Cole's Pumpkin Patch Trip

Cole's first grade class

His little friend Josh was uninterested in allowing me to take his picture 

Chickens!

Horses!

Cole and his friend Billy discussed the peeing and pooping habits of horses. Such boys!

Picking a pumpkin...so many to choose from!

He found the perfect one!

I love my boy!

Panoramic picture. Again, wish it were bigger.

My pumpkin holding a pumpkin while sitting on a pumpkin.

Headed back to school!

 

Heeeyy. I'm basically too busy to blog anymore. Except for right now, I guess. So here's the lowdown on what's been happening in my life:

 Tyler and I celebrated our 9th anniversary by going to Mammoth for the weekend. We ate, slept and went on a wonderful hike to Crystal Lake. Mammoth in October is just perfect. Not many people around, perfect weather during the day and chilly at night. It was the best weekend ever. Seriously, it really was!

Breakfast before our hike:

At the trail head

The way up

The view on the way up- Lake Mary and Lake George

Going down towards Crystal Lake

Getting annoyed at Tyler's picture happiness

Embracing the fact that he won't stop taking pictures of me!

The first view of Crystal Lake

Enjoying the beauty of nature

So pretty!

After our hike we got cleaned up and went beer tasting at the Mammoth Brewery. I continue to hate beer but the root beer was ok.

Then we did some shopping where we stumbled upon this:

I would have suggested that we play but we all know Tyler would beat me :)

This is probably the best picture of our weekend:

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In other news, I got the iPhone 5. It's pretty much the best phone ever. Going from android to iPhone is really not that much different but I love how easy the iPhone is to use. It's much more pleasing to the eye as well. I think my favorite thing so far is that I can take panoramic pictures. Pretty awesome. 

I wish I could make pictures bigger on my blog. Anyone know how?

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The kids have started rehearsals for a Christmas musical they're in at my parent's church. Both kids overcame their fears of auditioning and both got parts! Kayley is a shepherd who has both speaking and solo singing parts. Cole is a wise man who has a speaking part. I'm so proud of them!

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I joined Abundant Harvest Organics as a step in the right direction for my eating habits. You sign up online and they deliver a box of organic, locally grown organic fruits and veggies to the delivery site. Megan picks up my box and I pick it up from her porch, which is like three seconds away from my house. I don't have to shop for produce and I'm pretty much forcing myself to prepare healthier meals with veggies included. I love it!

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So that's the lowdown. Look for Cole's pumpkin patch pictures soon!

 

Ten Today

1. I haven't been a very good blogger lately.

 

2. The kids had back to school night a couple of weeks ago. Their jogathon is a spy theme this year, hence the staches.

  

 

Kayley got her hair painted red, too!

 

3. We went to a new friend's birthday party last Saturday. Cole said it was the best party he's ever been to. I'd say he was right!

 

The very talented face painter did a great job!

 4. As you can see in the picture above, Cole lost his first top tooth!

 Pre tooth removal:



Post tooth removal:
 

 

Cole said he's not sure that the tooth fairy really exists. I told him he probably should just pretend at the very least just in case she was real and he thought it was a fab idea. She left him $2 so I think it was a good call on his part.

  

5. The jogathon was great this year! I wasn't able to make it but Tyler and my mom were there. It was a hot, hot day but I heard only great things about it!

 

A very red faced Kayley!

 

 

Cole's Class

 

Mr. Cole

 

I don't have a clue who this man is!

 

I'm kidding, obviously. Tyler is so great at being involved in school events. I would rather lay on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls and eat ice cream.

 

6. Tyler is away on business for most of this week and next. It's really tough balancing everything while he's gone. Heck, it's hard while he's here!

 

7. Today is picture day. Hopefully Cole will smile normally and not cause us to need picture retakes this year. Silly kid.

 

8. Who's going to do the Color Run in San Diego in November? Me!! I'm so excited!

 

9. I switched allergy pills and it has not been a good thing. I feel like I could pick up a car right now. Not cool. Time to go back to the old pill!

Hey ya'll. I hope you had a great holiday weekend! Ours was packed full of fun and family time!

Friday I picked up Tyler from work in Goleta. We got in a little fender bender on the way home which, thankfully, left no damage on either car. And just for the record, it was not my fault!

Saturday I went to a seminar at the gym. I learned so much about the body and how it metabolizes food and what slows down fat loss. Did you know that the best time to eat carbs are after a workout and first thing in the morning? After that, your body doesn't really require any carbs, besides what comes from fruits and veggies. I learned so much...now to implement some of these things into my daily life!

 

Our pool in the backyard was starting to get icky, even with all the chlorine and such, so we put it away. It's sad because it kind of marks the end of summer. On the bright side, Tyler bought a big old barbeque so we can enjoy more grillin'. Yum!

 

Saturday night Tyler and I actually went on a date! He got to enjoy his beloved (and disgusting) sushi and I enjoyed some hibachi chicken and veggies that were to die for! We saw the Bourne Legacy also which was a hoot!

 

Sunday we went to church and did some crazy house cleaning. I wanted everything clean for our day off on Monday! In the evening we headed over to our friends house in Camarillo. In Kayley's words, "their house is every child's dreamhouse!" They have three small vineyards, a  eight seat movie room, a huge swing that goes over the barranca (a mother's gasping moment for sure), a ride-on train and so much land to explore. My personal favorites about the place are all the fruit trees and vegetable gardens and the chickens. I would love to have a garden of my own and have fresh eggs!

 

We set up camp for the night and watched Tangled on the side of the barn after dark!

 

 

 

 

Late night train rides are the best!

 

 

 

Playing with friends and exploring through the vineyards was so much fun!

 

 

We had a lovely breakfast in the morning followed by more exporing and some lizard catching. We had such a good time with great new friends and it was a great ending to a wonderful weekend!

 

 

The First Day of School!

Cole started first grade and Kayley started third grade yesterday!

My first grader, all dressed up in Shaun White (he's all the rage) clothes and all ready for school.
 

 

Cole has the same teacher Kayley had in first grade. We are thrilled because her teaching style and patience level is wonderful for my dear son. Cole has been very determined to have good behavior this year. The teacher called yesterday afternoon and gave a great report! 

Ready to learn!

 

 

When I asked Cole what his favorite thing about first grade was he said, "we get THREE recesses!"

 

All set for third grade! Please note the red converse. She wouldn't have it any other way!

 

 

Kayley's teacher is new to us. Thankfully she is a very nice woman who Kayley already loves! Kayley said that her first day of school was challenging. That's a great thing for my girl who whipped through her schoolwork lightening fast in second grade and twiddled her thumbs while the rest of the class caught up.

Miss Kayley at her desk and with her Daddy!

 

After we checked out Kayley's class she came along to check out Cole's. They are three doors down from each other!

 

 

The first day of school was a huge success! I can't believe my kids are getting so big. I don't know whether or not to be sad or happy!

 

What I do know is that this is Kayley's fourth year of school and this year was so much easier. We know what to expect with everything. The people and the schedule are already familiar to us, it's wonderful!