Beautiful!

Oh my sweet and beautiful girls....

 Some beautiful fall days have given us some wonderful outdoor playtime.

Fall Festival

This weekend, we headed over to our 3rd annual trip to the Fall Festival at Megan's school.  It's always a morning of fun.

 Megan always loves getting to go on a pony ride.  She got that "horsey love" from her Mama, that's for sure!

 Nicole was too little and fearful for a pony ride - but the poople who owned the horses, were so sweet and let her sit on one of the little ponies who wasn't giving rides at the time.  She got over her fear pretty quickly and realized - hey, this guy is fun!

 We met up with some friends and Megan was happy to have her friend Kenny to hang with - especially on the train.

 Nicole loved her train rides with Daddy!

 Of course we had lots and lots of time frolicking among the pumpkins....

 And pretending to be scarecrows....

 My sweet little pumpkins....

 Happy Fall - from our family to yours!

23 Months

How can it be... officially the last "month" birthday.  In just one more month, my sweet BABY will be 2!!!!!!  But she's not there yet, and I'll hold on to every sweet little baby moment I can get!

 Nicole is such a curious little girl - she wants to be in on everything - just to figure out what it is.  She is her big sister's shadow and it's very very hard to get her to understand that she's not 4.  If Megan does it, she thinks she can too!  I thought that my firstborn gave me a clear look at "fear" - as I watched her climb up ladders, go down big slides, hang from monkey bars, try to climb trees.... Oh no - That was merely an appetizer for Nicole's antics.  Every trip to the park gives me a moment of complete fear and my heart skipping beats with visions of trips to the ER dancing in my head.  This girl is FEARLESS!

On one hand, fearless is good.... I pray that she'll be fearless in her faith, fearless to try new things, fearless of what others think and will choose the Godly path in life.  But right here and now, fearless is bringing me to a renewed prayer life... mostly for her safety.  :^)

I sure do love my girls!  What a rich blessing the Lord has given to us!  Happy 23rd month baby!

Budding Photographer or Teacher?

Earlier this week, Megan came into the kitchen and asked if she could borrow my camera to take a picture of her class.  I said, "only if you can be very careful!"  and then followed up with, "what class?"

 I was amazed that she actually came up with a focused shot of "her class" as they were working on "sounds and words, and a little counting."   What a cutie pie - she loves her stuffed animals.  From left to right you have... Snowball (bear), Snowflake (cat), Puppy, Baby Dolphin (also sometimes known as Lollipop), Brownie, Flower (dolphin), and Teddy (Nicole's teddy bear).

Evidently her class adores her as well!  Must be those awesome teacher genes!

Grandma Snazzy

Nicole is enjoying our new storytime at Kroger with Grandma Snazzy.  This was always a fun outing with Megan, and now I get to experience it with a new set of eyes.

Nicole really loved all her scarecrows - she thinks they are super fun!

 It was only our second storytime and she remembered that the last child to "ring the storytime bell" gets to put the bell into Grandma Snazzy's apron.

 I had to get a "back" shot to remember how long her hair is getting.  I think it grows half an inch every night.  She's a funny little listener - she'll sit for part of a story, lay down, and crouch... just getting comfy!

 Nicole is also very patient to wait her turn to get her craft supplies.

 Then the real fun begins....

I think we have found a new weekly activity!

Riding at the Park

With some wonderful weather this time of year, we are spending lots of time at various parks.  Megan will tell you her favorits is the "bike park" - so she can take her bike and ride around the loop. Megan is still loving her bike - but we have to figure out how to repair one of the wheels - she's a trooper.  I took these pictures without knowing she was riding on a completely flat back tire. 

Thankfully we have a portable air compressor in the car so we got it pumped back up so she could keep on trucking.

 Nicole liked chasing her in her little car, or on foot.....

 Once everyone was sufficiently tired - we parked the bikes and let them have a go on the playground.

 Megan was so excited that she she's grown since our last trip to this park, she can now reach all the handholds on the climbing wall - all by herself.

It's always a fun day at the park!

Scarecrow Harvest 2011

Once again - fall has officially begun!

We always know that it's REALLY here when we head to the Scarecrow Harvest!  This year, our little city changed things up a bit and it was a really great morning.  It was a bit chilly and windy (another reminder that fall has indeed arrived) but we dug out our Halloween shirts and headed to the festivities.  It's fun to go and know that everything (except food) is free - the girls get to explore and have a grand time and our annual excursion. (click here to see last year's trip)

 We've learned from our past visits that if you want to have your face painted you do that first.  If not, you'll end up in a line that is hours long... or like us just saying, "oh dear, that's too long to wait."  But this year we had a plan and beelined for the face painting the second we arrived and the as soon as the festival began.  And Megan was sooooooo excited to become a Unicorn!!!!

 Nicole said, "No, thankyou!" :^)

We joined in on all the crafts.  We made Nicole a little pumpkin person...

 Hit some jumpy houses...

 Waited for our hayride around the town...

 And the highlight....
Spent A LOT of time at the petting zoo!!!!!!!
Nicole and Megan both loved this.  I thought Nicole might be a little scared of the animals, but oh no - she LOVED them!!!!

What a great free day of fall fun!   It is hard to believe it's already October - this year has flown by.  I think the next few months will seem to go even faster, but we'll have some great memories to be made and savor!