The Pumpkin Patch...Maybe The Last Time :(

Last Sunday afternoon we went to the pumpkin patch.  It was a gorgeous warm day...maybe too warm since it was the middle of October.  I asked the girls if they wanted to do the pumpkin patch this fall, or maybe a different event locally.  They begged for the pumpkin patch....so off we went.

I am sad to say they might be getting too old for the pumpkin patch.  They were a little bored with the activities and really just wanted to go pick out pumpkins.  Or maybe they were just hot!  Who knows?

It was still fun!  We got pumpkin donuts right when we arrived and devoured those quickly.  We went and saw the pigs and the goats, and played in one of the barns for a while.  

They tolerated me taking all the pictures that day...because they just grow up too fast.  

We really enjoyed the sunflowers and walking through all of them.  Even though there were bees on the sunflowers, they did not bug us at all.  

Addison really wanted to take some sunflowers home and apparently you can. So at the end, her and  I went back and cut several to make a bouquet to take home.  

Really, you can't have too many pictures like this, right?  

This year we got lots of pumpkins and found some very unique ones.  We got orange, white, blue, green and even a red pumpkin.  Plus, we found a football shaped pumpkin.  

I am hopefully this is not the last visit to the pumpkin patch.  Maybe, just maybe, I can drag the girls back next year....on a nice cool fall day!  

October...or Maybe September Happenings...

Life is busy these days...hence the crickets on the blog here.  Sorry for that.  I have so much to share with you, but I just have not made the time to get it done.  Here are  few things:

School pictures!  They turned out great again this year. 

Addison finally lost that middle tooth the day before her birthday. 

We went shoe shopping and only one kid came home with new shoes...she knew exactly what she wanted and didn't stop looking until we found them.  

Lauren and I went to the last Royals home game on a gorgeous sunny Sunday afternoon and had a great afternoon together just her and I. 

Addison had a huge birthday party and got several Lego sets that she had put together by Monday morning.  This girl loves her Legos and now is old enough to put them together by herself!  

We walked to school one morning with a neighborhood of friends!  We really do love our little neighborhood.  It is like our own little community.  

I hope these two are always the best of friends.  

Addison turned 8!  My oh My! 

I took her lunch and a cookie cake on her birthday! 

I got to have lunch with Lauren too! 

Then we went to Olive Garden for dinner that night...with our BFF of course.  

Then all 6 of us went to see the USA gymnastics team at the sprint center.

They put on a fabulous show!  We all enjoyed it! 

Yes, Mark does exist.  I don't seem to have him in a lot of pictures these days...Sorry babe :) 

Fall soccer has been fun.  The weather has been near perfect and we have really enjoyed watching Lauren improve from week to week.  

She loves MY snap chat app.  I just don't think she is old enough to have her own snap chat account quite yet...

Ginger was worn out after a visit at Gramp's and Nana's house to celebrate October birthdays...

I took my Brownies to the Nelson Art Gallery to earn our pottery badge.  I love being able to provide these girls with opportunities they might not otherwise have if it wasn't for Girl Scouts.  

After we made pottery we had a snack on the front lawn and then ran some energy off.  All these girls are amazing.  They are such a great group of girls! 

I had to leave early for work one morning, so Mark sent me this picture of the girls...dressed alike!  Even though they fight like sisters, I know they truly adore each other!  

Happy Birthday Addison!

Addison will turn 8 on Friday!  Eight years old already!  She is in 2nd grade and loves school.  Science and Math are her favorite subjects (go Addison) and reading and writing are not fun to her.  

This past weekend we celebrated her birthday with 20 of her closest friends....it was awesome!

Her cake was amazing.  It turned out just perfect.  Addison wanted to have a magician at her party, so we planned a magician party.  We had pizza for everyone when they arrived, and a photo booth as well.  

