Schnepf Farm Pumpkin Party

Last year we went to the Chili and Pumpkin Party at Schnepf Farm with my Aunt Melissa, Uncle Doug, and cousin Ryan. We had so much fun that we all decided we had to go again this year. We went earlier than we did last year and we had a ton of fun! We didn't quite last for the fireworks like I wanted (I was having really bad allergy issues and our kids were tired and getting cranky), but we did stay for 5-6 hours. Last year our camera batteries were dead, so I made sure to have extras this year. Here's a few pictures from that day.

Our family when we first got in.

The fun off road pedal cars. Payton was asleep, so I was on the side watching. Ben and Baylee were going again, and I didn't want to miss out, so I grabbed Payton and we jumped on with them. Ben pedaled all of us by himself, and the course is pretty bumpy, so Payton didn't stay asleep. He seemed to like it though and didn't seem to mind being woken up.

The swing ride-Ben, Ryan, and you can see part of Doug. It's hard to get a picture with our camera when they are going around. Melissa got some great pictures of them on this ride last year (and I'm sure this year too).

Melissa took a picture of Ryan by this scarecrow, so Baylee of course had to have one also. Too bad she wouldn't look at the camera.

Baylee and Ben doing the slingshots. When we passed maybe 20 minutes later almost all of them were broken. We went just in time! I think the only ball that hit a target from Ben and Baylee was the one Ben threw. Baylee had fun though.

Baylee was so excited that Ryan would go on this plane ride with her. She was also excited that she got to ride on the yellow one with flames.

For some reason I stopped taking pictures at this point. Other fun included eating some good food, playing a little mini golf, and watching a little dog show. We did a lot, but still didn't get to do everything we wanted. We had so much fun and we are excited to go again next year!

Partying Animal Style

The kids and I have gotten together a few times with our friends, the Vans, while the daddies have been at work, and lately our outings have seemed to involved animals.

One day we went to the zoo. The only picture we could get of these two together was by this door, and only because Heather bribed the kids with a "treasure" she hid in the box they were sitting on. Of course my camera batteries died, so I had to put new ones in and we let them have the treat before I was ready to take another one. This picture was the best I could get. We had fun at the zoo that day, despite the heat and a bee trying to make friends with Heather. We got a great workout pushing double strollers up steep hills, and the kids had fun pretending they were the animal rescuers Diego and his sister Alicia. Baylee still pulls out her map to tell us where to go in the car.

Last Friday we went to a little pumpkin farm:

We rode some cool tricycle things. They were fun, but kind of hard with two kids on my lap. They also aren't meant for three year olds to ride by themselves. They were a nice little workout too!

We rode a cute little train around the farm! We also went back and saw some animals that we had seen on the train ride.

Baylee "milked" a "cow".

We got lost in a corn maze. And I really mean lost. Three moms and 7 little kids stuck in a corn maze not made for strollers, in the heat, made for an interesting experience. We eventually cut through a little hole in the corn maze. We had to get out somehow! Next we did a little bounce area before my allergies couldn't handle it anymore.

Baylee wanted a picture with the little pumpkin we got, and the bigger pumpkins we left behind.

This week we met up with Heather and her boys at the park:

The kids really liked feeding the ducks, and the ducks liked being fed. Bread doesn't last two long with two kids that keep throwing huge chunks of bread though. We walked around, then had lunch by the water where we had a lot of fun watching tons of turtles sunbathing on the wall of the lake. We let the kids play for a little while, then treated them to ice cream before we called it a day.

We love our little adventures with the Vans and are so glad to have them as friends! We are also excited that it's starting to cool down enough to play outside!

A Day In The Desert

A few weeks ago we went with our friends to a ranch in Scottsdale for some fall festivities. It was HOT!! For some reason I was worried about us getting cold-I don't know what I was thinking. We had a lot of fun despite the heat.

A little family shot before our hay ride left for the pumpkin patch.

Baylee and her little friend Trey sitting on the hay bales with a scarecrow. I think this is where they were fighting over which one of them was taller.

All four kids- Trey, Baylee, Conner, and Payton. Payton had hay everywhere after this. I even found some in his diaper. Baylee had some too, but she also did a hay maze and was probably throwing it everywhere.

Baylee getting ready to ride a horse!

Baylee on her horse. She loved it!

Shortly after we all decided we were done with the heat (we visited the petting zoo when we first got there). Not too eventful of a ranch trip, but like I said, it was hot! The free horse rides for he kids made it worth it though. Plus, the kids learned that we do in fact live in the desert, and what a desert really is.

