{lumpkins picking pumpkins}

Over the weekend some friends invited us to pick pumpkins with them at Berry Patch Farms. We hadn't gone to a real pumpkin patch since pumpkin-pa-looza in Salt Lake City so we were all in. This time Michael even got to go with us, so all the better. When we first arrived there was this (obvious photo opportunity) cute, vintage, red tractor to climb on & pretend to drive like a pumpkin farmer...

 ...while the girls also played on the wooden playset beside it (because OH MY GOSH! They NEVER get to play on a playground Mama! Like EVER!!!!) & we waited to catch up with our friends. I told them to make scary pumpkin faces. You see how that turned out.

After scary pumpkin faces, we wandered over to the next photo op, situated right beside the ice-cream booth. Clearly somebody was thinking when they set that up. I'm pretty sure I heard more than one person bribe their child(ren) to take a decent picture. Not that we were one of those people. At all. Also, it had to have been a mother who set it up to have the ice-cream AFTER the cute picture spot. Brilliant!

There was this really super cool spider web situated right above the photo area. It may have spelled Lumpkin. Or Charlotte.

Then it was off to the face painting booth.

They had short hayrides from the activities area over to the pumpkin patches. Michael & Cade had a race across the field. So ridiculously cute.

Each of the kids picked a tiny pumpkin & helped Daddy choose a big, family pumpkin to carve. 

Then we tried to take another cute picture. Because taking cute pictures at the end of an adventure is always prime cooperation time.

It was a super fun, fall day...can't wait to head back at Christmastime for tree choosing, hot chocolate drinking fun!

{week 20}

Summer begins!! Week 20 was the last week of preschool for Cassidy & Kalea. We celebrated at the school picnic on Tuesday. I hit up Pinterest & found a cute gift idea for the class gift for Kalea's wonderful teachers. (Cassidy's teachers are fantastic too, but I just wasn't the room mom to create a class gift!!!) The kids & I celebrated Mother's Day by spending Sunday at church & then heading out for brunch. Michael came home from his trip right after lunch & spoiled me the rest of the day...no diaper changing or cooking for me!! We hit up the zoo with a friend mid-week where the kids got to pet some goats & ride the merry-go-round. I visited with a friend from out of town Thursday on a rare night out mid-week which was super fun...until Cade woke up at 6:15 the next morning. How do they always know?!? We ended the week with some more yummy food, a new app for editing pictures on my phone & a performance of "The Gardening Show, A Musical" written and produced by Cassidy, starring Cassidy, Kalea, Cade and Michael. In our backyard. It was stunning!

{week 13}

Lucky Week #13! We spent the week doing the following: ear check for a little man who decided sleep wasn't cool anymore (no ear infection, probably teething), mommy-baby boy day while the girls had a playdate after school on Tuesday. I registered Cassidy for kindergarten!!!!!!! (with only misty eyes, no tears! but oh my gosh!!), caught the kitties snuggling, had a hundred gazillion practice egg hunts in the house, the girls had their preschool Easter parties on Thursday and then discovered our engagement party & wedding pictures on Friday and Kalea kept exclaiming, "You & Daddy are falling in LOVE!!! Awwwww!" They had soccer practice & pictures on Saturday after which Kalea got to drink some, "later gatorade" while wearing her "shin gardens" (I nearly fell over laughing). Then we changed out of grubby clothes & little guy sported his adorable bow tie & headed to Macon for a busy Easter weekend. Lots of fun. 

Hope you had a wonderful Easter!!

{be mine}

Valentine's Day was a hit this year! Cassidy & Kalea decorated the house with pink, red, purple & green construction paper hearts & 99¢ Super Girl Valentine decorations from Michael's craft store. We spent at least four nights making Valentine's boxes, bags, little gifts to share with friends and made, upon Cassidy's request, pink lemonade cupcakes to share at school.

Michael took off work for a couple hours to help in Kalea's Valentine party & I helped in Cassidy's party the same day. It was fun to have some special time with just the girls while Cade stayed at a friend's house for the morning.

{week 7}

We had a blast last week...Valentine's Day projects & parties, fastnaughts for Fat Tuesday, playdates & an end of the week pajama day. And, despite both Cade & Kalea ending up looking like unicorns with run ins with the hardwood floor & a bookcase, week 7 of 52 was a success! 

{on the 18th day of christmas}

I finally am blogging about Christmas! It's a real thing, right? The Saturday after Epiphany? Right?

We started off the season with the 4K Christmas pageant & the 2K sing-a-long at preschool. Cassidy  played the part of a shepherd during the pageant & did a great job. Kalea was one of 6 in her class sing-a-long. She had a blast & stole the show with her sweet smile & little voice.

dresses & shirt by my sweet friend Melanie at The Pickle Tree

4K friends Jack, Ellie & Cassidy

The following weekend the kids visited Santa, we chose a tree & decorated the house.

