Unscripted October Moments

October 2020

How quicky time pass us by. I wrote down in my agenda about, "how quickly October seem to come around". This is the reason why I try my best to live intentionally. To not live life with haste. To live in the present. To document life from the ordinary mundane moments to fun outings. And this is why I don't ever rush time by saying, "oh, I wish it was Friday, or I wish it was summer, or I wish it was Christmas break". Because I know better. When you think that way it prevents you from living in the present moment.

There's a pumpkin patch about five minutes from our house. Around early October is when you spot a tractor pulling a wagon filled with a huge load of pumpkins driving from their pumpkin patch to several blocks down the road toward their farm store. These were huge pumpkins.

For a few months I began to notice my eyes becoming a little blurry and burn when I read so, Jacob and I both went to see the optometrist. We got our eyes checked and we were both prescribed reading glasses, unfortunately. Fast forward six years to today and we still think having to rely on reading glasses to look at small print is a big inconvenience. I'm still not used to the idea of having reading glasses.

It is such a de-stresser to me to take the backroads whenever possible when I'm feeling overburdened. Driving along pine trees and seeing farm animals lifts my spirits, more so when it is cloudy. I'm keenly aware of my surroundings, observant, and I'm very detailed oriented so at times too much mental overload tends to cause overwhelm. Thankfully, I also know healthy ways on how to relax and decompress.  

This girl, wherever I go especially when I rest, she's sure to follow and lay next to me. I love her fur. She's got a very soft coat. I like to say she's my comfort animal because she feels so familiar to me. She's very patient when I'm holding her and loving on her. I wish she was just as loving towards other cats though.

For those of us that appreciate cloudy weather this scene never gets old. I get excited about cloudy weather as if this type of weather hardly happens, but we know that cloudy weather is a staple in the PNW, still it gets me every time. 

The above cloudy weather brought on a storm. It rained hard late at night which caused a power outage. Power came back on around 5:00 am. I'm glad it did because a cookie bake was planned on this Saturday. 

Riley enjoys helping his dad bake cookies. Sydna grabbing some lunch.

Now adding the icing. I failed to write down what type of cookies they made so I don't have a clue what they're called but I'm sure they were tasty.

This one I know. It was pumpkin cheesecake with crumble. It looks amazing! and I'm sure it was. 

Lila looking pretty.

I had a birthday in October. Riley had the day off for school. After a delicious breakfast we headed N to Redmond and Woodenville. We like taking the scenic route. 

The gorgeous colors of autumn leaves just beg to be displayed.

One of the coziest things to do when it's cloudy and cold is to curl up on the couch and watch a good movie.

After a while though I do feel the need to get up and move around, so we went on a long walk around a couple of neighborhoods.

Spotted these two pretty flowers.

Slow living isn't about doing less; it's about being present in everything you do. It's about connecting deeply with loved ones, nature, and the quiet beauty of daily life. 

This time it was Lila who wanted to sit near me. She's giving me side eye. I love her furry paws. 

Taking the back roads near our home just so I can look at these beauties. Such gorgeous trees.

Nathan dressed up as Bob Ross. So silly.

All ready to head out to a Halloween party.

The devotional book I was reading at the time. (I read it as a book not one devotion a day.) This devotion really caught my attention. We should all heed what it's talking about. We cannot do life on our own. At some point we have to realize that we cannot do life without God.

October was a fun month. It is my favorite month of the year. Anytime I can spend time by the water is always a relaxing enjoyable time for me.

Our lives are made up of time, and the quality of

our existence depends on our wise use of the moments we are given.

Bob's Pumpkin Patch 2020

October 4, 2020

After church on this Sunday, we drove to Snohomish to Bob's Corn and Pumpkin Farm.

This pumpkin farm is our favorite. I love that they have roasted corn, not every pumpkin farm does. Roasted corn is a big part of going to a pumpkin patch given that they have a corn maze. It just makes perfect sense. 

