It's the great pumpkin

This weekend we decided that we would paint the pumpkins that Luke and Bella got from

the pumpkin patch, when we visited with friends a couple of weeks ago. The kids loved spending

some craft time with Daddy and painting up some funny faces on their pumpkins. It was a great

afternoon activity on such a chilly weekend. We followed up our pumpkin experience with

The Pumpkin Patch Parable, that I read to the kids. It was so cute to hear them try to "read" it back to each other afterwards.

Bunk Beds

Bunk beds at it's finest.

These two love to play in Zoey's bed. Friday they decided to test out the bunk bed option. Today, Bella-grace loaded up all of her favorites and snuggled in tight, while Luke made himself comfy with a pillow (a book) and a cozy blanket. I'm not sure the appeal, but these two were giggling for well over 30 minutes as they set this up, you can see the joy in baby girl's cheeks in the above photo.

Five on Friday

Today I am linking up with my good friend, Leigh. She does a great job every week with her Fab Five on Friday, so today I thought I would join in.... since it is talking about one of my favorito topics... traveling. Prior to having the twins, I did a lot of traveling-- some for work, some for play. I always enjoyed the whole experience of seeing new places, trying to see how quickly I could make it through an airport (that was always a personal game of mine), trying new things, and really seeing how other's around the globe live. I have gone as far as Asia, with some time in Canada, various cities around the US, and 16 of places listed below (thanks to several cruises... oh, how we love a cruise!)

Since birthing the Twinkies, the traveling has pretty much come to a screeching halt. As they are getting older, it is fun to start thinking about places that we may be able to go in the future- so when I saw my girl Leigh's post today, I knew I had to jump on board and get that travel bug flowing (well not exactly travel bugs, because those are gross- but you know what I mean!).

With that in mind here are the Top 5 places I would like to go:

1) Bora Bora Tahiti- Ok, so this would be a Dra-eamm with my hubby. It just looks beautiful-- seriously, how more gorgeous can you get. I have visions of me ( a much skinny-er me) with an exotic flower behind my ear, sun burnt, trailing off to dinner on the beach with the handsome hub beside me. Ahh...

2) California- I have loved hearing the stories of Mike's time he was stationed in cali-- perfect weather, fresh food, tons of stuff to do outdoors, and the scenery. I would love for someday to make this a reality.... and kids can be in tow for this one, lots of fun stuff for them here.

3) Next up... Hawaii. Need I say more? Fun in the sun, a little volcano action, and a luau to round out the day. Sounds fabulous.

4) Seattle- I know kind of random for some folks, but I have always been interested in life on the western side of the US. Bella and I could sport some sweet rain boots while here.

5) Australia- They have hands down the coolest accents. So for that, it ranks in the top five. That and kangaroos.

This was a hard, but fun task. It was hard to narrow down the options. There are several honorable mentions to hand out here : Niagara Falls, Vancouver, Boston, Martha's Vineyard, and of course taking the kiddies to Disney.

Wordless Wednesday

Nothing like a little 80's hairband/mullet wig to put you in a good mood....

Pumpkin Patch

On Monday we headed out to the pumpkin patch for some time with friend and to pick some pumpkins. While we were there we enjoyed a hay ride, checking out the animals, and climbing on the hay and sliding down.

Fall favorites

Aboard the hayride....

On Saturday, we had the greatest day. We ventured to Carter's Mountain for some "agri-tainment". It was such perfect weather to be out in God's creation. We saw the leaves changing and the kids got to experience the mountains. We started the day with a picnic mountain side and the took to the tree's monkey style to pick some delish apples. Dad was a great sport for lifting the tiny's up for some quality apple picking and even took a trip down memory lane as he climbed the tree's as he did in his youth. We finished the day with a hayride and couldn't leave without some fresh apple cider donuts....delish. This has definitely become a fast fall favorite of mine and I look forward to going again next year!

busy bags= busy kids

Baseball

Luke and Bella cheering big brother Z on.

Zacky at bat.

This fall season has been an exciting one for Zack. He has taken on a new sport.... baseball. He has wanted to play for years and this year was the one that he decided to give up soccer and try it out. What he has found is that he LOVES it. How great a thing for a boy to find a sport that he loves to play, learn about, watch, and participate in. He has really enjoyed every aspect of it - from sporting the baseball hat everywhere he goes to counting down the days for the next practice or game. This year he has primarily played third base and a couple of times at short stop or first. It has been a lot of fun watching his enthusiasm over his new sport and he is looking forward to playing again in the spring. The kids have equally loved going to the "baseball game" each week and love cheering their brother on. Luke has found it especially cool to have his big brother speak to him while he is in the dug out, while Bella has enjoyed digging in the dirt!

Busy Bags

A group of girlfriends got together several weeks ago to swap these busy bags. It was the neatest evening. There were 20 girls and we each selected a busy bag. Then over the course of several weeks we created 20 copies of that busy bag. For the swap we each swapped our bags and went home with 20 different bags to share with our toddlers/young ones. So neat and creative.... and not to mention the kids LOVE them. Here Luke and Bellagrace are making their noodle necklaces. (Also, fyi for all of the busy bag attendees reading... these are also great to take with you in case you venture out for dinner at a restaurant with the family!)

Insta Friday

I just love Insta-Friday! So this one didn't make it on actually Friday, but you get the idea. It is great for me to be able to just snap a few shots from the trusty ol' blackberry as we go about our week.... no editing photo's! So here's what we were up to last week....

Homemade Apple pie. My first ever go at it using the apples we picked from Carter's Mountain and this fabulous recipe http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/scrumptous-and_i_do_mean_scrumptous-apple_pie/ It is the BEST.EVER. Like, seriously- you need to make this happen for your family this week. You will not be disappointed. It has easily become a new family fall tradition/following our apple trip!

Saturday we participated in the America Heart Association walk in remembrance of baby Nate. It was such a wonderful opportunity to help spread how his precious 27 hours here on earth changed our (and many others) lives forever, and to share how Mighty our God is. So many of our friends came out to support- and even though a fractured foot was involved- the tots and I finished well.

Seriously, did you actually think a week would go by without us embarking on a trip to Target? The kids loved checking out the holiday stuff that has already started to appear.

Waiting at the bus stop....

The fractured foot.... happy to report feeling much better!

This blurry photo was taken on our way home from Carter's Mountain... this little princess was worn out from tree climbing and apple eating!

Pony rides! Can you guess what we are going to be wearing to the Fall festival this year?

Zack and Daddy enjoyed some great fellowship at the Pink out night for the high school game this week. They loved hanging out with friends and getting to chat with some of the kids about our church as they handed out the pink rally towels. Fun night!