It's fall, y'all

Today's forecast promised "abundant sunshine," so we made plans to head out to:

The Pumpkin Patch!


But first, we stopped for lunch at Firehouse Subs, one of our favorite haunts. Julia was recovering from a sleepover, which -- thankfully -- did not take place at our house.


Then we drove out to Hidden Valley Farm and turned the girls loose in the pumpkins.









Hidden Valley has everything: oodles of pumpkins, face painting, hay rides, and even a hill that's perfect for rolling down.




Other fun this week: Tuesday afternoon, Julia and I went to Lulav, a really nice Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Little Rock. (Last time I was there, I accidentally set a menu on fire.) Executive chef Brian Cochrane, a member of our church (and husband of our children's minister) had invited Julia down for a behind-the-scenes experience at his restaurant. We hung out in the kitchen, met the staff, tasted some stuff, and he let Julia make some "Creme Anglaise," which was served with a heavenly chocolate mousse dessert to Lulav's patrons for the rest of the night (including us!) Everything was yummy and Julia tasted things that had never crossed her lips before: snapper, steamed mussels, crab bisque...it was all great fun. Chad and Jenna were at home eating reheated spaghetti. Oh, well!

As if the Hannah Montana show Dec. 1 weren't enough, we have something even more exciting coming up. Meagan, Julia's best friend from Baytown, will be coming to visit with her mom in January. It will be their first trip to Arkansas. We are pumped!