Fall Preschool Field Trip

Friday October 5, 2012

I joined Dawson and his afternoon preschool class on their Fall field trip to the KC Pumpkin Patch in Gardner. It was a very chilly afternoon which had its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage being we virtually had the entire pumpkin patch to ourselves which made for no lines or waiting turns on the attractions such as the slides, train, bounce bag, etc.

Jonah, Kai, Dawson & Connor

Picking the perfect pumpkin

The choices can be a tad overwhelming!

Dawson has the cold face grimace in this picture. If you look closely you can also see that his poor little hands are red from the cold. Next time I will go better prepared with a stocking hat and gloves.

Wheeeeeeee!

Pictures, Park, Dogs & S'mores

Last Friday was the epitome of perfect Fall weather. The trees were in full splendor of color, there was a gentle breeze and a crispness to the air. It was a bit cool & overcast but beautiful just the same. Our new friends from church flattered me by asking me to take pictures of their two young girls so we packed up and headed to a park nearby their home for some photos and frolicking.While there and with the camera in tow (it's a rare occasion that the camera leaves its resting place in the kitchen cabinet) I snapped a handful of the "bigs."

I would have benefited greatly from shooting with a larger aperture to capture the blazing orange leaves in the background in this image. They truly were glorious.

 

Little man is becoming a bit more open to having his picture taken. I will miss this babyish smile.

This was Dawson's look as he recalled he had left his hat at the playground area. He wasn't too thrilled when I asked him to return to retrieve it. Both Gabrielle and McKenna have beautiful blues eyes and D inherited his Daddy and my deep hazel eyes. I am also fond of this image because it shows Dawson's "birthmark" ear, trademarked by his Uncle Brett.

Gabrielle and Adyson - fast new friends

After pictures and playtime at the park we enjoyed hot dogs, chili and all the fixins fireside in the Lankford's backyard. To cap off the night we made ooey gooey s'mores with campfire marshmallows. Have you seen these monstrous marshmallows on the store shelves? I suggest sticking to the traditional sized as the campfire don't melt easily and ooze out of the graham crackers. Still yummy and worth indulging in seconds!

Louisburg Cider Fest

Last Sunday we played hooky from church and headed South to Louisburg Cider Fest at the Louisburg Cider Mill.

It was a beautiful crisp morning of bounce house fun {not pictured}

Pony rides

Gabi is riding Boomer

Gabrielle loved that each pony had its mane in pony tails and its tail braided

We failed to learn the name of Dawson's horse

What is a visit to the Cider Mill without donuts and cider?

It took McKenna a few minutes to decide to eat her donut. She doesn't like to get her hands dirty. OCD much? But when she did take her first bite, she inhaled it!

We browsed the vendor booths, took a quick gander at how the cider is made, played on the hay and with the pumpkins and then our fun outing was cut short. Little miss decided mid day was a good time to let a little tummy bug settle in. I failed to grab the travel diaper bag out of the van so I scrambled to ask a complete stranger to bum a diaper and wipes to get her cleaned up only for her to immediately fill her pants again so we made a mad dash back to the van. It is now Saturday (6 days later) and she is still dealing with diarrhea. The pediatrician said it can last up to a couple weeks. What?! She is getting {more than normal} frequent baths, lots of bootie lube and her fair share of probiotics. 

Although the Festival was super congested, we didn't allow it to hinder us from enjoying a fun outing with friends!

School Picture Day - Fall 2012

This young beauty is growing up right before our eyes. It's hard to swallow that in just a few short months we will celebrate her 8 years of life. She is our answer to many prayers, a long wait, and many failed attempts at conceiving. Although she tests us & pushes our patience level to a whole new level, we are SO thankful for her life and the way she enriches ours. Just this week she pulled some heartstrings with this dinner prayer restated verbatim "and thank you for my Daddy who works a lot, for my mommy who cleans a lot, for my baby sister who is fun to play with, and for my brother who always encourages me! And Lord Jesus, thank you for being so awesome." and just yesterday after praying and some conversation she asked us "Am I a Christian?" She shared with us that she has been writing her prayers and praises on paper and taping them to her window "because He can see everything." Yes child, He can and He does!

We hadn't bought her any new school clothes other than tennis shoes for P.E. and everyday shoes (she choose BOBS) so I wanted to surprise her with something new for picture day. A friend had given her the turquoise Justice corduroys last year and when I saw this tee and cardi paired together at JcPenney and at a price I was comfortable with I headed out to pick it up. $10 coupon in hand because that's how I roll.

I have always liked her dressed in bright colors because they really make her blue eyes pop. A school classmate of mine commented on these pictures on Facebook saying how she looks just like I did at that age. She does have my fair complexion, square face and oh so pointy chin.

Gabi is excelling in reading, spelling & math which coincidentally were my strong subjects throughout school as well. Here is to hoping she enjoys history and science more than her momma!