Getting Bigger!

I know this is going to be boring to a lot of people, but since this is the only form of record/journal keeping I've been able to keep up with, I'm going to write to help me remember. So here's a little post on Payton. He doesn't seem to make it on our blog as much as Baylee, so this one all about him.

Payton is getting so big! He is growing up too fast for me-time is going by so fast and it's hard to believe he is 4 months old already. At the same time it feels like he's been here longer.

We love this little guy so much! Payton loves to play, and loves his floor time! He likes to roll and move himself around so he can see the tv. He can almost sit by himself. He can balance himself to sit by himself for a little while on our laps, and I constantly see him trying to lift himself forward to sit up in things like his carseat and swing or when he is laying on the floor. He is trying to crawl, loves to stand, and has very strong legs! Payton is going to be moving around on his own in no time. He just started being able to pick things up really well and loves to grab and dive for things. Baylee can be rough with him sometimes, but he gets her back with his tight grip on her hair. He is really good at putting up with Baylee's roughness-he loves his sister. Payton has to be the happiest baby I've ever seen. It's cute to see him get excited and kick his legs and swing his arms. His smile can just make you melt.

Payton started eating solids a little over two weeks ago. He wanted food so bad! He would stare at whatever we were eating and get sad and frustrated that he couldn't have any. These pictures are his first time eating. He dove and grabbed for the food-he was so excited for it! He still does it. He is loving eating baby food so much, but still wants what we are eating too. We love Payton and his great personality so much and are so happy he's part of our family! We can't wait to watch him grow more, even if I wish he wouldn't grow so fast!

(I love that he's kind of a momma's boy and loves to snuggle with me too!)

Disney Does A Body Good

Baylee and I watched The Incredibles the other day. Baylee gets pretty into the Disney movies,and her cartons and always has to be different characters. I asked her if she thought her daddy looks like Mr. Incredible, since I happen to think whoever invented the character must have some connection to Ben to have made them resemble each other so much. She answered me yes.

After thinking for a second, she changed her mind.

"No... Daddy has the body of Zeus!"

I had no idea!

The Break Up

Last night we were able to meet up with our friends Mike and Heather and their boys. We hadn't seen them in a few weeks, which in our recent "relationship" was a long time. Ben was joking in the car that they probably were meeting up with us so they could break up with us. I told Mike and Heather about this when Ben was handling Baylee's time out. They thought it would be funny to pretend they were. Too bad Heather couldn't quite get through the speech without cracking a smile! We are happy to say that Mike and Heather didn't break up with us. I think this is the real reason though:

These two are so cute together! Who could break this up?

Evolution Of The Duck Cake

For my birthday right before we got married, Ben threw me a surprise party and made me a duck cake. He bought a duck pan for a 3D duck, and used decorating frosting to cover it. Unfortunately it fell over in the car on his way to my parents house. I very much appreciated his efforts, but it's kinda become a point of humor in our relationship. When we moved to California, he whipped out the mold again to try to recreate it for the nieces and nephews for Easter. However it didn't cook right, and so it never got to be enjoyed. Last year for my birthday, Ben somehow was able to locate the duck pan packed away in our boxes to once again resurrect the duck cake. It turned out a lot better! Still not how I think the creators of the pan meant for it to turn out, but better. I didn't get a duck cake this year (which was okay). Ben didn't bring the pan to California while we were there for a family reunion, but I did try to out do him on the duck cake for my sister's birthday, which we celebrated on Sunday. I now know how hard that thing is to make! The cake turned out fine, the trouble I had came when I frosted it. The frosting was too soft and ended up with crumbs all in it and dripping down the sides. It did taste good though! We are determined to get this thing perfected! In the mean time, here is the evolution of the duck cake so far:

Duck #1-for my birthday in 2004 a month before we got married. Survived falling over in the car.

Duck #2-R.I.P.- not a survivor...Easter sometime between 2005-2007? (not pictured)

Duck #3- for my birthday in 2008. Complete with duck poop. Thanks for that, Ben. A little flat on one side as well, and suffered from dripping frosting it looks like.

Duck #4-My attempt for Annie's bday 2009. It wouldn't have been too bad if it weren't for the frosting malfunction.

Stay tuned to see if we can ever get it perfected! One of these days..... Also if you ever ask us to make a cake, be careful- you might end up with one of our trial ducks.

Boy Loves His Blankie....

Good thing he hasn't become picky on which blankie yet.....