Friday, October 21, 2011

The Pumpkin Patch!

Fall wouldn't be complete without our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch! This has always been something dear to my heart, because growing up minutes away from Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center, I have some of the BEST memories going there every year! Between the tractor hay rides, my brothers pushing me around in the giant wheelbarrows, and going on search for the biggest and best pumpkin I could possibly find! Those memories will always stick with me and although I don't live close enough to take Dayne there, we do live close to a super fun pumpkin patch that also has a petting zoo and lots of rides, so I hope we can continue to make long-lasting memories there that Dayne will always cherish as much as I do!

Every year we have dressed Dayne up to go to the pumpkin patch, so this year was no exception! He is the absolute cutest cow I've ever seen and we had a great time watching him run all over the place! He went in the bounce houses several times, and of course when he saw the train ride he had to go on it! 










The petting zoo was a lot of fun to watch this year, since he goes all the time to the one by my mom's house, he had no fear and went right in. He was able to feed the cows and goats and chase around a few sheep. He found the grooming brushes in the corner, and decided he needed to brush a few animals while he was there =)  










He was quite excited when we took him to look at the pumpkins. He was running around through all the isles, climbing on the biggest ones he could find, and constantly yelling, "My pumpkins! My pumpkins!" It was a little harder to get a good picture of him this year than previously since he is full of energy and constantly in motion, but we were able to snap a few good ones!









Here are a few pictures from the first year we took him (2009)... only 1 month old! 
(The CUTEST pumpkin ever!)










And these are from last year (2010) My lil' lion  ... 










Sunday, October 16, 2011

FALL is here!!!

It's my favorite time of the year, when the weather starts to change and all of the beautiful colors come out! (well, not always in Southern California, but the things you get to decorate your house with are bright yellows & oranges, and deep reds & plums!) It's time for daily trips to Starbucks for Pumpkin, Chai, and Vanilla Latte's, and lighting my pumpkin spiced scented candles! But ofcourse, that's not even the best part of fall... you can't forget that it's BOOT SEASON!! My absolute favorite shoe is a boot and every year there seems to be new styles that I just can't live without. This year is the year of the riding boot and the folded combat boot and I've got my eye on a few pairs already =)

Besides all that material stuff, fall is such a great time to do family activities! Since John had a few days off in a row, we were able to take Dayne to some really fun places. First, we took him to Heritage Park in Cerritos to play with the ducks, turtles, and all the fun little houses they have there. He had a great time exploring inside the houses, going through the tunnels and down the slides and even down the fire pole. The second he spotted the ice cream man in the distance, he bolted out of there and ran down the path, across the bridge, and straight to the ice cream truck without hesitation! This kid definitely LOVES his ice cream!









The next day we took him to Frogg's House in Fountain Valley and that was a huge hit! It's an indoor playground that has several different bounce houses, including ones with obstacle courses and huge slides. There was train tables, play houses, air hockey tables, couches, bean bags, books, toys... definitely a place to have fun! He absolutely loved Frogg's and was running around with the biggest grin on his face! I love seeing him happy and finding places that he loves and can run some of his energy at!








Since we just moved to Buena Park, I had never been to Silverado Days so this was my first time on Friday. We are so lucky to live in a neighborhood that is not only safe and family oriented, but also walking distance to a lot of fun stuff. Silverado Days is an annual carnival that is held at the park about a block away and we walked there with Dayne, the neighbors, and their two adorable twins (Catelyn & Sean). Dayne was not shy about what he wanted to do, so of course the first thing he said when he spotted the carousel was "Ride the horse! Mom, ride the horse!" After riding the horse a few times, we went and had dinner and ran into some more of our friends. Dayne ended up going on a bunch of rides with his older crush, Megan and having a great time! Seeing that huge smile on his face is absolutely priceless!









Here are a few pictures of our fall decor: