The Pumpkin Patch

We went on a field trip with Natalie's class to the Pumpkin Patch in Adairsville. This was Oct. 20th, but I am SO behind on posting all the cute little things the girls have been up to. I took about 100 pictures, and I tried to whittle it down to just the best for you guys, but it was hard!


On the way into the petting zoo. Kids were instructed to only pet with "these two fingers" and then not to put those fingers in their mouths until their hands were washed.
Billy goats!! These little guys were too cute. I wished Ben were with us, he would have loved playing with these critters, and they would have loved jumping all over him.
The fattest bunny I have ever seen. Poor picture, but they said he weighed 16lbs!
When I saw these guys, all I could think was, "Gee, Ben really is like having a pony in the house."Ducks with mohawks. The kids thought these were hi-larious. Our guide told them they were still wearing their Halloween costumes.


This pen was full of baby duckies....
....and chubby bunnies....
Look at the walk-way they have built for the billy goats to play on! We had a hard time explaining to the kids that they couldn't go in and climb on it too. It did look like fun!
The picture just doesn't capture how enormous this steer was.
A hand washing station - thank heaven!
Next it was Hayrides. I was impressed by all the activities they had planned for us and how they kept us moving from one to the next. The kids were having a blast.

The hayride was basically a tour through the back half of the farm, where they grow all the crops. They had almost a HUNDRED scare crows dressed up in every out fit you can imagine.

Playing hot potato (with a cold pumpkin) to kill time while we waited our turn for the hay maze.

Sweet sisters. They are growing up so fast.

I love the look on Madeline's face. "Is this thing safe?"
She never took her eyes off that dummy. I think she expected him to get up.

They ran thru the maze over and over, laughing their butts off the whole time. They loved it.
This is Natalie and her best buddy, Kaytlyn.
Blinded by the light! Natalie's class, and her teacher, Mrs. Lena.


Natalie and Kaytlyn. These two are inseparable.
Chasing a cricket!


They probably spent 20 minutes inspecting all the pumpkins, until they found the perfect ones.

We stopped at Home Depot on the way home and I got two huge pots of mums. We now have a beautiful Fall display of flowers and pumpkins of all different sizes on our porch, which the girls love because they remind them of their big day at the Pumpkin Patch, and they love to tell visitors that they chose them all by themselves. I'm so proud of my little sweetie pies.

Natalie's Birthday Party!

I know, I know, it's been nearly a month. Better late than never people!!!

Here, we have set the stage and the kids were starting to trickle in. It took a couple of hours for everyone to arrive, during which time the moms chatted comfortably under the welcome shade of the tent my wonderful husband set up. Jesse planned the party, decorated the outside, set *everything* up, got the cake and the party plates, and even invited a very special guest....

...who showed up about halfway thru the party....
...and a dozen *terrified* children piled into the bounce house in abject, giddy disbelief...
...as Greg tried to coax the youngsters out by demonstration that Shrek was, in fact, not going to eat them, but only arrived to play.
Once they warmed up to him, Shrek was lots of fun!
He led everybody on a hunt for candy...
...and bravely held the Donkey pinata while everybody took a swing (or five).
A beautiful cake, fit for a beautiful Princess' 6th birthday!

Shrek couldn't stay for cake! But Natalie got a goodbye hug and so did a few other brave souls!

Too bad that Jesse was inside wrapping presents while Shrek was here and missed the whole thing!!! ;)


Opening presents - I love the freshly-flung tissue paper, still hanging in mid-air while Natalie goes for the goods.And of course, it isn't a real party until someone passes out....

We all had a blast, thanks to Jesse who orchestrated the entire affair, booked Shrek :), entertained a dozen little tykes for 2 hours straight, and was the reason Natalie had a very special day of memories to celebrate her 6th birthday! My husband is the shizzle-finizzle.

Yardwork

My wonderful hubby has been hitting it hard. Ripped out all the overgrown bushes behind the Japanese maples, and pulled weeds, spread fresh pine straw and weed mats, and repaired the border in the backyard. Everything looks amazing. We can't decide what to put behind the Japanese maples now. I got some fountain grass but it wasn't the variety I really wanted, and we aren't sure we like it. We'll see what happens.

