a fun day in Ashland

We have so busy and boy has it been fun!  We've been so busy that I've just gotten a chance to sit down and check my 30 unread emails, get pictures off my camera cards, and save pictures from my phone and text messages. 

 

Taking the kids to story time is something that I have always enjoyed.  The local library has a Mother Goose story time for Emmy's age group and there is a preschool story time for Bryce.  I have been able to take Emmy to story time by herself this year since it's while Bryce is at school.  Bryce's story time has been harder to coordinate because of his school and other things we have going on like MOPs .  This week we decided to go to a different story time in the town of Ashland and make a little field trip out of it with our friend Thomas and his mom.

 

 

After story time, we crossed the railroad tracks to go to the train store.

 

Even though we have a train table, they seem to be more fun somewhere else!

 

After the train store, we headed down to the train station.

 

We stood on the tracks and watched for a train to come. 

 

We LOVE a good photo op!

 

Then we headed to one of my most favorite lunch spots.  The boys enjoyed being able to see the tracks from the restaurant.

 

We walked around town a little more after lunch and stumbled on a caboose car. 

 

 

I am loving these fall days and the ability to be home with my kiddos!

apple pickin'

Oh, how I love fall and fun family activities.  Family traditions are my most favorite thing and apple picking is one of our favorites.  As we were walking down the path today, Bryce told Jason that he loved apple picking with just the four of us!  I'm glad he will have so many fun memories from his childhood.

 

 

We each had our little walking buddy.

 

Emmy ate apples along the way!

 

There were actually apples low enough for the kids to pick this year.  Of course we never seem to go when they're picking the apples we want (Fuji and Granny Smith), but I don't really think we go for the apples.

 

I go for the photo ops!

 

Jason goes for the warm apple cider donuts.

 

How can you not be happy after a delicious treat like that?!?

 

It's not a trip to Carter Mountain without a worm picture.

 

More photo ops.

 

I cherish these days with my sweet family.

 

how has it been four days since I last posted

Today was one of those days.  One where I totally lost my cool by the end of the day.  It's not good that it happened, but it did.  Now we just go to bed and pray that tomorrow is better.  It has to be, right?!?

 

I took this sweet picture of Emmy and her friend Avery last week at a birthday dinner for one of my good friends.  Bryce's photo bomb in the back is lovely!

 

 

I worked on getting the porch ready for fall this week.  We have a MOPS event and a preschool field trip at a local vegetable farm in the coming weeks so I'm sure we'll pick up a few more small pumpkins to add to the mix.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  I thought about putting mums in my planters, but I'm not quite ready to get rid of my geraniums yet!

 

Emmy had a fun play date with the girls on Wednesday while Bryce was at school.  Don't worry, Bryce got to go home from school with a friend for a play date, too! 

 

The girls had a great time in the playhouse.  We're considering getting the kids a playhouse for Christmas because they both enjoy playing in them.

 

Emmy loves to take books to bed.  When I checked the monitor last night and saw that Emmy had fallen asleep like this, I had to go up and take a picture (and move the book). 

 

Thank goodness tomorrow is a new day and Friday at that!! 

these two

Bryce and Emmy have gotten to the age where they don't play so nicely together anymore.  Things always start off well.  How can you go wrong when they both have the "same" toy?!?

 

 

Emmy eventually gets bored and does her own thing.

 

Bryce likes to torture his sister so he goes straight to her bike (his old bike) when she leaves it alone.

 

Emmy immediately sees what he's doing and runs after him to tell him "NO".  How cute is that outfit?!?

 

After he gets a turn, he gives Emmy the bike back and returns to his own.  Happy all the while that he messed with his sister.  He's a stinker! 

 

I look forward to when they play well together again.  It may never happen again!

fall fun

We headed to a local produce stand this morning for a few pumpkins and a couple of trips through the hay maze.  We met our buddy Keagan and his mom Melissa there.

 

 

Oh Bryce!  I can always count on you for the smile.  I finally get one from Emmy and you are looking silly!

 

Much better!

 

Emmy went through the hay maze in her stroller last year.  What a difference a year makes!

 

Bryce was so excited about taking a picture with the enormous pumpkins.  So excited that he smiled.  And so did Emmy!

 

Happy Fall Y'all

5 on friday

I thought that I was about done with five on Friday last week when I lazily came up with five of my favorite pumpkin foods.  However, I actually came up with some things this week that you all might enjoy!

 

 

 ONE: One of the great things about fall is the return of all of my favorite shows.  I'm looking forward to the premiere of these shows next week!!  We've been watching How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory since they started.  I was a little late catching onto Modern Family, but it seriously is the funniest show!!  How I Met Your Mother has gotten kind of silly over the years, but I've got to stick with it for this last season to find out who Ted marries!

 

 

 

TWO: Since my favorite shows have been on reruns or summer specials have been on, and we don't have cable, I've found myself reading quite a bit more than I usually do.  I have to admit, I don't really choose books that will teach me something or make more intelligent.  I tend to stick to chick "flick" type books.  I read Spring Fever early in the summer and then just finished Summer Rental this week.  I've really enjoyed Mary Kay Andrews so I picked up Ladies' Night while we were at the library the other day!



 

THREE: Ever since the temperatures have dipped, I've been burning my pumpkin pie candle.  I've never actually eaten pumpkin pie, but the smell of this candle is perfect for fall.

FOUR: My mission this weekend is to decorate the porch for fall.  This is one of my most favorite things about fall.  I just love mums and pumpkins.  I try to decorate the steps and the porch around the door, but I always get so overwhelmed.  I can never decide how many mums, how many pumpkins of each size and color, and whether or not to use hay and corn stalks.  This gorgeous house and porch gave me a little inspiration.

 

source

 

FIVE: Another one of my fall favorites is wine tasting.  We typically go to the mountains because they're the perfect backdrop to the vineyards there, but this year we're going somewhere more local.  Saturday we're taking a good friend to Saude Creek for her birthday and this picture has me really excited!  It looks like a fun place. 

 

Happy Friday Y'all.  Have a great weekend!  I'm excited about our fun fall weekend!

catching up

Last week I confessed that I had been horrible about taking pictures with an actual camera and vowed to do better.  I had also hoped to do better about posting said pictures.  However, I have not taken any pictures on a camera other than my phone since then and this is my first post since Friday.  Major Fail.  Well, the picture taking may have been a fail, but the blogging not so much.  I took a break from the computer some this week and it was nice!  At any rate, I decided to pop in and play a little catch up.

 

 

Emmy enjoys playing in the dryer. 

 

I had gotten Bryce dressed and ready for school the other day and then after breakfast he went back upstairs and came down dressed like this.  A completely different outfit from head to toe.  The tie is a nice addition don't you think?

We have been outside every chance we get to take advantage of this gorgeous fall weather.  Emmy loves Bryce's old bike and Bryce is loving his big boy bike.  He looks really big on it, but I think it's just the angle.

 

The kids spent a lot of time at my parents' house last week while we all took turns at doctors appointments.  Emmy enjoyed reading and napping with Nanny.  Nanny really enjoyed it!