Picking on the Farm

Even though it is not feeling like fall much here yet, we decided to jump into some fun fall activities to kick start the season. Some friends invited us to go apple picking yesterday and we were excited to join them.

It took about an hour to get to the farm and we were really surprised at how uncommercial it felt compared to many of the pumpkin places here. The farm had has several pick your own fruits through out the season and we were excited to also be able to pick some yummy strawberries, too.


Ian was really excited to find this old tractor to play on

Can we say 2 year old boy heaven??!



There was also a hay tunnel to play in

Ian was a little wary, but made it through


On to strawberry picking...

Ian walking through the fields

Emma looks for the ripe ones

Ian finds one

Into the bucket

Emma was really good at finding ripe strawberries

Ian was really good at eating them

Follow the leader

Now Ian is the leader

Onto the main event, some apple picking....

There were some beautiful apples to choose from

Taste testing

Ian needed to taste also

Another taste

Emma points out some good ones

Showing off her pick

Ian, still eating

Oh wait, he actually put on in the bag!

A great activity for a fun fall day!

Ireland

The beginning of September was a really busy time for us. School started for the kids and Dan had a work trip to Ireland. Dan's parents were willing to watch the kids for the week, so I tagged along for a little sightseeing and relaxation. We spent the first part of the week in the western part of the country and then Dan worked from Wednesday-Friday in Dublin, so I did a little exploring on my own with a walking history tour through the city, the hop on hop off bus, and some shopping, of course. Ireland was a really beautiful country to visit even with the pretty constant rainy weather. Here is a slide show of some of the sights.

Ian's first day of school!

In order for me to be able to volunteer and be involved at Emma's school and because most of Ian's friends are older than him, we decided to enroll him into a 2 day a week preschool in the area. Tuesday was his first day of school, and after going for two day, he seems to be really enjoying it!
Here are a few pictures on his first day


Ian did not want to pose by himself, but he posed with Daddy

Ready to conquor school!

Heading out with our new backpack. (Thank You, Nana!)

He was really excited

Walking into school

They have some of his favorite things!
We can't wait to see how Ian learns and grows this year!

Emma's off to school

Well, the day has arrived that we have to send Emma out into the big world of elementary school!
Emma was really excited to start the day

She even wanted to eat with her new backpack on
Then it was time for the annual beginning of school picture...

Someone else was excited too!

That's better

One more

We all headed out to walk Emma to school

Excited!

Emma knows just where to go

Posing in front of her classroom door

Peeking inside

Finally! We are seated and ready to start the day!
Hoping that all our friends have a great first day of school too!

A trip to the Jelly Belly Factory

Before the start of school, we decided to take a little field trip up North to one of our favorite places....

The Jelly Belly Factory!

We had a great time touring the factory and getting some special treats.


Ian was really good about keeping his hat on, which was a requirement during the tour

Emma and our friend Owen waiting for the tour to begin
We were not aloud to take picture during the tour, but imagine huge vats of sugar and flavoring mixing together to make a rainbow of amazing beans. Ian really liked all of the machines and robotics to watch.
After the tour, we taste tested some of the product.


They were a hit!

Ian also really liked the Jelly Belly car... can you sense a theme here?

After the factory we ate lunch at one of our favorite places, Chick-fil-a. This is the closest one to our house and it is about and hour and a half away, so this was a real treat!

Emma goes to Vacation Bible School

Last week, Emma, Ian and I spent each morning at church participating in their annual Vacation Bible School. The theme this year was Hometown Nazareth: Where Jesus was a boy. This was the first year that Emma was old enough to participate and she had a wonderful time making friends, playing games, hearing stories at Mary's house, and making crafts at the Marketplace. I also volunteered this year so Ian participated in the preschool program. Here are a few pictures that another mom took and shared with me. Sadly, there are no pictures of Ian because I was working hard providing snack for over 250 campers; but it was so fun seeing him walk to the playground with all his little friends. Here is Emma on the last day of Camp:


Emma and her tribe

In the marketplace making banners

In the marketplace music shop

Snack with friends

Sewing beanbags with friend
Emma had a wonderful week and it is so fun to hear her singing the songs she learned and repeating the bible verses she learned each day.

Adventures in July

The rest of July was filled with fun at the pool, the playground, and a few special field trips with friends.

We met some friends at a new playground to us about 30 minutes from our house

The highlight of the playground was this awesome slide

Emma coming down

Ian enjoyed the bridges

and the swings
The next day, we took Ian to the movies for the first time!

Ian really liked the popcorn!
We went to the summer dollar movie of "The Pirates who don't do anything" and he did great!