october

We got Aubrey in her tradional October shot. I cannot believe how fast the years are flying by. I've tried to get Leah to do the same shot, but every year I usually get one of her crying or walking away...she is not to happy with the camera. I did manage to get one of the two of them together on a trip to Longwood Gardens. I love these moments in our lives where we get to enjoy time together as a family.

highland orchards

Just a few short weeks ago my family came down to visit and pick pumpkins. What a great opportunity for the cousins to run around and enjoy the fall weather. I cannot believe that the little girls that seemed like babies just a few short years ago are now 4, 3 & 2 years old (well, almost 2). Kelsey, Aubrey and Brooke are independant with minds of their own and Mackenzie and Leah try to keep up with their older sisters.

We spent our time petting the animals at the petting area, running around the hay maze and playing in the playground.

What should have taken a moment, their fall pumpkin picture, took about 20 shots and I still didn't have them all looking at me.

We picked out or pumpkins and got our cider doughnuts. All and all a perfect day.

orvis catalog

seal harbor, acadia national park

maine vacation

pattee's pond... a maine vacation

we left late on friday night. had so much to get done before we left.... but managed to check everything off the list and throw everything in the car. didn't know how it was going to work...driving overnight with two kids. would they sleep? would we make it? we were already exhausted. our trip down was a cinch. i drove the first half and matt drove the second. we arrived in maine as the sun was coming up, drove up the driveway, unpacked and relaxed away the first day. it was perfect.

we took day trips to bangor, camden, and bar harbor (our favorite place!). we got to visit a folk festival, stroll through camden and hiked (if you can call it hiking when you have two kids and a dog and it takes FOREVER to go a mile) around jordan pond in acadia national park. matt got to fish, i got to read and the kids got to play in a pirate ship in the backyard each night. we had wonderful weather and had a great time together as a family. what a great way to end the summer!

fourth of july celebration

annual party at the o'malley's. a celebration of country and granddad's birthday (we love you granddad!). i managed to dress the girls in matchy-matchy outfits, unfortunately i never managed to get a picture of the two of them together. oh well.

sunbathing

i love my preschooler. she does things everyday that make me laugh. this particular day (while her sister was napping) aubrey decided to catch some rays with her momma.

working at the car wash

spent the summer playing with some really great friends. hot summer days are the best times to break out the bubbles and let the kids go to town. we had an impromptu car wash in our backyard with the LaGarde boys and let the kids get nice and soapy.

portraits of a family

checking out pictures in our files...

and ran across some that made me laugh.

thought i would share.

another trip to the mountains

we were so excited to have daddy with us. our last trip to the mountains poor daddy had to stay home. the weather was yuck, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. spent some time indoors playing games, painting and reading. put on our rain gear and stomped around outside. it's such a blessing having the mountains to run away to. we are so lucky!

going to the dentist

i have never been more proud of my little girl. aubrey had her first dentist's appointment and she did awesome. i knew that she would be a little nervous. new things always make aubrey a little scared, but she did great. we walked into the office and she climbed up into the chair. she was polite to the doctor and did everything that she was told. she was so excited to pick out her prize and her new orange tooth brush. after her appointment she showed off her sparkling teeth to anyone who would look. no cavities! good brushing little girl!

happy anniversary!

there is one thing i remember very specifically about this day. i remember riding in the car with my family and bubbling over with excitement. i remember looking at my mom and saying, "i get to marry the man of my dreams."

lazy hazy days of summer.

isn't it funny how the younger one has to do exactly what the older one does. i never would have just handed Aubrey and ice cream cone at 17 months. oh, the mess.... but things change. not only have i realized the messes are inevitable, but i have also realized that leah wants to do things the same as her big sister. it doesn't matter that the ice cream in the dish is the same ice cream that is in the cone. she wants a cone too. so i tried... and she actually did a great job with it. what a cutie!

mountain weekend

the girls and i headed up to the mountains this memorial day to spend some time with grammy, pappy and the watterson family. (also trying to give daddy some time to get some stuff done around the house without us hanging all over him.) it was an amazing weekend. aubrey followed the girls around and leah just loved running back and forth trying to do everything the big girls did. to my pleasant surprise leah did great taking naps and sleeping in a new place. it was so great to be able to get away.

happy birthday to me.

i thought thirty would feel....old.
thankfully my children make me feel young.

leah learning how to walk

a day at the park to practice her new strides. now she can get away from mommy faster.

longwood gardens

strasburg railroad

everybody's birthday

what a perfect way to spend a rainy day...celebrating everyone's birthday.
we spent thursday with our friends...gifts, cupcakes and balloons. the kids had a blast!