Rader Family Farms

So the pumpkin farm was great.  It's like a miniature version of Eckert's in St. Louis.  It's quite a bit cheaper, and it's easy to keep track of your kids.  They had so many things for kids to do.  The Rader family has done a great job making a family friendly atmosphere. 

The hay bale fort.  C and I climbed almost to the top level.  He got scared (of course).

One of the coolest things for little ones was a village.  It was 3 small houses: a post office, a market, and a home. The village had the buildings--furnished, paths complete w/signs and tricycles, lawn mowers, and a bunch of other stuff.  C loved the market and "checking out" the produce inside.

He also loved riding the ladybug train. 

I loved this old truck and begged C to pose.  He wasn't into it.  He wanted to get back to the market or the giant sandbox.

a view of the fields--right on the property where you can play.  we took a hayrack ride into the farm. 

they had these cute little wooden horses set up in a large circle facing a small circle of "steers."  The steers were fiberglass heads of bulls.  The point was to lasso the steers.  So cute to watch.   The area behind this photo was the corn and straw area.  They had big containers of corn (think giant popcorn kernels).  The kids would jump in and dig/rake and play.  It was funny to watch them sink in.  Corn was falling out of his pants all day.

They also had farm animals, goats to pet, a giant sandbox to dig in, turkens that ran wild (that's right--the ugliest cross b/w a chicken and a turkey--think fluffy white chicken w/it's neck hair missing and in place a googler and a face like a turkey--weird), a giant tube slide, a jumping pillow (think GIANT inflated trampoline--I even thought it was fun), a miniloft to jump into the hay.  So many fun things to do.   We are going to Eckert's this weekend, so I can't wait to see how the play area actually compares since we didn't really do that w/C last year.

First taste of fall

While we wait to hear if our counteroffer is accepted here some pics of this weekend.  I'm running a bit behind on my posting---just a little preoccupied w/worrying and planning Halloweeen decoration.

C loves his bike, but can't seem to get the hang of pedaling.  He's also pretty lazy about this kind of thing, so he likes to just sit up there or be pushed. 

working on his bike

We went to a fun dairy farm on Monday, but the pictures I took aren't that great.  We had a lot of fun though.  Today we are headed to a pumpkin farm--hope to get some good photos.

And the bubble bursts

We got an offer tonight.  It was 24,000 under our current asking price (which was already 16,000 off or our original price).  The offer took us completely off guard.  It is insulting.  Needless to say we can't afford to sell our home at this price.  We will likely counter-offer, but are not expecting to reach a fair price w/this couple.  We are overwhelmingly saddened.  I feel like somone punched me in the gut. 

Now we will likely look for someone to rent our home, and I guess I will try to find a job--not sure what to look for.  I'm not certified in Illinois, but I guess I might go to the GAP.  We are pretty much at our breaking point.  We can't afford to sell our house and we can't afford to keep it.  We feel terribly alone and hopeless.  Definitely feeling sorry for myself.

Waiting

This has been a year of waiting, and we continue to wait for an offer today.  The peeps are currently writing an offer.  Our realtor is trying desperately to bring them to a fair offer.  I'm hopeful it will be something we can afford.  So we wait longer--hopefully we will have an offer by tonight, and hopefully it will be one we can accept.

Last set of pics: Savannah

So I will try not to bore you with too many photos, but you will see several b/c I think SAV is GEORGEOUS.  We loved it.  We only got to be there for the day, but I really want to go back for a weekend visit.  We decided to take a trolley ride that ran all day, and you could get on and off as much as you like.  It is narrated, so it's the best way to get an overall feel of the city in a short period.  Our driver/narrators were all great and funny, too.  We went w/Ken and Traci and we did visit the famed Lady and Sons, which I will heretofor call the L&S. 

We ate at L&S for dinner (our parents did lunch earlier in the week).  This guy was the best part to me.  They close down after lunch and reopen for dinner.  All these people line up on the street (with reservations) and wait for them to call your name.  This precious guy comes out and says "Hey Ya'll!  Welcome to....blah blah, blah..."  then something like Come and get it or Dinner is served.  Don't remember which, but it cracked me up.  He rang that triangle for all it was worth.

Inside the L&S--which in my opinion needs a serious makeover.  It's old lady garden themed.  Ick in all its hunter green and ivy.

Ken and Traci really enjoyed their food--they did the buffet, which in hindsight wish I had chosen.  I wanted to order off the menu--silly me.  They enjoyed the best fried chicken ever while I ate beef tenderloin that was as tender as shoe leather.  The seasoning on my dish was good, but the meat ruined it.  The tomato pie that accompanied it was very tasty, and I loved their cheddar biscuits and sweet tea as well.  Scott's food was average--nothing out of the ordinary--but good.  I would not recommend this restaurant unless you just really want the experience (to say you have).  The food is southern cuisine mostly and it's seasoned well, but it's not really my style.  I still love Paula Deen, but I didn't love her restaurant.  Next time I want to try the Pink House for dinner and Mrs. Wilkes' Boarding House for lunch.

