting enough to have a reality TV show about it. The short answer is that I work in the world of Information Technology for one of the largest (and well ran) enterprise software solutions in the world. The "service" I manage process about 3 Billion transactions per day and all I have to do is make sure every one of them is successful. Piece of cake...

I've often joked that I should tell people I am a clown who makes balloons animals for birthday parties. This job is ten times more interesting and relatable by the rest of the world than what I really do.

On to the stars of show: Easton and Layla! One of the odd feelings when going somewhere to "playtime" with twins (or any baby under 2 years old) is that most play areas and gatherings are designed for the over-three-years-old kids. For example, the Ostrich Festival is gloriously entertaining for kids and adults alike, but there isn't a single thing interesting for a kid under 2 years old. We spend our time at these events looking forward to the days when Easton and Layla have good enough balance and intelligence to go bonkers playing with other kids in these environments.

That being said, Kendra did the research and found "Mother Nature's Pumpkin Patch" close by. Our 20-month-old babies were very welcomed and I think you'll get our money's worth. Sort of... These two pumpkins cost $10 each!


Our total cost for two babies, two adults, and 4 Webbs on the hay ride was $20. You can probably tell by looking at the pumpkins we are praying desperately for the twins to divinely inherit artistic skills better than ours. Easton and Layla participated in decorating their pumpkin, but the truth is, Mom and Dad assisted heavily. I have no idea why I put a large letter "T" and an orange square on the pumpkin.

Along with the cost of the pumpkins we also participated in a hay ride.


Poor Easton was NOT happy about the bumpy beginning to the ride, but after a couple of minutes he calmed down and enjoyed the ride along with the rest of the Webbs. Note the apple fruit leather in his hand because that shows up again... much later.

We also threw the babies into an inflatable room and they loved bouncing around.


The twins played so well with the other older kids bee-bopping around inside. Things were getting crazy in the bounce house as they started playing Twister.


Just kidding, they happened to be getting up at the same time from being bounced off their feet. Here is Easton doing his best to stay upright:


And Layla doing her dance while hopping around.


You would never guess, but her energy level didn't drop one bit from the time we showed up all the way until the time we were picking hay out of their shoes at home.

The pumpkin patch also has a kid-sized maze made of bales stacked 2-high. Just the right height to make it interesting for the kids, but allow us parents not to get lost. Very creative and fun, but be sure to have your kids wear long sleeved shirts because Layla's arms were really scratched up from her running (and I mean running) into hay bales.


We wondered through the pumpkin patch and I wanted so badly to tell Easton, "Pick up the ORANGE one! NO not that one, the ORANGE one!", but that would be cruel.

Kendra and Layla played hop-scotch through the pile of pumpkins.


Finally we let them choose a pumpkin they could carry and sat down at the picnic tables for decorating time. There were boxes full of stickers and we went hog-wild tearing off the backing and letting the twins paste the stickers on their pumpkin.

I couldn't resist the completely manufactured photo opportunity. Here we are: The sheep, the horse, the cow, and the pig.


On our way out, we took note of the pumpkin contest and Layla made herself at home next to the 4th place winner weighing in at 167 lbs.


First prize went to a pumpkin weighing 358 lbs.! Can you imagine the pie you could make with that kind of size?

Remember the apple fruit leather snack Easton was chewing on during the hay ride? Here he is in the car seat as we loaded up to go home and it is still only half-eaten!


He gnawed on it endlessly savoring every tasty bit, while Layla practically inhaled it before we even finished the hay ride. Two babies, two personalities... We just let them be who they want to be!

Bath time is becoming even more fun since Layla started "helping out" to wash and rinse Easton.


Easton isn't nearly as excited about it as Layla, but we're working on the wash and rinse skills every night.

Have a great week and we'll see you again soon!