The boy and his cars

Boys and cars....need I say any more?

It just makes me giggle anytime I catch him playing so nicely by himself- usually with his cars.

And just so Mr. Big Guy isn't left out- he's usually just chillin':

Jester Park Nature Time

Yesterday just did not go how I wanted it to go. It was a bad day all around: I lost my voice but went to school to teach lessons which made me feel even more terrible, Trace had a bad day at daycare, and Michael was cranky (3 razor sharp incisors coming in at the same time). So I decided we needed to get out of the house, get some fresh air, forget our troubles....and that's just what we did!

We of course went to our favorite park, Jester Park. I'm sure you are all sick of hearing about it by now but we love it!

Trace-man.

(notice in the following photos that Michael has a little walnut "ball" in his hands- he picked it up and would not let it go the entire time we were there! He kept calling it "his ball" and then he found an acorn he kept calling "his rock". Boys, boys, boys.)

When I was editing and uploading my photos, I looked back at my files and found my photos from the same time last year at Jester Park. Isn't it funny how we thought Michael was so big at the time?

Here is one more last year/this year comparison:

I guess it is nice to know that his interest of getting as soaked as possible hasn't changed!

We had a great time and our moods were much improved. I'm glad Mother Nature had a chance to work her magic on us!

Wrapping up Summer

Fall is here and you can feel it in the air. I'm having mixed feelings about summer being over- the days seemed to go by slowly but the weeks flew by. We had a great time enjoying our time as a new family of four and of course we logged lots of hours on our back patio.

I'm afraid our days back here are growing fewer and fewer now that the late afternoons are quickly getting darker and cooler.

Watch out Michael, or you might be attacked by my monster sweet potato vine and be lost forever!

As my flowers grew, so did this little guy:





It is amazing what can happen in just one short season!

...and one more photo for you so you don't think our days are all pink flowers and happy babies here!

Fall Fun at the Apple Orchard

This past Saturday marked our second annual trip to Center Grover Orchard for some fall fun. Visiting the farm was a great excuse to celebrate the change in seasons and everyone enjoyed the beautiful day!



The day started out a little cool (so not too big of a crowd) so we took advantage of the short line at the tractor rides and hopped aboard.



Michael loved the tractor but he threw a tantrum when it stopped and people started getting off so we figured we better get off too! Luckily we had stopped at the corn maze so we gave it a whirl. I think Michael was happy to get out and stretch his little legs. I was also happy that I did not have to a push a stroller around!

Michael loved this little train and I think he rode it about 3 times in a row. He did try to get off of it while it was moving so that was our last time aboard.

Michael's absolutely favorite part of the whole day was....the jumping pillow!!!

He jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped. Loved it!

We also bought a nice lunch from the little feed bunk they had and went home with apples, apple cider, and donuts. Michael was worn out and took a great nap when we got home- I would call the day a success! We can't wait to go back again next year!

Here is the link to our trip from last year, so funny to see how Michael has changed!