And I think it's wonderful that besides them placing pre-cut pumpkins you can also walk over to the field filled with pumpkins of various shapes and sizes and cut your own pumpkin. I think that's the coolest. It gives a more authentic pumpkin patch experience. This creates the most coziest of memories, in my opinion.

 The country store where one can shop from delicious jams and jellies to butter, milk, and cheese and beyond. 

Even though the farm employees were wearing masks they still remained nice and didn't refuse service to those of us that weren't wearing one. That's how it should be. No one forcing something on someone. 

The bi-color corn, yellow and white that they plant is the sweetest corn I have tasted in my life and it's so crisp! It's just perfect.

Enjoying some corn before heading out to pick our pumpkins.

This is the only way Riley will eat corn, on the cob. 

Across the road is where they have the large corn maze, sunflowers, and bonfire pits. You can get to it by hayride at no charge.

You go down fast on these slides. Riley loves them.

Pretty dahlias

We got a wheelbarrow and trudged through the muddy field.

It was a bit tricky maneuvering through the pumpkin plantings, holes and areas of slushy mud ... but it was fun!

I love all the trees in the background. Such beautiful landscape.

I find joy in the ongoing pleasures of the natural world.

Riley enjoyed using the water pump while Jacob scrubbed the muddy pumpkins. 

Afterwards we stopped by a taco shop for a carne asada burrito and then we drove to Des Moines to enjoy the views of the Puget Sound.

We can live a fine life without having extravagant experiences. We just need to be grateful with what we have, our home, and the loved ones in our life. When we live this way, we create memories of togetherness and intentionality that we can't help but to share.

Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.

Pumpkin Patch 2019

October. It's such a gorgeous month.

I often take a leisurely drive on some backstreets just so I can dwell in this crisp season longer. The scenery brings so much happiness to me. October is also a month of traditional outings, pumpkin patch visits, hayrides, sweet roasted corn, overcast skies and flavored coffee. A time when we also embrace the crisp weather with gladness because the hot days are finally over but we're also not dealing with bitter cold temperatures yet. In essence, October offers perfect weather.

It's been a few years now that we visit two pumpkin patches on the same day. We do this because one of the pumpkin patches has a great deal of children activities but their food is not really that good, the other pumpkin patch doesn't have as many children activities but their food is a lot better especially the fact that their sweet roasted corn is truly delicious! This works well with our family and given that we have one child with us now, doing things has gotten a lot easier for us.

Always try out the corn maze. It's fun ... unless you've been trying to find your way out for like 20 minutes then things can become a little frustrating, LOL! Good thing that didn't happen to us this time but it has in the past. 

Jacob had the map, obviously trying to figure out the way out so he wouldn't get us lost.

Boys are fun! On the hayride back to the main activity area.

Not sure why Riley's faced the wrong direction. My son, he does quirky things sometimes.

He loves the slide. He must have gone down this thing about ten times.

And of course there's a petting zoo. Super cute farm animals.

Riley mentioned that these "carts" were hard to peddle. Jacob had to give him a push a few times. 

This took place at the second pumpkin patch. The first thing we did once we arrived was to eat. Delicious.

Then we went searching for pumpkins! I remembered to bring my shears. So glad too because you know the stem/handle has tiny prickly things on it and it hurts like heck if you touch it! I hate it.

I enjoy taking my time walking through the pumpkin patch. I try to get pumpkins of different shapes and sizes. They make interesting jack-o-lanterns. 

Cleaning the pumpkins on this old water spigot is super messy. The muddy water splashes everywhere. One has to be prepared to get dirty.

We sure look forward to this pumpkin patch outing. Sometimes we eat at one of the patches but sometimes (even if we do eat a sweet roasted corn) we go to a restaurant after the patch. It depends on what we're craving at the time. But, we always leave these patches with funny and fun memories.

Enjoy each stage as you go through life.