 The girls insisted on makeing a gingerbread house this year. I think they ate almost as much icing as we used to decorate, but we had fun putting it together. The next Sunday was the holiday program at PUCC. The Sunday School children sang a few songs and the girls were part of a dance group that performed. Jackie also sang as part of a jazz quartet.

After a busy next week at preschool with Christmas parties and playdates, we piled into the car on Friday night & drove through the night north toward PA. We had a blast visiting family for the next week for Christmas. A crazy, fun, 11 kids ages 5 and under, germ filled, white Christmas! We piled into Grandma & Grandpa's house for seven days and the kids had so much fun visiting with cousins, 2nd cousins and cousins of cousins.

pirate storytime with Uncle Derrick

Great Grandma Stein & the Henning & Lumpkin kids

Great Grandpa Stein & Isaac

Christmas Day

fun at the Hennings

Surprise 40th Anniversary Party for Aunt Margie & Uncle John

the kids were beyond excited to play together in the snow

At the end of the week, we got in our PJs, had a last snuggle with Grandma & Grandpa, got in the car & headed back to Georgia! Hope your Christmas was as exciting as ours! 

{here comes santa clause}

We're so lucky to have stumbled upon Kennesaw Methodist Children's Academy when we moved here last summer. It's been the center of our community, where we've met our closest local friends and the preschool and church provide so many activities and events for our family.

The most recent was Cocoa & Cookies with Santa a few weeks ago. While Michael had to attend to a few things at his parent's house, I took Cassidy, Kalea & Cade to meet Santa & Mrs. Clause. It was a hit. Surprisingly, Cade didn't flinch while sitting on his lap & the girls were able to overcome their shyness to let them know what was on their Christmas lists. Cassidy asked for "a play-doh mixer upper & a baby doll bunk bed". Kalea, after telling me earlier in the week that she wanted "another birfday & rainbows" had a change of heart and asked only for "some new books". Love them!!

Merry Christmas!

{baby steps}

Last night after the girls went to bed, Cade was wide awake due to a long, late nap. He was playing happily in our room making "bam" sounds with a couple rolls of unopened wrapping paper. After getting bored with that he found my slippers, brought them over to Michael & insisted on wearing them. And then he took a step! Just one, but a step for sure. His very first on his own!

During the last week he's really been starting to keep his balance, stand on his own & let go of the furniture he's cruising around. Both Cassidy & Kalea walked "for real" for the first time at Grandma & Grandpa's house in PA over Christmas & we're wondering if Cade is going to make it three for three! How fun would that be!

{easter}

We had a lot going on the past few weeks leading up to Easter. In the midst of the egg hunts, candy & fancy dresses we did manage to make it to not one, but three, different churches! We're still on the fence about where we'll make our church "home" but are glad to have been welcomed at each.

The first celebration was at preschool where I was lucky enough to be one of the party moms for the day. The kids chowed down on Pinterest inspired lunch treats. The adults thought everything was super cute...the kids were just happy to have a party!

That Saturday we headed to Adams Park for an Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the City of Kennesaw with some friends. The girls all did really well & there were no shenanigans from other grown ups as far as we could tell. The city also set up a bunch of food & cheap bounce houses & slides on an adjacent field where the kids crawled, jumped, slid & played before we went out to lunch. We're really liking the events that the city puts on regularly. It's totally a family centered place to live & we're grateful to have found friends & a community so quickly...can you believe that Michael's been back in the South for an entire year already?!?

Then on Thursday after dinner we painted eggs...or, as my brother-in-law corrected me, dyed eggs. Apparently I haven't completely assimilated into the South & say it wrong! :) Cade was very interested in what his sisters were doing. He's definitely loves his sisters & thinks they are hysterical. He's a sweet, pleasant baby nearly all the time, but get him around the two silly girls & he starts baby belly laughing. It is hysterical & none of us can keep from joining him.

We spent Easter weekend at Gran & Poppy's house. Thankfully the Easter Bunny got the message that we were there & remembered to deliver our baskets. I wasn't in the kitchen when the girls discovered the baskets but apparently Cassidy didn't even notice them until Kalea pointed them out saying, "Look! They trying sneak up on us!" It's fun that Kalea is participating in holidays & traditions now. Both she & Cassidy particularly enjoyed the tradition of candy for breakfast!

And of course we had egg hunts at Gran & Poppy's too. Unfortunately my camera was M.I.A. for the first one, but I found it on Sunday for the second round. Cassidy ended up finding one of the "golden eggs" & you would have thought she won a million dollars! I got one picture of her holding it that kind of creeps me out how much I think it resembles me around that age. What do you think?

We hope you had as wonderful an Easter as we did!