carter mountain 2015

Yesterday was a perfect crisp fall day for apple picking.  We headed up to Carter Mountain early to beat the crowds and to get home in time for baseball.  Our first stop was warm apple cider donuts!  YUM!

 

 

Next up was the worm photo op!

 

We headed up the mountain and picked Fuji first......mine and the kids' favorite.  We had to stock up on plenty for Bryce's snack at school because he's hoping an apple will be the ticket to losing his first tooth!

 

A nice lady took out picture for us as we came down the mountain!

 

"Mama, take a picture of me with my hands in my pockets."

 

scenic view

 

Granny Smiths for Daddy were next.

 

We even  had time for a hay ride before heading home.

 

We had a perfect family morning!

a little update

Despite the crazy hectic life we've been leading, we've been living it to the fullest! 

 

 

She gets so excited when she doesn't have to take a nap, but she just can't hang without it!

 

The kids had a day off from school recently for the UCI bike races so we spent some time at the park.

 

Barbara captured some great pictures while we were there!

 

I'm so lucky she's mine!

 

A little pumpkin fun with our little pumpkins!

 

The kids made a few laps through the hay maze!

 

Peek-a-boo!

 

Jason had a little work to do at church last week so we tagged along!

 

 

There's more than one way to skin a cat!  DUNK!!!

 

I was on pins and needles the entire minute they were up there.  Those are huge gaps between those rails.

 

We hit up Krispy Kreme for donuts on Saturday.

 

Did someone say nap time?

 

We've missed a little baseball due to lots and lots of rain, but the boys got out tonight for a little practice!

 

I'll try to be back sooner rather than later next time!

just a swingin'

 

My big girl has learned how to swing all by herself!!

our weekend

I have been running a million different directions since the end of July with our span of vacations and the start of school.  I am the vice president of the PTA at Bryce's school, I'm the chair of the hospitality committee for my MOPs group, I'm the room parent for Emmy's class and possibly Bryce's, and I've just started a little business.  To say I'm wearing lots of hats is an understatement.  I know I will get my head above water soon, but I'm not there yet.  But in the mean time, I was able to have some fun this weekend!

 

 

Saturday night we went bowling to celebrate my friend Kathryn's birthday.  This place was very upscale and definitely changed my opinion of bowling!  Below you will see that even in the midst of a busy life, Jason is always there for comic relief! I can't even! 

The kids started their 5 week running series on Sunday afternoon.  Emmy ran the 50 yard dash again this year!

 

Bryce ran a quarter of a mile again this year.  I can't wait to see his time.  He was super out of breath when he was done.  I'll be interested to see if it's because he picked up his pace or just out of shape since last season.  He did manage to pull out third place though!

 

I hope to share a post soon on my new business.  It's all so overwhelming right now that I just can't get my pictures and thoughts together! 

emmy's first day of preschool

This one went to bed super excited Monday night!  I went to bed wondering how in the world my baby is already old enough to be going to preschool.

 

 

She was thrilled to finally have her turn with the chalkboard!

 

She's just the cutest thing ever!

 

We stopped for a quick photo before going into school.

 

She looks so tiny, yet so grown up walking down the hall to her class.

 

She was all smiles when I picked her up and she was excited to share about her day! 

Disney on Ice

My friend Barbara and her daughter Gracie go to Disney on Ice every year and asked if we wanted to join them this year.  The only Disney movie Emmy has ever seen is Frozen, but she does know who the princesses are so I thought she would enjoy it so we tagged along!

 

 

Gracie was thrilled that Emmy was there!

 

Lucky for us, Frozen is still popular so they did a fairly lengthy display of it!

 

 

Emmy belted out all the Frozen songs and clapped and clapped!

 

Enjoying a few M&Ms after the intermission. 

 

Kids were decked out in princess costumes.  Emmy kept it simple with a tutu and her princess shirt.  What more do you need when you're wearing every shade of pink, ha! 

 

Emmy is Gracie's honorary little sister!  Gracie is going to be a big sister for the second time to another little brother and she's not sure how she feels about that (well, she does know how she feels about it, but that's another story) so she's happy to have Emmy!

 

Thanks for fun night Shipley girls!

preschool orientation

Emmy was not thrilled that she had to wait an extra week to go to school after Bryce started.  We did get to go last Thursday for a little sneak peek and Emmy loved it.  I am SO excited about her teacher.  Ms. Rebecca did story time at our local library for years so we came to know her there.  She did Emmy's story time party last year when she turned 3.  Through all this, we came to find out that Ms. Rebecca also lives in our neighborhood!  I just know she is going to be in the best hands. 

 

 

Emmy went right in and started playing and even played with the other kids there.  She and Bryce are definitely not alike in that area! 

 

She starts school tomorrow and I think she's going to do amazing!!

we have a first grader

Bryce couldn't wait for school to start!  It helped that he got the teacher he wanted and there were plenty of familiar faces in his class!

 

 

The night before Kindergarten and first grade!

 

We were up and at 'em right on time this morning with plenty of time to spare for pictures!

 

Nana bought him a new outfit to wear today, but my poor little boy is still too small for the smallest boys clothes that don't have a number size, ha!

 

He's growing up!

 

I asked Bryce to ride the bus to school just this week so I could get my picture and he could make sure he knew what to do if he ever has to ride in the mornings, but we'll be back to walking next week!

 

Bryce was all smiles when he got off the bus today.  I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said, "All of it!".  Unfortunately, his best buddy, Thomas, isn't in his class this year, but he was excited to find that they have recess together!

 

A Dairy Queen treat was the perfect way to end the first day of school.

chuck e cheese

When summer comes to an end, you pack in all the fun you can!  We went to Chuck E Cheese on Wednesday with the Shipleys.

 

 

The boys stuck together for a while.

 

And the girls made their way around the games.

 

 

But in the end, my two stick together like glue!

 

They had so much fun!

 

Way to go Bryce!

 

Winning some tickets!

 

Counting them up!

 

We even had some pizza while we were there.  We've only had pizza there once in all our visits so that was a treat!

 

Thanks Barbara for another fun day and for the pictures to prove it!