So Long Stinky!!

Once you let a smelly Great Dane lie on your sofa, there is no saving the sofa. It was a toss up for me on sending the dog or the sofa to the dump. I decided, at least we can wash the dog.

Big Ben howling

For some reason, Big Ben has a thing about sirens. Any time an ambulance or a firetruck goes by anywhere near our house, even if it is very faint and in the distance, he howls like a wolf under the harvest moon. Well, with all the storms moving through the country right now, I guess they decided yesterday would be a good time to test the (very loud) tornado sirens in our neighborhood. This was the result....

Random Acts of Cuteness

Asleep like a pile of puppies on the sofa.Rooney posing while Natalie draws her portrait.

Natalie made a dress for Rooney out of tape and wrapping paper! How creative is this?

They put on a little show for us, made the "curtain" and the stage themselves, and sang us the Baby Bumblebee song, which Natalie learned in Kindergarten and has taught to Rooney.


Are they cute or what? Always up to something. I never know what to expect next. :)

Camping at Lake Hartwell

Jesse and Jim took the girls camping at Lake Hartwell, which is on the border of Georgia and South Carolina. I think. This was a trip they took several weeks ago, and I forgot about the pictures until just now. Doh! They slept in a tent, spent their days on the boat and swimming, came home filthy, and had a BALL. Here are some highlights from the last day when I drove up just for the afternoon.

The lake was l-o-w. That made for miles of extra shoreline that the girls could explore.

The DNR did a reptile show and brought all kinds of snakes and lizards for the kids to hold. This is an albino bearded dragon, enjoying the warm hand on his tummy. Very cute little guy.
I forget what kind of snake this was, but he isn't the poisonous kind, although he was too fast moving to hold. And even non-venomous snakes will bite you.

Me holding a big red-tailed boa. They said he was around 9 feet (um, more like 6) and around 30 pounds (felt like twice that!!)

This was the view from the campsite down to the water where Jesse had the boat docked. I wish I'd gotten a shot of their tent and campsite. There were ducks walking around down there, so we had to go see them and watch the sunset.


You can see the stairway back up to the campsite. Where the girls are standing is usually underwater, but we are still suffering from the effects of a very prolonged drought. The girls had a great trip and Jesse and Jim got to spend some guy time together too, after I took the girlies home with me. They were asleep before we even got to the highway, mouths hanging open. All tuckered out from their big adventure with Daddy and GrandPap.

GO STEELERS!!

What's Happening?!?

This morning I woke up in an alternate universe. It is an unsettling feeling, to be sure. I went to bed last night the mother of two small children...and this morning I rose to discover that in this strange and terrifying new realm...I have a daughter in Kindergarten. Someone, please, pinch me. Where is the fat little baby who was here what seems like MOMENTS ago?! Surely this is not her, showing off her adorable little "First Day of School" outfit?
I had to RUN to keep up with her. We had been to Open House the night before and she knew exactly where she was going.

This is her teacher, Ms. Lena.

It turns out that Baby knows two of the other kids in her class (from the childcare at the gym.) This little guy is Jarrett, who is only one month older than Natalie, and they have been playing together at the gym since they were babies.
She had an absolute blast and told me all about it all the way home (class is from 8:30am to 12:30pm.)
And this is what happens to a little girl who has had a very, very big day. We are so proud of our little Baby Bug.

The first thing she asked when she woke up was, "Mom, was it dark?" Meaning, did I sleep all night? Is it time for school again?

Madeline's Bday, Reprise

More pictures from Madeline's 4th Birthday! I uploaded these from the camera that day, but once you do that, unless you edit them and save them in a new folder right away, you can't find them again until the next time you upload pics from your camera. It's a complicated story, but let me sum it up in two words: VISTA SUCKS.

So here's the birthday girl herself, opening presents:



....trying on her new Fairy Princess outfit...
....and blowing out the candles on her cake, all of which she carefully placed herself.

I'm amazed that my baby is 4. And I was thinking, if Baby starts kindergarden this year, Rooney will turn 5 next summer, so they will only be one year apart in school. One more year and both my kids will be in school. Crazy.