Christmas on the Farm

This morning, Lorelei and I went to Garden Patch Farms after breakfast for their "Christmas on the Farm". Lorelei and I went blackberry and peach picking there this summer and she still asks to look at the pictures from that day, so it wasn't a hard sell when I told her where we were going. That place is so much fun and the people are super nice! Can't tell you how many doors were held for us or how many people greeted us and asked if we were okay in the cold!

We are big fans of getting to places right when they open, and again, we had really good luck because it wasn't crowded at all. We had the reindeer to ourselves for a little bit, then made some reindeer food, visited the goat and pig, and stopped by to see Santa, (understandably, she did not want to sit with him after their last encounter, but he did get a high five in exchange for a candy cane!) We also went on a "Christmas" hay ride that was a lot colder than I anticipated, but Lorelei didn't have any complaints! Everything in the field looks very different now that it's winter, but her wheels were really turning when I pointed out the blackberry bushes and peach trees we picked from last time. We made one last visit to pet the reindeer then headed into their store where I got some of their last home-grown apples, beets, and butternut squash, (on the cheap!) Looking forward to many picking trips this summer!

Pretty Poinsettia

Giving Poinsettia some pets. 

Trying to give Bacon some straw. 

She froze when heard Santa's "Ho Ho Ho's"

As close as she would get to Santa this time.

That high five was totally worth the candy cane!

And just for fun... here are the pictures of our traumatic visit with Santa last Wednesday. 

Poor baby!

Her expression reminds me of when she was a baby. Where did the time go?

Halloween 2013

Lorelei had a great Halloween. When I got home from work we changed her into her costume and waited for the trick-or-treaters to arrive. After the first round of kids came, she was so excited for "more kids" to come I couldn't pull her away from the bowl of candy. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great so we did not get as many visitors as usual. She was very good at passing out the candy though and I was impressed that none of the costumes freaked her out since her reaction to most of the decorations in the neighborhood is a very clear, "NO THANKS!"

After Todd got home, we took her to a few houses to do her own trick-or-treating but made the rookie mistake of starting at our friends' houses where we stopped inside to chat and play for a little bit, so Lorelei thought we would be exploring every house and was asking to go into strangers' homes. Awkward!

Once we got home, she did manage to get through a Butterfinger wrapper, but told on herself immediately before saying, "Mmmmm! Yummy!"  Even with the taste of chocolate and peanut butter on her tongue, the highlight of the night was definitely the package of cheese balls she got from the house across the street. How bad is it that I didn't want her to have them because I couldn't stop thinking of Honey Boo Boo's cheese ball obsession?

During dinner, she grabbed my arm, rested her head on it and said, "Tired!" After a full morning of kindergarten and first grade Halloween parties, an afternoon of meetings, and tonight's events, I couldn't agree more!

"More kids?"

Thumb in the mouth is never a good sign this early in the evening! They weren't feeling the photo shoot. 

Best buddies!

"Trick or Treat!" and now I'll come in.

Playing at BFF Dylann's house.

With her guard dog.

Pumpkin Farm

We had a fantastic start to the long weekend! This morning, we headed to the pumpkin farm and arrived right when they opened and had the place to ourselves for quite a while. Lorelei had so much fun checking out all of the animals and rides. We stayed for a couple hours, chose our pumpkin, and pulled away just as the first rain drops started to fall. We capped off our busy morning with a stop at Portillo's and after lunch, we spent the rest of this dreary afternoon taking a deserved nap. Next on the list: Jack-o-lantern carving!

Loved the wagon!

Can't believe all the geese!

What a good Daddy! Todd did not realize getting up there would be so difficult!

Mama's turn!

This was the "mini" slide. I seriously don't think I could have handled the thrill of the big slide!

Not so sure about the hayride.

"kiss"

Water (and coffee) break!

They had a moment.

Pumpkin time! (The wagon may have been the highlight).

Tough decisions.

Time for lunch and a nap!

Summer's End

Todd and I have been back at work for a few weeks now but we are all still adjusting to the busy life that comes with our school schedules. It's a hard transition, (ok, really just for me) to go from spending 24/7 with Lorelei to just a few hours a day, so we try to do at least one fun activity each evening. I'm very ready for the fall weather to stick, and I can't wait for Lorelei to experience all of the fun things that come with autumn, but in the meantime, we are enjoying these last few summer evenings:

Water Mama's toes

Water Fletcher's toes

She's really not supposed to play on the chairs... and this is how she feels about me reminding her. 

Well that one's not going to be a pickle.

The Artiste.

Can you tell she got up there all by herself?

Peek!

Loves the geese! 

It's hard to leave the park. This is how I feel when I leave this sweet face!