Our Pumpkins

We have been preparing for Halloween in our house.  Getting costume pieces rounded up and assembled means glitter and girlyness all over the past week, as Ezri has declared she and Alora will be butterflies.  Thankfully, this is something we can pull off pretty cheaply and easily.  They are both pretty excited about their costumes and cannot wait to wear them to our church Trunk-or-Treat on Sunday afternoon.

 

We picked out a few pumpkins to carve late last week, and set to work carving them on Wednesday evening.  Ezri was very specific about wanting a tall pumpkin for herself and a round pumpkin for Alora.  This was a very exciting time for both girls!

Alora was all about her pumpkin, even trying to lick and bite it.  I had to keep her mouth off of it, but that soon wasn't a problem when we started digging into them.

I didn't have to show or explain anything to Alora when it came time to start digging out pulp and seeds.  She got right to work and it was quite fun for her:)  Ezri was also very eager to get into her pumpkin and clean it out.

When it came time to carve faces into the pumpkins, Ezri was very specific about the facial features and shapes she wanted, and was determined Alora should have the same for her pumpkin.

Alora was just thrilled to put her hands into the pumpkin from the outside and to talk about the mouth, eyes and nose.

Both girls are very proud of their pumpkins and Ezri is excited to tell and show everyone.

We had a bit of excitement during the week when we saw snow fall and stick for a short time.  Ezri was so excited to wake up to snow on Thursday morning.  She immediately wanted to go outside and make a snowman.  I had to explain that there was not enough snow to do so and that it was not yet cold enough.  Still, when we went outside, she was into the snow right away, trying to make a snowball.  It was quite wet snow, but she didn't mind.  Alora was excited about the snow as well, though it was all pretty new to her.

We are looking forward to the weekend of activity and the coming week, when we will be able to meet baby "Sally" via ultrasound on Monday.  Ezri has been telling everyone that she is going to have a baby sister named Sally!  While we won't be finding out the gender of "Sally", it appears, for the time being, this is what our baby will be called until it is born.  We are glad she is excited about being big sister again, but a little worried about her disappointment should this baby be a boy.  She will not even entertain the "what if" suggestions when they come up, bound and determined this baby is a girl.  Time will tell...

Fall Weekends

Yes, I am again 2 weeks behind...

 

We've seen the weather change considerably over the past two weeks.  While it was still warm, we spent a lot of time outside playing, raking leaves, running, jumping, climbing, swinging, etc.  

The girls are such good little buddies.  Ezri loves to mother Alora, and Alora doesn't usually mind being involved in the dancing, imagined stories, and whatever else Ezri might have going on.

I love so much seeing them play together so well!

Already, we have seen almost all of the leaves from our front Maple fall and have raked most away.  We still await the other Maple in our yard to start losing leaves, but it generally waits until things are much colder and less fun...

With the help of the girls, we made some applesauce for our pantry.  Ezri was so excited to help, and was a very big help to me.  She ran the apple machine, peeling and slicing away, while I arranged the apples in the crock pot to cook and make sauce.  She was so proud of being able to do it all by herself!  Alora just wanted to be where she could get her hands on apple slices at any moment :)

Last weekend, we were able to enjoy a nice long weekend away in Pentwater with the guys.  Now that camp season has wrapped up, we were able to spend a lot of time hanging out with our friends Nick and Jacci, who run the camp, and their three children Lexi, Bella and Jack.  It was a near perfect fall weekend, though the colors had not really begun their changed there yet, and we really enjoyed our time away.

On Saturday, Jacci and I were able to take the children into Pentwater for a little fall festivity fun.  They had a children's event going on, at which the kids could choose and paint their own pumpkin, get their faces painted, listen to story time and puppet shows, and make their own tool boxes.  Alora was quite thrilled about picking out her own pumpkin,

and all of the children had fun painting!

Ezri loved being able to hammer nails by herself and make her own little toolbox!

and was excited to have a heart painted on her little face :)

Back at the camp, we found the guys who had been busy working on fixing vehicles and goofing off.  We were able to share lunch together and have some more play time before a wonderful dinner together.  While staying at the camp this time, we were able to stay in the retreat center, so we had a full home facility at our disposal and plenty of comforts, like plumbing, television, heat, etc.

The kids especially loved being able to tear around in the bunk rooms, playing games and having all sorts of fun together.  Bedtime snacks were also a hit with the crew :)

We were able to spend a little time at the beach, taking in the beauty and serenity of it.  Though it was a little chilly, it was so peaceful and quiet.

Before we left, on Thursday afternoon, Alora fell and bumped her head against the wheel well of the trailer in our driveway.  While on vacation, she was sporting some lovely bruises, poor baby!

 An early S'mores break in the afternoon afforded some quiet for a few moment as the kids were all quite happily occupied with their sugar :)

And then they were back at the action, into the cars and driving around the camp.  Lexi and Bella are always so gracious in allowing Ezri to drive, and she sure loves to have the chance to do so.

This time, Alora ended up in a car by herself, nevermind that she could not really reach or control the car...

So, Daddy and Mommy had to help keep her on course while she focused on pushing the gas and cruising.

Having the camp golf cart at our disposal also afforded some fun - for the big and little kids!

Of course, the boys had to have their fun as well.  Sunday night, they put a tall hollow log into the fire and sat back with giggles to watch the flames that ensued...

After the log had burned for quite some time, and with quite a lot of sound, it slowly tipped and we were able to see what it looked like inside - a pretty awesome thing to see for all of us.

Back at home, Daddy hung a tire swing for the girls, and boy was Ezri excited!  She has been asking to have one ever since our first trip to Pentwater. 

We've had a lot of fun on that swing already!



Fall Fun

I had the opportunity, last Friday, to do a photo shoot with our dear friends Scott and Dawn and their little guy Kenny, for some family pics and 2 year pics.  We met at a park, and the girls got to come with me, so they had tons of fun playing on the playground and enjoying the beautiful (though chilly) morning while I snapped pictures.

 Last weekend, we were able to go to Crane's Orchard with our friends the Rollandinis.  We all had a wonderful time together.  It was a perfect, warm fall day, and the apples were delicious!  Both girls had such fun picking and tasting all of the different varieties.

 As it was Alora's first trip to the orchard, she was really having fun.  So much food at her disposal, and nobody told her no!  She sure was having fun picking and tasting :)

 Back at home, my little helpers have been busy learning and growing.  Ezri has become quite a little Mommy to Alora, even wanting to help brush her teeth now.  Alora is perfectly fine with the arrangement for now, so why not?

Both girls have turned another month older...

My little explorer, Ezri, is endlessly investigating something outside.  A few days ago, she found a little fly that seemed to really like her.  For several minutes, she let it crawl up and down her arms and just watched and giggled when it tickled her.  From a year ago when she wouldn't even look at a bug, she has sure developed a sense of adventure and love for discovering nature!

 This past Friday morning, we were able to go to a kids gym with our MOPS group in place of our usual meeting.  Ezri and Alora had such fun!  Trampolines, bouncy tumbling mats, balance beams and rings, a giant inflatable obstacle course with a slide and a foam pit... it was such fun to just watch them play!

The bouncy places seemed to be the biggest attraction for them...

 But the foam pit was not far behind as a favorite..

Between the two, I had my hands pretty full trying to keep track of them.  Alora especially was all over the place, running everywhere, too excited to stay in one place too long for fear of missing something else fun.  They were exhausted by the end of the 1 1/2 hours we were there, and Alora fell asleep in the van within minutes of leaving the parking lot.  Such fun to watch, I wished I was small enough to join them!