Here are her girlfriends.  They are school friends, Girl Scout friends, and daycare friends.  Lauren had a few friends at the party as well (the big sisters of Addison's friends...) but they were too cool for this picture! 

The photo booth and props were a hit.  There are so many fun pictures that all the girls took.  Thanks Mark for taking pictures for me! 

Jenna and Adriana have been Addison's friend for years.  Jenna, of course, we have known since they were babies.  Adriana, Jenna and Addison took a dance class together when they were 3.  Then when they started Kindergarten they were all together again!  Yea.  I love these girls...and their Mom's! 

Our house was packed, but it was so worth it.  Just look at the girls faces!  The magician put on a great show.  He kept these girls entertained for an entire hour! 

Addison even got a special certificate declaring her a magician as well.  It is sitting up in her room! 

Then it was time for presents.  All the girls gathered around Addison to watch her open presents.  She received several wonderful gifts.  

Then it was time for cake and all the kids gathered around the kitchen island to sing Happy Birthday and watch Addison blow out her candles.  

I absolutely love this picture!  

These 2 friends spent the night..well, sort of.  Jenna ended up going home at 3:30 A.M.  and then she was back for breakfast at 8!  Addison, Kailyn and Jenna had big plans for the sleepover and the next morning.  One thing included this lemonade stand and Jenna had to come back for that.  They also had a huge surprise planned for Kailyn's little sister's birthday!  

All these crazy girls had a great time!  

We had so much fun celebrating Addison's 8th birthday...a week early and all!  Happy Birthday Addison! 

Girl Scout Camping with Lauren (For the Last Time!)

Lauren has decided her time with Girl Scouts has come to an end!  She has been a Girl Scout since 1st grade and has really loved it.  She has made so many new friends and created endless memories with her Girl Scout troop.  She has decided to focus on soccer (and since the meetings are the same night as practice, she really had no choice.)  She started to get a little bored with the meetings last year towards the end, so I think it is a good time to transition on to other activities.  But, she was officially a registered Girl Scout until September 30th, so she enjoyed one last camping trip with her troop!  

Lauren and Cassidy have been friends since they were 3 or 4.  They met at the daycare, and Cassidy introduced us to this troop (and to soccer for that matter.)  The girls don't go to the same school, so seeing each other at Girl Scout events is a special treat! 

Cassidy, Leah and Sloan have all been in the troop the entire time Lauren has been with the troop as well.  Leah's Mom is the leader, and Sloan's Mom is one of the other Mom's that is always willing to volunteer and help out.  Just like me and Cassidy's Mom as well.  I wish I would have gotten a picture of us Mom's one last time.  They are a great group of ladies.  

We slept in permatents (you can see them in the background,) cooked over the fire all weekend, and used outdoor (really gross) bathrooms.  I won't miss that at all.  After we arrived and got our tents set up, the girls played games while us Mom's relaxed a little.  

It took a while to get the fire going because it had been raining most of the afternoon.  We finally at dinner around 9:00 that night.  The girls made hobo packs, which is tradition.  It is meat, potatoes, and the vegetable of your choice, wrapped in foil with some butter and cooked over the fire for about 30 minutes.  They are delicious! 

We settled down around midnight and slept pretty well.  It was a gorgeous night.  The girls were awake when the sun came up, so it was time to start the day.  Breakfast was omelets, made in a Ziploc bag.  Very easy and very tasty.  

We did a little bit of hiking the next morning, and took the trash up to the dumpster.  Each girl had to carry it for a while.  That was not their favorite part at all! 

We did some more exploring and hiking before heading back for lunch.  

We also did some arts and crafts right in the middle of the woods.  There was a table set up on a stage and lots of places for us to sit.  Each girl got to decorate their own hat with paint.  They were all very creative and enjoyed the activity.  

Our Girl Scout run has been fun and I  know Lauren created endless memories with these girls.  I love the Mom's I have gotten to know and I hope we can all stay in touch.  It really is a great group to be around.