Maddie's First Field Trip!

Maddie was THRILLED to go on her first field trip this month!  They got to the farm and she loved every second (even the bus ride).

Think they're a little excited?!

She is absolutely loving school and we are so, SO proud of her.  Reading is just clicking and I'm amazed when she picks up a book and reads to me.  We love her teacher so much and Maddie has already started hinting that she would like to NOT go to first grade in the Fall.  Ha!

Train Day!

On our day off of school this week, we headed with our friends to a fun park that has a ton of retired trains.

The boys were SO excited!

They got to climb on a lot of trains and explore!

It was a little chilly but then warmed up a ton!

We also got to ride a train around the park, which they all loved.

Clearly, it was naptime for two little boys, who both left the park in tears.  Ha!

Sweet Fall Day

The kids looked so cute in their Halloween shirts today that we went out on the porch for a few quick pictures.

Love my little sweeties!

Watermelon Tour

Every year, we head out to the nearest farm for a wagon tour. We get to sample all sorts of fresh from the farm fruits and veggies, learn about farming and even get to bring home some watermelon of our own.

Miss Emma and Maddie were twinsies in their cute white dresses. I remember dressing the same as my best friend when I was little and it was always so fun.

It's a rare shot when the moms get to be in the picture! :)

Mike eating his one and only, annual carrot. Ha!

Maddie was mad. We made her try everything they cut up for us, including squash and zucchini, which she can't stand.

Everyone loved the yellow watermelon. So sweet!

And sweet Grayson just slept and slept and slept. You can kind of see him peeking out in there.

Our take-home watermelons.

Love these girls!

We can't wait to go again next year!

A Day at the Petting Zoo

Earlier this week, we got together with our friends and headed down to a super cute (and super clean!) petting zoo.

Each girl (Maddie and Emma) got a basket of vegetables that they could use to feed the numerous bunnies, guinea pigs, goats, pigs, sheep.... The list goes on. :)

She loved holding the guinea pig!

The goats were a little, um, aggressive, so we tried to keep a safe distance. :)

Emma and Maddie, both unwilling to look at the camera and smile!

They also got to ride the train...

and ride the ponies!

This was a deal that we scored through Groupon and it was at such a discount. I'm loving all these sites that offer fun things for way less than half price. Such a fun day (with beautiful weather, too!).

Farewell Summer

Remember our Bucket List?

It has hung, prominently, in our kitchen for the past couple of months.

Throughout the summer, we had our adventures and checked the activities off.

And then,

we had only one activity left

(eh, okay... we actually had two but one involved making ice cream and until I find a way to do it successfully without an ice cream machine, that one has to be shelved. For now).

Oddly enough, the final activity was the simplest.

And cheapest.

And sweetest.

The girl had requested that we read outside.

That was all.

"Read outside."

So, we tossed a few books in a basket, grabbed a towel and headed outside, right before bedtime.

It didn't bother me (much) that she was only wearing a pajama top (and a thick, fleece, winter one at that) or that her hair looked like she was trying to achieve dredlocks.

She was just so

content.

We read for a while and then she asked if I was interested in seeing her act out the Little Mermaid.

Turns out, I was and I got to see her interpretation about 4 times.

4 lengthy, detailed times (she did allow me to be Flounder but when I refused to swim on the grass, she demoted me to a voiceless Ursula).

Goodbye Summer 2010.

You were fun.

We did a lot of things and it was a great time.

I can't wait to create another bucket list next year.

Maybe we should do one for every season. :)

Summer Evenings

I think one of the best things about summer has been the cool evenings spent outdoors. We loved our concerts in the park and last week, we visited a local street fair.

It was so much fun. We ate and walked and shopped and Maddie and her friend Emma danced and danced and danced (I used "and" an impressive six times in that one sentence! Ha!).

Daddy bought her a honey stick and had a balloon crown made for her.

They loved their crowns. :)

The mamas, in a picture for once!

Such a fun evening!

Vacation!!

We just got back from a fabulous vacation and this is my attempt to narrow down the 200+ pictures into my very favorites. :)

She could hardly wait to get on the road!

My parents and sisters had already been there for a few days and Maddie was just totally tickled to finally start driving (well, she wasn't driving; that sounds negligent!).

This was just a cute picture, right before we left.

She adores her daddy and to be quite honest, I'm terrified for him to go back to work in September. He's the first person she asks for in the morning and the only person that is allowed to play puzzles, figures and watch movies with her.

Back to the trip... We went swimming immediately.

We also went to Old Town and attended mass. She was a little upset that there was no Sunday school or any of her church friends. :)

One of the sweetest things about this girl is her love of dancing. She will seriously dance whenever and wherever. There happened to be a live mariachi band this night and she danced in the middle of the square.

Mike and my dad at dinner and...

My mom and me. :)

There are ponds all throughout the hotel and she loved watching the baby ducks swim with their mama.

Since none of my carousel pictures turned out, I had to throw in a random picture from the same afternoon. :)

We also took a tour around the city on an amphibious vehicle. We've done this tour in Boston and had just as much fun on this one, too!

We saw hundreds of sea lions!

And, sailboats. I thought this one just looked so pristine on the ocean.

So, I took this picture because I just thought it was pretty and loved the little surprise I later found in the upper right hand corner.

How cool is that?!

Another sea lion turned to say hello to us. :)

We were on the 20th floor and this was one of our views. It overlooked the bay so one night, I got to lay in bed and watch the fireworks explode over the harbor.

My girl and I waiting for breakfast. :)

BIG thanks to Nana and Poppa for making this annual trip possible and to Annie and Megan for being so great to Maddie!