Surprising and Being Surprised

 

A month ago I got a scathingly brilliant idea.  And instantly announced it to my family: "I have a fabulous idea for something we are going to do.  But you have to wait a month."  Because I love torturing them like that!  In the meantime I plotted and schemed, and my surprise came together: a trip to the corn maze at the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island. 

A few of my siblings unearthed the secret beforehand, but the majority were extremely corn-fused as to the secret destination. 

Acres of corn stood before us, and we bravely plunged in!  The maze was divided into two halves; the first half was supposed to be quite easy, so we divided into four teams to see who could make it through the fastest! 

 The teams arriving at the finish line!  Everybody finished in about the same time.  I loved arriving at a crossroads and being faced with the important decision: left or right? 

A picture of Melanie frowning at Mama taking a picture of her taking a picture. 

 

"Hey, how'd you get up on that bridge?  We want up too!"

The bridge gives you a view of the maze, and is a highly desired vantage point, not to mention it's THE RIGHT WAY!

 Arriving at the bird, which you'll notice on the map above!  If you're a Portlander, you might appreciate the fact that they "put a bird on it." 

There were various numbered signs along the way.  You could choose a "passport" which contained themed questions.  If you answered correctly, the passport would direct you to take the correct turn.  But if you answered incorrectly...you might get lost for hours!  (Or minutes, it's all the same in a corn maze.)

The long straight stretch above the words "Portlandia."  We had a lot of fun walking through the letters! 

 

The end is in sight for intrepid corn-explorers!

I know.  I just fulfilled a lifelong dream of yours to see us as sunflowers.  You're welcome. 

The flower gardens were gorgeous! 

 

My one requirement for the day was that the girls wear their stylish rainboots that we all received as birthday gifts this year.  They made the day, I must say, despite the fact that it was dry as a bone and in the 80s! 

 

Jonah has conquered the hay pyramid! 

The surprise I didn't know about was one God had in store for us...a new puppy!  You may remember Sadie, our beloved family dog, had to be put down earlier this year.  Since then, we've been looking for a puppy but just haven't found the right one yet.  On our way home from the maze, Mikaela looked up online listings and happened upon this precious one who was nearby!  We fell head over heels in puppy love as soon as we saw him.  A lab maremma mix, he can spark a fifteen minute monologue from yours truly about how amazing the maremma breed is.  To prevent boredom, however, I'll leave it at this: he is perfect!   

 

"C'mon, let's play, furball!  Hey, what'd I say?"

 

Is it just me or does his tail look like the swirl on a dilly bar? 

 

Yes, our family is goners for this puppy.  We have yet to reach a consensus on the name, though...so maybe you can help us out by voting in the poll!  In the meantime, I'm going to go down and love on him some more!  Good night!