Hee Haws

We celebrated fall today by going to Hee Haws, a pumpkin patch - corn maze - all around fall extravaganza. We slid down a huge hay stack slide, went on a hay ride, rode the animal train and chatted with Leroy the 1,200 lb pig. The weather was perfect and it was great to actually get out of the house and do something. Here's the part where we show you a ton of pictures of our adventures:

Ok, so Jay actually rode the animal train sitting on Chad's lap, but I couldn't resist this picture that makes it look like Chad squeezed himself in so he could go for a ride

The huge haystack slide

Ready to go home

And Leroy...all 1,200 lbs of him

Jay's Duck Encounter

On Tuesday, Jay and I went with 3 of Chad's sisters and some of their kids to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. Jay loved pointed at and imitating the animals, but wasn't a big fan of getting anywhere near them. He refused to join the other kids on the pony rides and wouldn't pet or feed any of the animals. He's been to petting zoos before and had no problem, but this time he was terrified! Later, as we were looking at the ducks, he apparently wanted to show off for his Aunt "Nik Nik" (Nikki) and go up close to the ducks. I saw a golden opportunity to get a picture of him close to an animal, but as I was taking the picture, I heard the snap and saw Jay pull his finger away from the duck. Yep, the duck bit his finger. It wasn't bad, but it scared him to death. I don't think he'll be getting over his fear of the animals at the petting zoo anytime soon!

Moments before the duck took a snap at Jay's finger

Me, Jay, and Erin watching the other kids enjoy the pony rides

Grandpa Carl Comes to Town!

On Monday, my Grandpa Carl and his lady friend Lois came to visit. It was great to see him since we hadn't seen him in about 2 years and he had never met Jay and we had never met Lois. Jay took to Grandpa right away, and loved the fabulous new toy train he brought him. Jay keeps pointing to the train and saying "Granka" (Grandpa) and nodding his head. Jay loves trains but he didn't have one, so Grandpa picked the perfect gift! It was great to meet Lois and we're glad to have her in the family.

Grandpa Carl and Jay

We ate dinner at Mike and Stephanie's apartment. We cooked all day making cookies, homemade rolls, honey butter, mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake (made with beets, courtesy of Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious). Mike and Stephanie made roast and veggies from their garden and the meal was delicious! Definitely worth all the time and dirty dishes put into it!

It was great to talk to Grandpa and get some good family history stories out of him. Once we got him talking he remembered a lot more than he thought he did! There is still lots of family history research to do for his family, but he remembered several first names that will help out the search.

Grandpa, Stephanie, Darbie

Stephanie, Lois, Grandpa, Darbie

The Worthens Enter the Blogosphere

Well, the Worthen family is giving in to pressure from friends and family and actually starting a blog. Hopefully we'll be able to keep all of you updated on our lives and show you the crazy happenings of the Worthen house. We'll try to keep you reading and not bore you with what Jay ate (or didn't eat) for breakfast or how often Chad showers. We'll try not to be ridiculous and only report worthwhile things that give you insight into our lives. Actually, we probably can't even promise these things as our lives revolve around a 2 year old that does cute and silly things that we just want to tell everyone about. Hopefully you enjoy our attempt at a digital family history and we can all keep in touch more easily!