While Granddad and Grampa and Nana were all in town we took a drive down to Sweet Berry Farm to take the boys to the pumpkin patch there.  See more photos from the outing here.

It's a whole lot harder to keep up with things when there are two rugrats running around.  OK only one is running around, but they still keep us busy!  Karen's birthday was this month, on the 12th.  Mimi came to visit.  We were glad to see her and grateful for the extra help!  And Bennett is now 4 months old!  Other than that, not so much.  It's finally cooling off here and we're getting ready for fall yardwork!

Here are some more pictures from September.

Karen and Belinda took Henry, Bennett, Harper Grace and Carson Hope to the Brushy Creek park splash pad last week.  Here are some videos from the event.  See the photos here.

Henry's really getting a kick out of the baby pool in the backyard.  Maybe we'll go for the big pool next summer.  Or this one, there's still time!

The banter in the background is Car Talk.  Part of the weekend rituals, you know.

So there's this toy that has been Henry's nemesis since we got it–he hated it.  He would go into hysterics whenever we turned it on.  Well, today it became his new favorite.

Also, Henry seems to think that Bennett likes fish.  I don't know, maybe he does.

And this is hysterical.

More!

More...

Yeah, I've been slacking.  But Bennett has been growing!  He's over two months old now, you know.

We celebrated the 4th of July on the 3rd (Happy Birthday, Lindsey!) because we were going to be driving home from Arkansas on the 4th.  But we all had a good time.  Homemade ice cream, burgers and of course fireworks.

What's that happening there?  Is that fireworks he's handing to the 20-month old?  You betcha!  Well, it was just the little poppers that you throw–mostly harmless.    Henry had a grand time stomping on them and making them pop.  He also thoroughly enjoyed the Hanlon family traditionals: Cuckoo's and jumping jacks.  Bennett on the other hand was unimpressed.

We arrived home the evening of the fourth in time for our neighborhood's fireworks display, which was really quite impressive.  Several dozen mortars and other assorted artillery, dozens of rockets, roman candles, noisemakers, really the works.  And that was just four houses on my street.  They really take their fireworks seriously in Texas.  And now Henry won't stop asking for fireworks.

Pictures from the 4th at the Paynes here.

And a timely post even!  We still haven't settled on a name for the elephant, but the finalists for the naming contest are "Edgar" and "Babar."  Edgar of course continues the alliteration like Fredo the Frog.  A decision to come soon...

And since Karen rarely finds herself in many pictures we post to TH, here's a bonus of the birthday boy with his mother.