getting artsy.  funny story.  this is a pic i took.  scott asked to see the camera a couple minutes later.  he took almost the exact same shot.  weird.

 after eating at the six pence pub--to me it was great.  they had lots of beer and traditional pub style food w/a southern twist.  i had some awesome shrimp and corn chowder and we all split appetizers: marinated stuffed portabellos, cooked brie w/toast and fresh fruit, and welsh rarebit on toast.  these were all delicious.  sampled some fun beer (and mixed beers---I tried a black and blue) as well.

scott being a jerk about pictures

on the trolley

One of the 22 squares in downtown Savannhah--translation mini-parks every few blocks.  Gorgeous.  Most have a statue or some sort of fountain in them as well as beautiful live oak trees hun w/spanish moss. 

this cathedral was gorgeous--have tons of pictures from inside--a real gem.

the Mansion on Forsyth Park--where I wish I could stay when we return, but probably too costly

Can't wait to go back and do some walking tours, a ghost tour, and tours of a couple historic houses. 

Almost done w/my HH pics

Enjoying the super cool Harbor Town playground.  They had tree house style playsets where you could play in the trees and on platforms, and these low trees you could climb on as well.

The Harbor Town lighthouse.  We climbed it w/3 kids.  I carried Colin all 146 (I think) steps up and down the thing.

 My sweet friend Rayel, who came to visit us w/her family (I hadn't seen her since her wedding 5 years ago).

C and Ray's little boy.

Us at dinner w/Ray's family.  It was an outdoor restaurant.  Our little 2 year olds were amazing!!

My sweet friend April and her family (who I also haven't seen since Ray's wedding) came up to meet us in Savannah, but I'm stupid, so I forgot to take any pictures--these pictures above were from Rayel--they remembered--not this girl.  I'll have to wait another 5 years for newer pictures at this rate.  April has the cutest little 6 month old.  He's so sweet, too.  Love to you both!

When things that help hurt

I got my mouth guard yesterday.  As soon as I put it in my mouth I knew I wouldn't like it.  Just trying it on made my front bottom teeth hurt (it just goes on my bottom teeth).  It has to be really tight so your tongue doesn't force it out in the middle of the night b/c the tongue doesn't really like that foreign object.  I wore it last night.  They said they want me to try it for at least 3 consecutive nights.  1 down.  I slept okay.  I woke up a few times, but was able to quickly fall back asleep.  This morning as soon as I took it out my front teeth started killing me.  I tapped my coffee mug on them this morning while drinking and it almost made me scream.  It's a dull, continuous pain.  The teeth there feel all loose, too.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to hang in there, but I think it's worth it.  I don't have any jaw pain, so that's a bonus.  Scott says I'll get used to it, but dang it hurts now. 

Just Hanging Around

So it is so hard to just pick a few pictures of us hanging around.  I will still have probably 3 more posts about our trip, but these are some from just being together around the house.  When you have 2 little kids that still take naps, you have to stay close to home a lot--which leaves lots of time for relaxation.  I wish I'd gotten a photo of us on the porches, cuz I seriously spent a lot of time out there.

Morning time: let's just say we all drank A LOT of COFFEE--especially at first when we were still drinking the good stuff.  We went through a whole bag in 2 days, so we switched to the cheap stuff.  We still consumed a lot, but not at the staggering rate of the first 2 days.  In most photos you can find someone w/a coffee mug.

Enjoying the fooseball--they loved playing down here w/this and the pool table.

The girls got slammed the first night in games (and I of course lost my temper w/Scott--I hate losing).  He kept guessing turkey for no good reason, and you know what--once he was right.  What are the freaking chances.  Let's just say I was less than composed about it.  The second time we played guesstures and the girls had our redemption.

Grandma and granpa

Moms and their little boys. C is shirtless b/c he had an incident (meaning he ate) with some chocolate ice cream.



Because I like to be transparent, this is how I look in the morning.  Awesome, I know.  We are laughing at something.

We've upgraded to wine here, as you can see

"Snorkeling" in the tiniest pool known to man

This was the first morning. Scott went with me for a walk and we could hear everyone outside when we returned.  We decided to sneak up around the fence and "surprise" them.  My dad surprised us w/this phot.

the first time C ever saw a handheld video game.  fascinated.  Wyatt offered to let him play, and C said.  "No, thanks.  I too little."  I cracked up.  We had only been there maybe 30 min at this point.  When we first arrived C had fallen asleep in the car (at 6:15 for the first time of the day).  He was very startled to wake up and cried a lot (this is unusual).  He only wanted me, so I carried him w/me as I checked out the 4 levels of house.  This evidently made his stomach hurt and he puked all over me twice.  He obviously had a stomach ache from his drainage and the gummies we'd fed him to help his ears on the plane.  As soon as he puked the second time he was hungry.  See what he asked for?  McDonald's Chicken Nuggets.  An early learner. 



Having fun at the beach

brothers

Could it be any sweeter?

C digging (can you see my ridiculous shadow in this pic?)

Didn't take many photos--especially of us adults.  No need to burn our retinas.