Pumpkin Carving

The weather here lately has been unseasonably warm. This made it perfect to go out in the driveway and carve pumpkins. This is the first year we have actually carved pumpkins with the girls. In the past it has been decorating with markers and the cahracter kits that you can stick into the pumpkins. Now for the fun picture overload.

 

Abby trying to figure out if she wants to dig in or not.

My beautiful little girl. 

Abby watching while Daddy cuts my pumpkin open. It just wasn't working for me.

 



Abby showing me how it's done.

 



Maddie scared that Daddy is going to touch her with "the nasty stuff" lol

 



Maddie proving that she is brave with a couple of seeds in her hands. Can't you see the enjoyment on her face. haha

Look at this mom!!

 



My girls showing off their pumpkins. Maddie's was still yellow and solid so there was no scooping it out. Abby scooped hers out (with help) but opted for Buzz Lightyear in the end.

 I was the only one going for the 'traditional' pumpkin with a carved face and all. :)

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Pumpkin Picking

Saturday we went pumpkin picking at the local farm. This is the same place we go apple picking as well. With our schedule as busy as it is this was the only day we all had to get there. The problem is that it was raining the whole time we were there and super cold. The girls had a blast stomping through the mud. Good thing we brought along rain boots and towels.

 

 

 At least with all the mud it was easy to spot the bright orange pumpkins.

 

 

Maddie was excited to find one that looked like a strawberry.

And another that looked just like a watermelon.

 



My little Maddie lion excited about the rain.

 



Daddy and Abby found one they like.

 

Me and my girls. Cold and happy. :)

 

Veggie Tales Live!!!!

I probably love Veggie Tales as much as my girls do. When I got an email that they were in town I jumped at the chance to take the girls to see them live. It didn't hurt that tickets were only $12 and my Abby was free. YAY!! Wednesday was the big show and we had a blast. They went through most of their silly songs. There were kids dancing in the isle  anndsinging along. It was  great. If they come to your  area I highly recommend you get tickets.

 

Sorry the picture is a little blurry. I took it with my phone. I let them each pick out one stuffed toy before the show. Maddie chose Petunia and Abby chose Alfred. We already owned Bob and Larry.

 

 My youngest and I. She's my mini me. Maddie didn't want to stop playing with her new toy long enough for a picture.

 The beginning of the show.

 

 The part my girls were the most excited for was Bob and Larry.

 "I Love My Lips" is my favorite Veggie Tale song.

 Don't remember what song this is but it has Junior Asparagus so or course it was awesome

 

Abby was loving the show. She was dancing in the isle and having a ball!

 

 



Upward Soccer

My oldest, Madeline, just started playing soccer. Her first game was this past Saturday. I'm not really much for sports and I never really played them growing up so I was hoping that she would inherit Daddy's sports skills.

Thankfully she did pretty well for her first game and seemed to catch on very fast. Glad the Mister has a camera awesome enough to catch action shots because my point and shoot just couldn't handle how fast these kiddos are.

Her team didn't exactly 'win' but they seemed to have a blast and learned to have good sportsmanship.

Hope she continues to love it for the rest of the season.

How about you all? Do you have little ones that play fall sports?

Lynd's Fruit Farm

Today we decided to go blackberry picking at Blue Frog Farm (owned by Lynd's) and then to the Farmer's Market at Lynd's Fruit farm. The girls had a blast. It was early afternoon and we had beautiful weather. I think the girls ate as much as we put in the quarts. Here's some fun blackberry pics.

Yup, that's me. See how pretty the sky is?

Maddie searching for the black ones

Abby excited to find some ripe ones

 The girls trying what they pick

Sneaky blackberry theif got caught. haha

 Abby tried to sneak a red one and decided that it wasn't very good. :)

The girls in the Giant Red Chair outside of Lynd's. They are enjoying some Fresh Peach Cider Slushies. YUM!

This is how we spent our Saturday. How did you enjoy yours?

 

4th of July at Kings Island

The Mister and I took our girls to Kings Island for the 4th of July. We like that they do specials for Military families so we were  able to get there on a budget. We packed a lunch a bunch of water bottles and some snacks and had a blast. It was in the 90's and super hot, but a little bit of ice cream and some water rides and we were good to go. :) The Mister posted a ton of pictures of our adventure on his blog. If you click on the picture it will take you to the rest. :)

Pick-up Sticks.....Literally

When you have no power and it's hotter inside the house then outside, what do you do? Take the kiddos outside and play pick-up sticks........literally. ahaha 

It's only just the beginning.

They seemed to get bigger the closer we got to the back yard.

Maddie showing how strong she is.

"Look Mom! I found the biggest one!"



 The tree across our yard

Anyone have a chainsaw we can borrow? :)

Happy 4th of July

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July with their family and friends. As you are with your families, please say a little prayer for all those men and women who will not be with their families this year. Thank someone who has or is serving our country and be reminded that this is a day to celebrate those who keep us free. No matter what your personal opinion is about the military or your political offiliation, these pictures show the reality of the family behind the soldier.

A complete stranger took this picture for me when we were saying out good-byes before my husbands first deployment. She captured a moment that is so sincere and I couldn't thank her enough.

(The baby is my oldest, Maddie when she was  10 months)

During the second deployment we sat at the computer each night listening to a prerecorded bedtime message from daddy and kissed him goodnight. :)

R & R is both the best and the worst part of a deployment. You're so happy to see your soldier, but it breaks your heart to watch them go back.

For a little bit of fun. Here is an old picture of 3 little Air Force brats. Can you tell which one is me. :) My awsome Dad served 20 years on the Air Force and was my hero growing up.

(We'll see if my sisters read my blog and notice what an awesome picture I posted. haha)

BTW - Yes, I realize that today is only the 3rd, but I don't have access to the internet tomorrow so early it is. Hope you all have a blessed 4th of July.

No Power.......

So I'm sure you've heard in the news (unless you live under a rock) about the awsome storms that Ohio and our surrounding states have been getting this weekend. We lost power around 5pm on Friday night, got it back around 6pm Saturday night only to turn around and lose power around 6pm last night. It's been an interesting weekend to say the least. 

On the upside: 

- The family, including the dog and all my extended family in the area made it though unharmed. 

- Our house is still in one piece

- We have hot water still :) 

- There are car charges for almost everything these days like:
  - The phone AKA my lifeline
  - The iPod and iPad
  - One of our DS's. (Side note, why do they have different power plugs for different models? It's so   inconvenient)

On the downside:

- I went to the grocery store right before the storm hit Boo!

- It's been in the 90's all weekend and will be for the rest of the week.

- The little city I live in is out of most basic supplies like flashlights/batteries/ice (thanks mom and dad for using your generator to make me ice to rescue my food)

Even with a back yard full of down trees and branches, I feel blessed. Things could have been so much worse. I took some pics on the aftermath and the girls and I playing pick-up-sticks....literally. lol They are on my camera right now with no way to be uploaded. (I'm blogging from work right now....SHHHH) ;)

It's been fun trying to find ways to keep the girls entertained. I never realized how much our family relies on electricity and the internet on a daily basis. It's pretty eye-opening.

Please pray for all the 400,000+ people still without power, many of whom may not have access to things like ice/non-perishable foods and a way to cool off. Also, for the awesome AEP workers who have traveled from as far as Alabama to help us get power.  They are predicting 2-7 days without power and those poor guys are the ones out in the 90+ degree weather trying to get us all back up. :)