1st Ski Trip

We went to Wintergreen for a few days to take Colby skiing for the first time. Unfortunately, he wasn't a big fan of the ski school, but he had a blast the next day when Jason took him out just the two of them. I was really sick the whole time, so these are the only pictures we got. Oh well, there's always next year!

Childhood memories

We recently went back to Harrisonburg, VA to where my grandparents lived while we were younger and took a few pictures for my dad.

We were really excited to see that our initials were still on the back patio where my grandfather set them many years ago!

Colby Turns 4!

Our sweet, energetic, happy little boy turned 4 today! We celebrated with friends and family at our house. Colby LOVES Toy Story these days, so we had a Buzz Lightyear Birthday Party. Everyone had a great time, and Colby was very excited to play with his friends and show off his new playground.

 Here's the Buzz Lightyear cake I made.

All the cousins together for a quick photo.

New-to-us Playground

Jason's coworker, Jim, moved into a new house that had a playground they didn't need. So, Jason went over, took it apart, brought it home, and then put it back together with his brother. It was a project, but the boys are loving it!

Logan's 1st Haircut

I took Logan to get his first haircut! He was really good, and he didn't fuss at all.

Christmas Cards by Tiny Prints

Have you picked out your Christmas cards yet? It's hard to believe that time of year is here again. I love sending out and receiving holiday cards. It's always fun to see how much the kids have changed from year to year. I always hang my Christmas cards around our back door, so I can see them from our kitchen or family room.
I'm still waiting to get that "perfect" picture to use, but I've started looking through the beautiful holiday cards on Tiny Prints' website. They have a wonderful assortment to choose from with many different sizes and shapes. Here are some of my favorites:

Wreathed Monogram

I always like putting a variety of photos on my cards to show what we've been up to throughout the year

Whispering Snowflake

I LOVE this circular design. These would make great keepsakes to hang on our tree every year.
Many of Tiny Prints' cards have this option.

Naughty or Nice
Hmmm...this one reminds me so much of my boys :)

Although I haven't picked the card we'll use yet, I'm leaning towards the circular ornament design. Just depends on the pictures I get. I'm hoping for a nice family photo, but with kids, you just never know what you'll get!

You can see all the Tiny Prints Holiday Cards and choose your favorite.

Happy Halloween

For months, Colby was telling me (and anyone he saw) that he was going to be an astronaut for Halloween. We have an outfit from the Air & Space Museum. Then, on Halloween day, he changed his mind. He decided to be Buzz Lightyear so his brother could be Woody and match him. How sweet.

First, we had a festive Halloween dinner of Mummy dogs, Witches' fingers, eyeballs, and Monster mouths.

Buzz Lightyear

Woody

Fall Fun

Hard at work carving pumpkins

We painted pumpkins too

Both boys enjoyed scooping, pouring and playing with the pumpkin seeds too.

Pumpkin Patch

We took our annual trip to Homestead Gardens for a little Fall Fun. They always have fun fall games, hay stacks, hay maze, animals, and of course pumpkins.

Apple Orchard

We took a weekend drive out west a little bit to a little apple orchard. I was really excited to do this, and we had a great time. We picked a bunch of apples, and I made an apple pie, apple muffins, and apple tarts.

Fall Bucket List - Updated

I saw this online somewhere, and I thought it was a great idea to make a "bucket list" of all the things I want to do before Fall is over.
1. Make apple pie playdough
2. Carve pumpkins
3. Collect leaves and make leaf rubbings
4. Go on a drive to see the changing leaves
5. Visit an apple orchard
6. Make crock pot applesauce -- didn't make applesauce, but we made an apple pie instead
7. Watch It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
8. Make handprint turkeys
9. Drink apple cider
10. Make a thankful tree
11. Make apple prints
12. Go on a scavenger hunt
13. Make spider masks/hats
14. Go to Deep Creek Lake
15. Make pumpkin bread - we made a delicious banana pumpkin bread
16. Jump in a big pile a leaves
17. Do an owl craft
18. Go on a hike
19. Feed the birds - we made a bird feeder out of an old milk jug
20. Make a fall centerpiece

Beautiful, Amazing....Lake Tahoe!

We flew out to Sacramento, CA to meet 2 of my college roommates for a vacay in Lake Tahoe. Kelley and her husband and little girl live outside Sacramento. So, Michaela and I (and our hubbies) flew out and we all drove out to the lake. I've never been to Lake Tahoe, so I was very excited and didn't really know what to expect. It was incredible. I had the best time enjoying the view, spending time on the water, checking out the casinos, cooking and hanging out with my friends.

Breathtaking sunrise over the lake:

Horseback riding through the mountains:

It was a little chilly, but very sunny the whole trip, so we just had to get out on the water. We rented a boat for the day and explored the whole lake. The water is crystal clear, and you could see down 70 feet!

Me and my college roommates, Kelley and Michaela

A cool tree outside our house

On the way back to Sacramento, Jason and I drove the long way back around the lake. This was an area called Emerald Bay. The water is very green here.

It was such a great trip. We're already talking about making this a yearly trip!