My wonderful friend Erin decided that she could make this litte beauty from Land of Nod herself:

She sure did and she sent our friend Kristina and I both kits to make our own.

Here is what the girls and I created:

View at Picasa 06-Dec-2011 20:33, NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D80, 4.2, 30.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 200

After Kristina telling me how tedious it was to cut the numbers out of felt I decided to try Erin’s idea of using puffy paint for the numbers.  It was tough when we got to double digits because those felt pieces are about 2″x3″, but we’re happy with the way it turned out.

The girls are really having fun moving Santa toward the 25th!

View at Picasa 02-Dec-2011 19:56, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 200

View at Picasa 02-Dec-2011 20:40, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.04 sec, ISO 400

On Sunday we went to Bill’s company’s Holiday Gala. The girls had a lot of fun.  They decorated cookies, had their picture taken, saw a puppet show and best of all had their faces painted.

My butterflies…

View at Picasa 04-Dec-2011 09:44, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 160

View at Picasa 28-Oct-2011 19:11, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.063 sec, ISO 500

Last night was our church’s annual Trunk or Treat event.  This is the second year we’ve taken the girls and they really had a lot of fun.

We took Princess Belle and Princess Ariel around to the different cars to play games.  Each car has it’s own theme and usually has a game for the kids to play and then they get candy.

View at Picasa 28-Oct-2011 19:09, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.063 sec, ISO 640

View at Picasa 28-Oct-2011 19:19, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.063 sec, ISO 400

View at Picasa 28-Oct-2011 19:12, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.063 sec, ISO 100

When asked what their favorite part was Rylee said she liked the bean bag games and Brynn said she liked getting candy.

When we were in the car afterward Rylee said, “This was a fun night!”

Mission accomplished!

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 11:00, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100

This past weekend our niece Maiah came to stay with us.  It was really great having her with us for more fall fun!  I’m pretty sure she had no idea what she was in for when she arrived.

Saturday morning we headed out to Northern Star Farms.  We visited here two years ago with our girls.  You can see photos of the girls here.

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 10:19, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.006 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 10:38, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 4.9, 9.6mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100
View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 10:40, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100	View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 10:44, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 5.0, 11.2mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100

All three of the girls enjoyed looking at photos of the animals.  Then, as a fun treat, each girl got to take a ride on a pony. I had Brynn slotted to ride Lily first, but she wasn’t having it.  About two seconds after Rylee started riding Brynn was ready to go.  Maiah looked quite comfortable up there herself.  Maybe that’s because she had some practice on vacation earlier this year.

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 11:04, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 5.4, 18.3mm, 0.01 sec, ISO 125

When we left the farm I thought it would be fun to stop by Varner Farms again because our girls had a lot of there a few weeks ago.  I was right all three girls enjoyed the animals, corn stalk maze, pedal tractors and the straw bale maze.  Thanks to Maiah the girls really had fun climbing on the big tractors too!

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 11:10, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 7.4, 5.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100

After all that fun it was home to have lunch, relax and naps. I also got to spend time with Maiah creating some nice beaded jewelry.  Actually she did the creating and I did the repairing of items that Rylee and Brynn needed fixed.

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 16:31, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 80

After everyone was well rested we headed out to the annual daycare picnic at the park.  It was the first time we were able to attend and all the kids had a blast.  They spent quite a while at the playground of our local park.  Then it was time for a tasty meal and games for everyone.

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 16:53, Apple iPhone 4S, 2.4, 4.28mm, 0.05 sec, ISO 160

All three thoroughly enjoyed the candy scramble.  After that Rylee decided to participate in the giant marshmallow eating contest.  It was really a lot of fun watching all the kids try to eat the huge marshmallows.  For me it was even funnier to watch the staff make an attempt at it later.  Fair warning….this idea is being filed away for future birthday parties.  I’ve figured out a way to do it both indoors and outside at home!

View at Picasa 22-Oct-2011 10:40, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 100

This was another weekend that made me feel blessed.  The kind when Monday morning rolls around you don’t want to back the van out of the garage because then you know it’s really over.  I’ve realized I need to count my blessings, back out and carry on.

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:18, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.005 sec, ISO 100

A few weeks ago we headed out for some fall fun.  The girls knew we were going apple picking and they were really excited to get out and get going.

When we arrived at Varner Farms we were told that there weren’t many apples left, but we could go out to the orchard and see what was left for us.  They were correct, there weren’t a whole lot left, but there was more than enough for us.  We had no plans to make applesauce or apple pies, we just needed a few pounds to sit and eat.  The apples that were left on the trees were at the top so Bill had to lift the girls for them to be able to help.  They didn’t seem to mind one bit.  Three pounds of apples later we were done.

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:15, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:15, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.003 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:21, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 5.3, 15.6mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100

Next it was off to see the animals.  I’m still amazed at how much they love to look at animals.  We had taken a few minutes to look at the animals before we picked apples and they spent even more time looking at them the second time around.  I will say that this guy wasn’t at this location the first time around though.

After seeing the animals again and washing hands we discovered a small corn stalk maze for the girls.  They had a fun time going through it.  Once they figured out how to get through they kept going back in to do it again.

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:25, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 250

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:25, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 320

I turned the corner and discovered this fun spot where the girls rode around on mini John Deere tractors.  Brynn wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the pedals, but with some help from me she was able to get around the loop a few times.

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:29, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:29, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.001 sec, ISO 100

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:33, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.004 sec, ISO 100

From there we went to the straw bale maze.  It took Rylee a bit longer to figure this maze out, but once she did they were again running through it over and over.

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 11:33, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 4.3, 6.9mm, 0.013 sec, ISO 125

I was excited because next was my fun part. I got to get all the fun fall items that I use to decorate my porch.  I cannot express how much I love fall and all the wonderful colors that go with the cooler temps.  For me it really doesn’t get any better than than a crisp fall day when the leaves are in full color, I’m wearing a sweatshirt and there’s football to watch.  It’s no wonder we got married in the fall. I’ve known, it seems like forever, that I would have a fall wedding.

View at Picasa 08-Oct-2011 09:46, NIKON COOLPIX S6000, 3.7, 5.0mm, 0.008 sec, ISO 100

This month Bill and I will celebrate six years married.  How are we going to celebrate?  We’re going to have Maiah with us and we’ll be taking all the kids to a daycare picnic.  We’ll be outside, hopefully with sweatshirts, and we’ll be with three kiddos that we love.