This Is What I've Been Waiting For

In years past, I remember looking at everyone's pictures on Facebook during this time of year.  Everyone and their kids were doing all sorts of fun fall activities, like apple-picking and hayrides and corn mazes.  And it broke my heart.

I was so devastated that we didn't have our own kids.  But this year is different.  This year we get to experience new adventures with Lyla and Archer.  Adam and I decided to take our babies, I mean toddlers, to Weston, MO, for a little day trip.  We planned to go to Red Barn Farm to pick apples and then to Weston's downtown area for lunch somewhere. 

We made it to Red Barn Farm and were all just plain giddy walking up to the farm from the parking lot.  Lyla and Archer were looking around and squealing with delight at their new surroundings.  Adam was smiling and I was trying really hard not to cry happy tears. 

We walked around and checked out the farm animals.  They both enjoyed most of the animals, aside from the scary sheep that said, "Baaa."  Archer flipped out when the sheep he had been looking at for a little while decided to "baaa."  I'm not quite sure what freaked him out so much about it, but Adam and I had to pull ourselves together from laughing to comfort him.  

While waiting for the hayride, we enjoyed a doughnut and apple slush snack.  I can already tell Lyla and Archer are going to be the kids who announce how hungry they are whenever we go anywhere.  

After our snack, we headed towards the hayride departure area.  Lyla and Archer had a blast walking around, trying to eat rocks, picking up pieces of hay, and playing in the dirt.  

It still catches me off guard when I see them walking around.  Look how old Archer looks in this picture Adam snapped!  Where did my little baby go?!  

Once the tractor arrived, we hopped on board.  Archer and Lyla loved the hayride!  They mainly loved the hay part, but they enjoyed the ride too.  They probably didn't have quite as much fun as Adam and I did. 

After our hayride, we decided to forego apple-picking this year.  We took the easy way out and just bought some apples that had already been picked.  It was getting close to lunchtime and we wanted to keep Archer and Lyla happy.  So we headed into Weston's cute little downtown area and ate lunch at Tin Kitchen, which is a delicious BBQ joint. 

After our bellies were full, we headed home.  Between all the food and dirt, Lyla and Archer definitely had tons of fun.  Adam and I had so much fun, too.  Adventures like this is what I've been waiting for.  It's definitely not lost on me just how lucky I am that I get to go on adventures with these two cuties.