Farm Living is the Life for Me

I'm SO behind on blogging.  I'm helping out with Halloween parties for both girls' classes, and I've been using my before bed computer time to sort stickers and send emails and, okay, watch a little tv.  So, sorry.

My camera was also not working and so I hadn't been taking too many pictures.  But, that didn't stop us from pretending that it's fall out here (when it is so clearly still summer -- 93 is the forecasted high on Halloween!!)

So, yeah, we went to a couple pumpkin patches, including our favorite Schnepf's Farms.  And, we did the usual pumpkin patch stuff.  First off, I made my girls (and Brooke) wear overalls and cowgirl boots.  Because, HELLO!

And that was before we even left the house.  We also posed in front of hay bales and pumpkins, we rode little trains, we went down slides, we watched the pigs race, we watched Nana call a pig, we roasted marshmallows, and just generally had a good time.

Want to see some more pictures?  I thought so.

As if that farm life wasn't enough, we went a few days later with some friends to a different farm/pumpkin patch.  And, I guess we had so much fun doing that same stuff (minus the pig races and marshmallows) that I only took a few pictures.  But, I promise that we really did go and we really did have fun!

And, you guys, this was from like 3 weeks ago, so expect some random catch up posts coming your way in 3, 2, 1.....

Sydney's First Preschool Picture

Sydney's school picture came back last week, and I just love it!  She did such a great job smiling and looking at the camera!  We are lucky that we ended up with a school picture for her because she almost didn't get it taken.  She and her little BFF in her class were sent to go get their pictures taken and somehow, someway, they managed to NOT get them taken at all.  My mom picked her up from school that day and when she asked Sydney if she'd had her picture taken, she told her that she hadn't.    Mom checked, and sure enough, she hadn't.

Anyway, I love this sweet picture and I love that sweet girl even more!

Also, I should probably note, that she has three striped dresses (two exactly like this) and at the time of school pictures, they were her favorite.  It's probably not what I would have chosen for her to wear, but I'm glad she did.  I want to remember how much she loved (and actually still does) her "rainbow dress."  

Kindergarten School Pictures

We got Olivia's school picture back on Friday and I just love it!  She looks so grown up.  I've never thought that I would want to have one of those frames with every years' school picture in it, but man, I'm changing my mind now!

And look at her compared to the last two years!  SO grown up!

Love this sweet girl so much.

Ohhhhhh, Maui {Posers}

We definitely took advantage of the natural backdrops around our condo for some sweet pictures of our girls.  Oh how I wish I had taken my big camera with me (sort of).

And, unless I find some pictures on David's phone that just HAVE to be shared, this concludes our Maui Adventure posts.  Until next time, Hawaii!

Ohhhhhh, Maui {Our Private Beach}

I really, really LOVED where we stayed this time in Maui {Kahana Village}.  There weren't a ton of people staying there because it was off-season, so we practically had the place to ourselves.  The beach wasn't huge, but it was definitely big enough for us and most days we were the only people there.

The girls were in heaven digging in the sand and splashing in the water.

There were two Australian families staying in a unit right by ours and the girls had so much fun playing with them.  We exchanged addresses, so hopefully they can be pen pals!

Birffffdays!

Happy 14th Birthday to Magnum Hound and Happy 6th Birthday to this little ol' blog!  

Ohhhhh, Maui {Horses and Magic}

Here's the Cliffs Notes version of the next two days in Maui.  David, Ryan, and I went horseback riding and then after dinner at Duke's went to see my favorite magic show in Lahaina -- Warren and Annabelle's.  Sadly, we didn't get any pictures of me with Warren, but I hugged him on our way out and he did a magic trick for me.  He gave me two coins and when I squeezed my hand tight, one disappeared and then reappeared in his hand!  WHAT?!  Anyway, we sent my parents there the next night and made sure that my dad had a $100 bill in his wallet in the hopes that he would be part of the show.  Sure enough he was!  I highly, HIGHLY recommend going to Warren and Annabelle's if you ever get the chance -- such a great show!

➹ This one's a framer! ➹

Ohhhhhh, Maui {Easy Riders & Old Lahaina Town}

Every time we go to Hawaii, my friend Michele tells me to check out her friend's bike tour business, Maui Easy Riders.  They drive up to the top of the Haleakala Volcano and then bike down 25 miles on a curvy road.

No thanks has always been my response.  But, this time around I tried to be a little more adventurous.   So, I went.  And, it was scary.  But also kind of fun and cool.  Our guides were laid-back and awesome, and the best part was when we stopped in a little town on the way down and they bought us all donuts on a stick!

We stopped by a roadside fruit stand afterwards.  Ever tried sugarcane?  Yeah, don't.  

Ryan had been promising Olivia ice cream or shave ice or both for being such a great girl on the plane rides out, so that afternoon we went out for that.  The ice cream didn't pan out, so it was shave ice for all of us!  I don't think I mentioned this, but I put a few blank hard back books from the Target dollar bin in her backpack on the ride out and she spent most of the week writing and drawing about the trip.  It was amazing and I hope she keeps that book forever.

The next day, David went on a morning scuba trip so we took the girls into Lahaina Town to walk the shops and check out the banyan trees {and, okay, get treats}.   If you go to Maui, you MUST stop in the ice cream shop Banyan Treats and get an ice cream cookie sandwich.  It's AMAZING. 

Such a gorgeous day to be outside!