We made it to the pumpkin farm during the Columbus day holiday
We celebrated Brandon's and Carter's birthdays with cake and presents. Carter loved the attention and the chance to blow out the candles!
The antique auto show was in town, and one of our neighbors had his out and give the kids a ride!
Brielle has been having fun checking out cookbooks from the library and trying some recipes.
Howling wolf pumpkin carved by Brandon
Halloween party!
Mummy wrap
Painting pumpkins
Brielle worked hard on her owl pumpkin!
headed to HersheyPark in the Dark
Right before the Halloween parade. A witch, a black cat and a Hershey Kiss! It was really long this year and the kids' buckets were filled to the brim by the end!
Halloween day was warm and pleasant, but a rainstorm was in the forecast so the township postponed trick or treating until the next day. Sure enough around 8 pm there was tons of rain and high winds! November first was cold but at least it was dry. The kids had a great time going around the neighborhood; Brielle enjoyed handing candy out. Now we have over 12 pounds to eat our way through!
A bunch of photos in no particular order from the fun things we've been up to this month. Mostly HersheyPark :)
Brielle had a How to Train your Dragon party for her birthday. We made some dragon puppets, viking shields, watched some of the movie, played pin the wings on Toothless, had cake and ice cream and presents! Happy 9th birthday Brielle!
The kids had a great time at the ward campout, but this is the only picture I got.
I set up our camping gear, then once Brandon came from work I left for my symphony dress rehearsal. The kids and Brandon enjoyed the campfire songs and s'mores and sleeping in the tent. I ended up sleeping at home so I would be slightly more rested for my performance the next day. I came back to camp for the pancake breakfast :)
August was extra fun because Neil's family came to visit! Lily waited to have her birthday party until they were here to celebrate. She wanted a "Camp Kids" themed birthday, so we had camp/outdoor themed games, a cute firefly craft, and s'mores flavored cupcakes.
Working on the puzzle Grandma sent for Lily's birthday
We love our Lily! She is imaginative, passionate and a good big sister. She loves to read (graphic novels are a new favorite), do crafts, and play with friends. She is doing great with piano and dance and is a pro at riding her bike! Can't believe she's already seven!
Of course we had to go to Hershey Park
Neil had a Nursing conference in DC so we headed down together to spend more time with family! First we went to see The Lion King in a movie theater in Maryland, then had dinner at a nice restaurant (the neighboring diners complimented the kids on their good behavior), then went to our hotel. Neil's family were staying in DC at the convention hotel, but we stayed at a more affordable place near the University of Maryland. The kids loved getting to sleep on the sofa bed with a tv right there in the same room! I loved that our room was separated from the living area so we could all sleep better. Once we got up and had a delicious hotel breakfast (smoothies! vanilla waffles! cheesy eggs!) we headed into DC to see the sights with Rebecca, Kaden and Lexi. We used the free bus system to get around to the monuments and national mall and that was really nice. We did a fair bit of walking too and it was pretty hot and humid. The kids complained a little but were mostly good sports.
I really loved the WWII memorial. We were allowed to put our feet in, like the soldiers who celebrated the end of the war by dancing in the fountains of Europe.
We're so happy they got to come out East and that we could spend time with them!
Later in August we went to a baseball game since we'd gotten some tickets from a blood drive, and there would be post game fireworks. We had a great time!
We also traded in our trusty Sonata (it was starting to have some issues) for a new Prius!
Fourth of July was extra special this year because Mama Judy came to visit! She joined us for the patriotic symphony concert at the hospital, the ward breakfast, and a dinner with friends.
The Greens came over for Sunday dinner and Lorana and Carter were so funny. They put on the girls' bike helmets and played all afternoon in them!
Mama Judy also came with us to Lake Tobias Wildlife Park and zoo. The day was overcast and perfect for the safari...we got to feed the bison, buffalo, elk, antelope, llamas and other animals from the bus! We also visited the petting zoo...the girls were terrified of the little goats who would aggressively climb up your legs or nibble our clothes to get a treat!
On the Safari bus
This friendly zebra was fun to feed
This daddy Rhea bird stood up so we could see the large nest of eggs he was caring for!
The tiger got up close to us at the viewing window!
We spent a weekend in Elmira NY visiting Jared's family for Lyla's baptism! The kids had a great time playing together. It was so great to see my uncle and aunt, all their kids and grandkids. I haven't seen some of these cousins in years, and certainly not their kids!
On a nature walk
Carter and I took a different path which had wind chimes, a fairy garden, and a little playground!
Also some fun hammocks!
Swimming in Jared's pool! The kids loved this and the older cousins stayed in there for hours!
Carter and Everlee playing with the mini trains
At the Baskin Robbins grand opening! Each scoop was only 31 cents!
There were dance parties, prizes, face painting, balloon animals, and a giant ice cream cone!
Lily chose a baseball bat and ball from the balloon artist. It was hilarious to watch Carter try to play with it!
I didn't get any photos of the baptism day, but it was so nice! It was right after church on Sunday. The talks were given by Lauren (mom) and Tyler (age 10). Jared baptized Lyla, Amy, Isaak, and I got to play some violin interlude music while they got dressed, and all the cousins aged 18-3 (there were 17 in all!) sang "The Miracle". It was so beautiful! What a special day!
Lily went to a week long jazz dance camp. She had a great time and one of her best friends from preschool was there too!
Brielle went to a little art class and painted this cute fox!
Swimming lessons have been going great this summer!
HersheyPark with friends!
Chess time! Lily's really been enjoying improving her game.
And I wanted to document how Carter reads the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
