Carvin' and Soppin' and Trick or Treatin' - Fun in the Fall!

There are so many wonderful Fall activities in our area, it's hard not to want to attend them all!  This year, we were able to make it to the annual Pumpkin Carve at the AU School of Architecture - this was my first time to attend this longstanding event.  The pumpkins designs didn't disappoint, as they were all carved by creative and artistically gifted architecture students...some of my favorite designs are below.  (My Mom and I arrived late, so kudos to Mark for taking pictures of the best ones before they were purchased for $5 each!)

An insanely popular Auburn quarterback showing off his abs?

And of course a nod to the main topic of thought in this town at this time of year...

This one was Turner's favorite.  Yes, we do believe it's vomiting pumpkin seeds.  Oh excuse me, it's "spitting" pumpkin seeds in Turner speak. 

Turner was obviously enthralled with this unique event!

This pic is for my future brother-in-law, Matt.  We so wanted to buy you this pumpkin!

My family has been looking forward to this past Saturday morning for many months now - the annual Loachapoka Syrup Soppin!  For those of you who may be challenged in interpreting Southern-speak...Definition of Sop: verb (used with object) to take up (liquid) by absorption (usually followed by the word up): He used the bread to sop up the gravy. In this case it refers to the act of "soppin'" up homemade syrup with a delicious Hardees sausage biscuit. 

This event is only partially focused on the enjoyment of the yummy syrup.  You'll also see various arts and crafts vendors from the area, lively bluegrass music, a live chicken show, mule rides, and more!  It's truly one of our favorite Saturdays of the year!

Checking out the syrup making process with Pop.  Pop actually remembers watching this process as a child, in his grandfather's backyard!

You can also ride on the mule that's turning the mechanism that squishes the sugar cane (which, by the way, my child referred to as bamboo?). 

This event takes place on the main railroad that runs through the small town of Loachapoka, AL.  Always a neat place for snapping a few unique pictures, and this year it was a special treat to have the train come through twice while we were there.  It came very slowly, allowing fascinated youngsters an awesome up-close train experience!

 
I was so happy Turner could experience the sights, sounds, and feeling of a train passing through so very close to her.  She's sensitive to loud noises, so most of the time this is how she watched the train.  Occasionally, she'd take a risk and take one hand off her ears to attempt to wave at the conductor of the train.  But, not often!

Turner did get this awesome marshmallow shooting gun and she can actually make it shoot!  We had a blast playing with this in the yard on Saturday afternoon!

And what festival of this nature would be complete with out a porta-potty bathroom visit? Thanks Mark for the picture. I still maintain, these are the cleanest public restrooms at an event of this type on the planet Earth.  Lee County Fairgrounds - take a lesson from the good people of Loachapoka!

And my favorite series of pictures - Turner being her typical silly and entertaining self!  She sat down on the tracks and I just started snapping.  She started leaning back, and then ended up flat of her back on the tracks!

And finally,we did take Turner trick-or-treating on Sunday night around our neighborhood.  Since she's really only done Fall Festival type things before, this was definitely a new experience for her.  And as one who enjoys candy, it was an experience that she wanted to last several days!  (As evidenced by her asking me on Monday night if we could go trick-or-treating!)  She was much less shy than we expected and quickly after the door on one house shut she'd say, "Let's go to some MORE houses!"  She couldn't imagine the thrill of someone just opening the door and randomly handing you candy!  What could be better!?

This pumpkin was on the front porch of our music minister's house - you may remember that they have taught Turner all about saying "Hook Em Horns".

Though these are dark, I couldn't help but snap a few with Turner all by herself trick-or-treating like a big girl!

The "happy pumpkin" as he's called at our house - Turner's most favorite Halloween decoration!

After we got home from making our rounds in the neighborhood, Turner took off her M&M costume and was patiently waiting for dinner to finish cooking.  We noticed she was quiet, and this is how we found her.  Upside-down witch wings?  Witch hat.  Sitting on her art stool, coloring. 

And for a random picture...this was Turner at 6:15am on Monday morning (not sure why she got up almost an hour early after a late night?).  She has her own makeup stash - to keep her out of mine - and she really went to town with it while I was getting ready!  I mean, I had to scrub to get this eyeshadow off!

Such a fun, fun weekend!