This year, Beka and Michael both had to work on Halloween, and be away from Mr. Emery. They were both very sad about not being able to share this first special day with him. So to make sure that the memories did not escape us, we all went to the Franklin Pumpkin Festival to get our Halloween on!
The day started like all the days do around the Oakley home; with a happy Emery! He is always awake and full of joy in the mornings, which makes mom and dad full of joy as well!
We snuggled in bed for a bit, and Emery enjoyed being wrapped in the warm covers of the big bed (he sleeps in a cradle by the bed)! We have affectionately called this photo "buddah baby".
After lots of snuggle time, we got ready for the day. We Put Em in his halloween outfit from his Auntie Robin and Uncle Zach. He was so cute in his little pumpkin hat!
Within minuets of getting ready, Emery was pooped. We put him in his swing and he fell fast asleep while Mom and Dad got dressed themselves.
Once we were ready and out the door, we realized how BEAUTIFUL the day was!!! It was a cool, crisp, sunny day in Spring Hill Tn.
Michael came up with a game on the way to Franklin for the festival. He said to Beka "find a pretty tree, then I will find one, and we will keep finding them until we both decide what the prettiest one today is". So we did, and there were tons to choose from.
And here was the winner! The photo does not do this wonderful tree justice. It was so vibrant with pinks and reds, and oranges. It was so beautiful!
We arrived in Franklin, and found a great parking spot (which is hard sometimes during a festival). We were so excited!
Emery was so excited too! :D
We are one happy, excited family!
Downtown Franklin, where the festival was, is one of the cutest down towns we have ever seen. It is about 30 mins north of where we live, and its one of our favorite places to spend a day.
There were so many people there! Lots of kids, parents, and families came out, dressed so cute, to celebrate all together. We were thrilled to be a part of it!
Emery was thrilled to be there too! He could hardly contain himself!
We started at one end of the festival and got some coffee (we did not drink coffee before Emery, but now that he is here, we love it! So when we order it, we order it in his name. Michael has been ordering drinks in Emery's name for years, even before we were pregnant! He always loved the name and wanted to practice people saying it).
Last year we happened upon this festival by chance when we were going to get lunch in down town Franklin. So this year, coming on purpose, it was so fun to see how much the festival had grown in just a year! The amount of vendors almost tripled! The vendors are always Beka's favorite part of any festival. She loves seeing all the hand made goods, and cannot get enough of the cute crafts and booths.
There was a couple of the side streets that were dedicated to kids! they had rides and petting zoos and other fun munchkin events. So, obviously, that is where Michael wanted to go :)
There was a CRAZY ride there that we had never seen before. Just watching it for a while made Beka feel sick
http://www.youtube.com/user/BekaOakley?feature=mhee#p/u/30/vu-ZmHCQH4c
We took a break from the fun to feed Mr. Emery, and get some snuggles in as well.
We walked, and saw, and played, and laughed, and had such a great time! The day definitely made being away from Emery on his first Halloween so much easier. When we missed him that night we could see these fun photos, and feel like we still got some halloween memories in.
It was a sweet adventure, and we are so glad that you could share it with us!
Love
Team Oakley
