Unfortunately, we had to do some minor home repairs, yes, they're inevitable. Carly was super excited to help though. Is this the problem daddy?
Kim's mom and dad had been missing the girls, so they took a weekend trip up in early October to come visit. Was a short trip, be we were glad to see them. Molly couldn't quite keep the cards straight so daddy had to hold the hand for her.
No daddy, I said throw the jack.
Those of you who know Jason too well, also know his propensity to pick up the occasional junk. This was no exception. Out for a walk around the neighborhood, and someone had this Little Tikes basketball hoop out with a big free sign on it. Jason said, if it's not too heavy, that's coming home. In a moment that made her mother very happy, Carly was quick to point out that we should put it back, but when we got it home and found a ball for it, she forgot all about that idea.
Just a good old picture of cute right here.
Carly and mommy playing on the living room floor. Guess which one got tired of this game first!
We returned to the apple orchard in search of the Great Pumpkin. He didn't show, but in his absence we found a whole bunch of little one.
Carly had a bit of a tough time navigating, and in hindsight, shorts were probably not the wisest choice of attire for the excursion.... but it did turn out to be pretty hot that day.
Hrmm.... maybe that one back there was the best one.
Found the winners.
This orchard is on some pretty steep hills. Almost too steep to walk up and down! They ferry people up and down the hills with tractors and wagons.
Just like Carly, we had to have a first "jeans" picture for Molly!
Rough day being cute. Just really takes it out of a girl.
This next bunch of pictures is from just this past weekend. It was Grandpa's birthday this weekend, and it was kind of a big deal, so we wanted to make sure not to miss it. Most of the family knew we were headed home, but we hadn't told Grandpa and Grammy anything about it. We made a whole mini-vacation out of the whirlwind trip though. First stop was to visit Aunt Jenn at the Niabi Zoo where she has recently landed a full time zookeeper position! She was very excited to show us around and have the girls there to visit. One of the stops was to feed the fish, geese and ducks at the pond.
Every now and then ,there are these statues placed just off the walking paths. Carly wanted to try to ride most of them.
For a super special treat, Aunt Jenn took us back into the giraffe barn, and let us hand feed some carrots to the giraffes!!!
Carly was so pumped about this. She really liked the giraffes. A little shy, but not afraid.
Molly however was un-phased by the opportunity to look a 15 foot tall creature straight in the face.
It was a great day to wander the zoo, not too hot, not to cold, not raining. Carly even took a couple turns at practice driving her stroller.
Occasionally though, the walking and riding in the stroller just wasn't enough. I think she just likes the view up there.
More hand feeding animals... we tried the goats, then a calf, and then back to the goats.
Ooh... elephant.
Ooh... actual elephant! She was miserable, can't you tell?
Ok, done with the zoo, and headed down to surprise Grandpa for his birthday. We hoped that since it was such a long day, and we had a couple hours in the van, that maybe, just maybe Carly would go ahead and take a nap. It was going to be a long night, and well, a nap would just make it go better for everyone. Well... this little hide under the blanket game lasted a little while, and eventually we heard snoring and with just a half hour left.. She fought a good fight though.
The wiener roast/birthday party was a huge success. Aunt Joellyn brought things for all ages to do. One that caught some attention was bobbing for marshmallows.
Carly enjoyed some roasted marshmallows too.
and sidewalk chalk with Grandpa.
"Where'd Steven go?" Can't tell you how many times we've heard that in that last week. It's somewhere in the hundreds.
Grammy and Molly, with Aunt Laura looking on.
Great Grandma was happy to have us home too!
Along with the trip came a few hotel nights... and well, yes, hotels with pools. Here's our little water baby checking herself before heading out for a dip. I missed the picture of her with her arms up posing.
Molly even got her first dip in the pool.
Ok.... well, that's all we have for now.
Was a great trip, and good to see so much family. We miss you all terribly and wish we could be closer!
