For the past four days we've been celebrating Halloween. Wednessday we carved our pumpkin. Thursday we had Beggar's Night. Friday Lily's class had their parade and class party and yesterday we went to a friend's party. It's been fun!
October 24, 2010
Pumpkin Patch Time!
We had a fabulous visit to our local pumpkin farm today. Even though it was late in the season, the crowd was really small, the weather was perfect and there were plenty of pumpkins waiting for us. It was a very nice, low-key, family day. Lily and Andrew just had the best time on the hay ride, picking out the pumpkins and eating some delicious icecream.
while Lily became our own little kitty.
October 16, 2010
Amish country weekend..........
On Bill's birthday, we decided to book a trip to Amish country during the peak fall season. This past Friday we took that trip. It was fabulous. The drive was beautiful, the hotel was nice and the kids enjoyed all the attractions. We did a lot and I took many pictures!
Here's one of Andrew's favorite things to do. We took a mini-train ride through a farm and the country. 
Next we stopped at Heini's Cheese Chalet. Delicious cheese. Regretable name.
We enjoyed our hotel. Lily and Andrew are at the age that any pool is a great pool and any hotel with a pool makes them happy. I think to them, it's a giant slumber party with a pool. We enjoyed the pool to ourselves for almost 2 hours on Friday night and for an hour and a half on Saturday. 
The closest animal we got to was a Scottish Yak. Here he is begging for food from Lily. I don't know much about Scottish Yaks, but I did learn that they are a bit intimidating when they get this close and they don't have the best smelling breath.
Bill got to feed an ostridge. They eat with gusto and you can watch the long, slow path the food takes when they swallow.
My personal favorite was the giraffes. They were so beautiful, strange and sweet. This particular one is named "Big George." I happen to love how this photo came out.
Finally, the country side was just gorgeous. Many of the leaves were blown down by recent high winds. Still, what foliage remained was quite beautiful. It was a very fun family get away!
October 11, 2010
Perfect weather weekend
We had a fabulous weekend with perfect weather. I've been particularily thankfull as Lily received an electric motor scooter for her birthday. She's had the best time zippg along at great speeds. We had a lot of great outside time this weekend including a playdate and fall festival at a local park.
I did catch this shot of the kids. It wasn't the shot I was going for, but at least it's scenic.
Andrew's dreams came true when he got to explore a fire engine. Really, what is more awesome to a little boy? He was able to climb all over it, sit in the front and walk through the inside. I was only slightly nervous when he couldn't help but touch something, push a button here and pull a lever there. The fire fighters were very understanding :)
Again, my little guy has decided to look away from the camera for every picture. Sigh. Somehow, even with him facing away, I think this photo is adorable. Thanks for looking.
October 6, 2010
Birthday Bash!
Sorry for the delay in getting this post out. Last week we had a wonderful time celebrating our little girl's 7th birthday. We started the week with what we called her "Buddy Birthday" and I covered that in our previous post. On Tuesday, we sent in treats and she had her classroom celebration. Then on Saturday we had her family birthday. I'm so happy that all events went really well and Lily had a ball. Saturday, we went to Lily's restaurant of choice, Panda Inn and then came home for more celebrating. Between parents, grandparents and uncles, that girl was seriously showered with gifts. Andrew even got some some "un-birthday" gifts. Apparently some things are just too hard to avoid. Then we capped the evening off with a make your own sundae treat. Lily just isn't a cake eater. It was low-key, no stress and really a great time. Here are some pictures. 
September 25, 2010
Buddy Birthday and Autumn Moon Festival
Today was a busy day. First Lily had her "buddy birthday" celebration. She invited her friend Emily for a happy meal and then a visit to Sweet and Sassy Salon. The girls were so cute. They sat together at McDonald's giggling, eating and being silly. I got a taste of my future as I sat in a booth near them keeping an eye on them and keeping my distance. Then it was off to the salon. They carefully selected their nail colors. Lily chose dark purple and Emily selected bright orange. They got glitter lotion, dolphin nail decals and giant yellow sparkly rings. Then it was glitter hairspray, a star on the face and time to mix your own lip gloss. It was a sparkly, glittery, giggly good time. We cruised the mall, stopped at Claire's bought matching stuffed animals and just had some good old girl time. It was fun to see them together and I could tell Lily really enjoyed herself. Here are some pictures of the sparking beauties.
Then it was time to go to the Autumn Moon Festival hosted by our local FCC chapter. It was held at a new location and we had a really nice time. I was laughing with my friend Georgette and said "Where else could you get to do the chicken dance, eat a moon pie and walk in a lantern parade?" The weather was beautiful and the location was fun. Families picniced while the little ones played on a playground. Miss Lily lead the group in some crazy dancing including the Cha-Cha Slide. The kids made paper moon lanterns, had a scavenger hunt and then we all walked in the lantern parade. This year the lanterns were really pretty and it was dark enough to enjoy them. Here are some pictures of the event. I have to say the Lia and Andrew were too cute together.
