A Stroll in the Park

After our trip to the Farmer's Market two weekends ago (sorry for the delay), we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and enjoy the natural surroundings of Lake Wheeler Park. Kate expended some energy running around the playground with Mark, and then the four of us enjoyed the view of the lake from rocking chairs on the deck. Other highlights included indulging in honey covered cinnamon nuts from the Farmer's Market, eating Rice Krispie treats (compliments of Aunt Kim) and watching the ducks as they gobbled up food from a couple below. We can only hope for more gorgeous days and opportunities ahead!

In search of the perfect pumpkin!

The family took a trip to the Farmers Market on Sunday in search of this year's pumpkin. We scoped out the pumpkins and selected a large orange one and a small white one to join the three small orange ones already at home on the front steps. Kate was thrilled to show dad the "big blow-up pumpkin with the scary face" that we had seen the week before, and both girls got a kick out of sitting on the HUGE pumpkins!

2 + 3 makes 5!

This past Saturday, our family went from 4 to 7 for the afternoon and evening. Ryan and Kim dropped the kids off and enjoyed an evening out. We, too, had a lot of fun! We took our brood to an Indian festival of lights. Although we were in the minority, the kids enjoyed feeding the ducks at the lake and Matthew played a game of "7-11" at one of the booths. We then returned home for some soccer, sliding, and wagon rides while the pizza cooked in the oven. After our pizza party, Matthew, Riley and Uncle Mark returned to the soccer field for one final game before heading inside. We had a great time...hope our "three kids" did too!

A Sunday Afternoon

This past Sunday, we took a trip to visit with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop (Biz and Doug). The afternoon was filled with rounds of pool, tricycle rides, cookie-making, a trip to the playground and a delicious meal. Lauren is contemplating trying out for the basketball team in a couple of years and Kate is looking at becoming a pool shark. The girls had a great time...enough activity that they both fell asleep on the way home!

Time Flies!

One minute your staring at your precious miracle in the hospital...



and the next minute, she's driving!

A Trip to the Zoo

Last week, we took a family trip to the zoo to refresh Kate's memory and expose Lauren to the many beautiful creatures of the earth. Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop (Biz and Doug) joined us for a day's adventure visiting "Africa" and "North America." Kate stated that she liked the lions the best (even though they were sleeping) and Lauren seemed to enjoy the animals in the water, the otters and sea lions. Kate claimed she was scared of the gorilla and refused to remove her hands from her eyes to even take a peek! She did, however, enjoy the carousel ride, smiling the entire time from ear-to-ear.

We had a great time and hope to return in the spring. Enjoy the shots from our fun-filled day!

Harvest Festival

This past weekend, we joined up with Ryan, Kim and the kids and Kristen, Keith, and Ashlyn to attend the Yates Mill Harvest Festival. The old mill was restored a few months ago and is now in working order. The festival centered around "corn" and included free popcorn, a corn husking contest (won by Riley), corn cob toss, free hush puppies, tours of the mill, a storyteller, and good 'ol fashion bluegrass. A good time was had by all!