Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Our hunt for the best christmas tree!

This past weekend (Friday really) we headed out to Bowen Christmas Tree Farm.  We had a wonderful time trekking through the farm to find our tree.  We were very happy to get a nice sunny day! One thing that was very apparent to me is my complete lack of the ability to make a decision...  Every three seconds I think I said "ooo I like that one, let's get it"  I think that in the end we found the perfect tree for us.  :)  We are estimating it at around 12 feet.  So happy that I had Brian there to help steer us in the right direction!   They also had a great roaring fire going, cider or tea to sip on, and the cutest little store where they sell only handmade local items!  I found a few new treasures to add to our collection. :)

Here it is with the girls giving their approval

 Here is Kelti amazed that Brian is cutting our tree down!

 Starting to go!
 Timber!!!!
 Ashlyn is very excited about the whole deal of getting the tree, bringing it home, setting it up and now she is jumping at the chance to decorate it!


And now through the magic of the Internet........
Here it is in all it's glory!! :)

Ashlyn helped decorate most the tree! We had a wonderful time listening to Christmas music and talking about all the ornaments as we went...it was really fun telling Ashlyn about them and what they mean to me and Bri. :)

 The table by the front door got a little Christmas love too!

 My sweet helper! I think she did a fabulous job for her first time being a little Christmas helper! :)

Hope that the joy of the Christmas season is reaching you and yours!


Monday, November 28, 2011

Happy Halloween!

So this is super late, but better late than never right?  I am sure that you will love the cute costumes that the girls wore for Halloween.  Once again we had a fun, but packed day. We started off by having a Halloween party with Ashlyn's preschool class. 

 Bean intent on decorating her cookie!

 I think this is such a sweet picture...She is so aware of prayer now! 

 Perfectly decorated cookie!

Me and my two sweet girls!

Later in the day, right after Kelti's nap we got her costume on, picked Ashlyn up and headed into Brian's office to do some trick-or-treating there.  Seemed like everyone really enjoyed the girls and the their trick-or-treating. 


 Cinderella and Ariel! Enjoying the pumpkin cookies daddy gave them!

 Here's a smile from Ash, but obviously Kelti loved her cookie too much to smile :)

Here is a great Ash smile!  Love her!

After they filled their little buckets at daddy's work the three of us girls headed to the Country Village.  They were able to once again fill their buckets!!  (Yeah, more candy for mommy and daddy to sneak!! :) ) They had lots of fun going around and seeing all the kiddos and grown-ups dressed up for Halloween. 
 Ready to hit up all the Country Village stores!

Kelti carried this Snickers bar with her the entire time, she didn't ask to eat it, but she needed to hold onto it while we were trekking around.

We headed home to eat some dinner and go out in our neighborhood with daddy.  Once we all had some healthy food in our tummies we headed out and once again.....filled the buckets...and of course we didn't even go to all the houses in the hood, but when multiple neighbors give out full size bars it is not too hard to fill the buckets.  A couple of my favorite parts from the evening. 1.  Ashlyn remembering how it worked last year and "teaching" Kelti all the rules.  2. Kelti (as always) being the most polite little girl saying trick-or-treat, nice and clear (with a huge smile) and then taking the candy and turning in a circle in the attempt to get it in her bucket....this was sooo adorable! :)  After all the candy gathering and sorting both girls only ate one piece of candy.....that is some good self control......maybe I could learn from them???
 Daddy is a great trick-or-treating buddy!

 Look, look, look another snickers bar...hmm again she carried it the whole time!
Also in this pic you can sorta see that she is holding her bucket in the crook of her arm, this is largely why she was turning in circles to put her loot in the bucket, she couldn't reach very well!

A momma picture too!

Here are a few of our decorations too!
 Front door with my cute signage and spider webs the girls made.

 Drilled pumpkin.  I got this idea from pinterest, but I totally went small on the drill holes, next year, I will go BIG! 

Another pinterest idea, I think these turned out great! The girls loved them and we got lots of compliments on how cute they were from trick-or-treaters!

 Some more decorations, from pinterest! Love me some Pinterest :)

Close up!

 
Oh, and I already have the costumes for next year...Thank you day after sales! :-)  Ashlyn requested to be a witch and Kelti chose a flying horse costume!  I think they will both be happy with their costumes next year! :)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Two times the pumpkin fun!!

This was quite the fun day. Both girls had pumpkin patch days.  Ashlyn with her preschool in the morning and Kelti in the afternoon with her daycare. To top it off I had a no kid day at school, so I went in for a quick meeting for part of the day and was able to enjoy both pumpkin adventures with my sweeties! :)  I love my job and the felxibility that it gives me to spend time with my girls.  I honestly think that working part time is the best of both worlds. 

Back to the pumpkin fun.

 Ashlyn's class ready to hit the patch.  Side note....this is the pumpkin patch we went to the first year we lived here, when Ashlyn was almost 18 months old and I was pregnant with Kelti....the little goats brought back some memories from our first visit and how excited Ashlyn was to pet them!

 Me and my bean.  I posted a pic at the end that show my new hair cut and color. Sooo look closely at this before and wait for the after :)

 Big smiles for the pygmy goats!

 Ashlyn is jumping right in while Kelti is a little tentative....she likes to look before she....pets.

 Ashlyn and two of her friends from school. They are both sweet girls and their moms are great too, which I love!

 Ashlyn and the pumpkin that she chose!

 Ashlyn helping Kelti pick up her pumpkin....such a sweet big sister!

 Now Kelti has it.....barely!

Ponies!  


 Watching the baby piglets.  The little boy who is standing next to Kelti is her friend from Ashlyn's school.  They run to each other and play each morning before Kelti and I leave.  It is the sweetest thing!

 Leg hugs from my big girl!

 Trying to get a good pick of them at the farm.

 I had to bribe Kelti with a gummy bear to get this smile...it is a good one though, so totally worth it!

This was the end of Ashlyn's field trip.....Kelti's is about to start!

 The girls riding in Annabelle, on the cow train.

 I love this one...Kelti and Ashlyn are both all smiles and happy campers....take a look at the girl in green in front of them....she was NOT enjoying the ride!  Poor kiddo.

 That was FUN!!

 Riding on the John Deer tricycle

 Kelti too!


 Me and Ash...Yes she did wear her sunglasses the entire time we were there which was about three hours...and she was wearing them when we walked in the door at home!  Love her and her style!

 Was trying to get a pic of Kelti and instead got one with both girls....funny and cute!

 Mmmmmm Corn on the cob...They did a great job of sharing and helping each other out!

 Ashlyn's turn!

 That was some good corn and this hay ride is FUN!!!

 Now we go for a wagon ride!

 Traversing the corn maze....

 Ashlyn and her second pumpkin pick of the day!

 Concentrating hard on which pumpkin to pick!

 Kelti's daycare group!

 My little hams!  They thought sitting on this giant pumpkin was the bees knees!

 Here is a pick of my new do......loving it!


Hope everyone had a chance to get out and enjoy a pumpkin patch or two! :)