Fall is Finally Here

So last week we were pulling into the driveway and Thomas exclaimed,

"Look Mom! It's fall!!"

He was so excited because in his mind fall happens when leaves fall.  He doesn't understand that it's the entire couple of months, not just the times when the leaves fall.  It's sweet really.

Well, little did he know that falling leaves would get to be picked up.  He was super excited to help Jared rake.  He'd get to use his own rake!!

So, while Jared was off part of our fun was raking leaves.  We made it through one tree in the front yard before we filled the yard waste.  That worked out great because the other one had just started.  The lawn is once again covered.

Anyhow, check out the family fun!  Even Benjamin got into the fun!

What fun is raking leaves if you can't throw some around a little!

He's such a hard worker.  It's amazing how much energy he has.  He just bounces from spot to spot, raking and scooping.

Benjamin was assigned the first round of smashing down the leaves in the trash can.

When Thomas momentarily slowed down, Benjamin was excited to get a turn with the rake.

 Love this sweet little boy!!  (yes, he's still in his jammies)
        Check out Thomas expression in the second picture.  It looks like he's explaining something to Jared. "Well Daddy, what about that leaf?!"

Harvest Festival

One of the first festivities at Faith Community Church we participated in was the Harvest Festival. We look forward to it every year and can't wait for all the new stuff coming next year!!
This year it wasn't on Halloween, but the day after. So, Thomas got to dress up twice. For the Harvest Festival we added some chaps made by his friends Grandma. Super cute and just made his costume all the more fun. Thomas, in years past, hasn't truly enjoyed Harvest Festival.

The first year he was just a cute Octopus that just got taken around. Last year, he was a precious monkey. He had fun watching Daddy play the games and didn't understand that there was candy to be won.

This year was a whole different story. He played every game, walked the cupcake walk for forever, won lots of candy and even got his face painted. He loved checking out all his friends costumes and running around with them. He even learned how to skate board.
What fun it is experiencing life through the eyes of a two year old!!

I LOVE MOM'S GROUP!!!

We are a group of about 16 mom's that get together the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month to learn, fellowship and grow! We are looking at Raising Godly Kids, doing it just like the Bible says, this year. We had room in the study to put in 4 "Mommy and Me" days and what fun those are going to be. My 2 co-coordinators planned this one out perfectly. We couldn't have asked for more fun! We (meaning the kiddos) made pumpkin cookies. They were set up at kid sized tables with mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons and had the ingredients brought to them one by one. While those were baking, they made play dough. Yep, play dough from scratch, with natural food coloring like cocoa, beet juice and spices. Here are a few shots of the fun!

Our fearless helpers, ready for action!

Thomas, stirring away.

Jake's group checking things out.

Donna's grandkids ready for the next project!

Feasting on their hard work!

The Food of Apple Hill

I know I shouldn't and I really shouldn't admit it, but I go to Apple Hill for the food. I'm really trying to not love food so much and love exercise more, but when it comes to Apple Hill, I just can't help it. And hey, there's lots of hills to walk around there, so it all balances out, right?! Anyways, back to the food!! I go for the fritters. They are the best at High Hill, although I'm beginning to believe that's only true because it's where I ate them with my grandparents and cousins as a kid. Then there are the carmel/fudge dipped apples, perfect! We split this one three ways. Thomas was all over it! But where it got really bad this year, was the apple desserts. Mom treated us to a treat, we figured one thing to split for the 6 of us. Oh no, that was not the case, after all a sweet tooth is genetic, we split three things between the 5 of us! (Thomas wanted to play more than eat, that he didn't get from me!!) We shared an Apple Turnover with caramel sauce, an Apple Dumpling and a Cherry Blossom. YUMMY!! It was a little much, more than just a taste of each, but oh so enjoyable!! And as you can see, we managed to polish them all off. Too bad I didn't take a picture before...

I can't wait to go back next year

I Love Apple Hill

Last weekend was Apple Hill Day!! It was one of the best days ever!! I'm a huge fan of Apple Hill, have been since the first day I stepped out of the car there almost 20 years ago. It's a place full of special memories, good food (which we will discuss later), harvest all around you and wonderful smells, even the animals smell good there. This year I was introduced to a whole new level of wonderful-ness. I saw it through the eyes of my 2 year old. I got to see him enjoy all it had to offer, enjoy it with him and watch my extended family purely enjoy it with him as well. We all took turns spoiling Thomas in our own personal favorite Apple Hill ways!

The pumpkins, everyone's favorite!!

The "fishing hole" at High Hill, one of my favorite places to just sit. That's Thomas, Jared and Umple Ross watchin' for some fish.

Face Painting, always a favorite of mine! Thomas is still talking about the shark that the man painted on his face. He asks where it went and can tell you which cheek it was on.

A ride on a miniature horse, my mom's favorite (I don't think we ever got to ride one!!) She was thrilled to walk around the loop with Thomas. He wasn't too sure how he felt. You could tell he loved it, was a little nervous, but thought it was pretty cool. He wears his "cowboy" hat everyday and talks about the horses.

The tractor, all the boys like those!

The farm animals were one of Thomas favorite discoveries and a new one for all of us. I don't remember too many when we were growing up. I love that they are there now.

The hay maze, they are in the back. This was Auntie & Umples favorite thing to share with Thomas. He loved finding all the scarecrows and Umple helped him find all of the dead ends.

Fun was definitely had by all!!

Our happy boy!

A Fall Giveaway

It's fall, it may not feel like it outside here in California, but it is! To celebrate the coming of the cooler weather, I'm doing a giveaway! I totally stole this idea from a friend and had seen it on other blogs and liked the idea so much, I'm doing one too!! Keep an eye out for what you just might get!! I know you'll love it as much as I do!