One more trip to the park!

We managed to make one more trip to the park before the yucky rain and cold air came back around and forced us back inside for the winter....
Madi LOVES the park... her ultimate all-time favorite thing to play on?

The Swing!

After quite a bit of swinging (and a slight temper tantrum when it was time to go) We took our long walk back to the car... along the way though we had to stop and check out the wildlife...


And of course stopped for a couple more Madi Photo-ops!

It turned out to be a fun day for us all! Madi can't wait for the sun to shine again soon so she can get back out there to the swings! Although, most likely the next park trip we make will include her little brother, Halen... Big Sis Madi is sure to have lots of fun teaching him the ropes!

Yay for Leaves!

Wow! How is it November already? This year just keeps moving right along!
Luckily we had a few unusually dry days this fall that gave us some time to go out and enjoy the crisp fall air...
We have a tree in our front yard that has finally grown large enough to dump quite a few leaves on the ground in the fall... this of course is no fun if you have to rake them all up... however it's perfect for an impromptu Madi-Fall-Leaves-Photo-Shoot!

At first she was not a fan of the leaves...We had hopes that we could make a huge pile of them that she would LOVE to just run and jump into.... no... not my child.... somehow I have broken her... she doesn't like to get her hands dirty.... and she's a little OCD (sorry kiddo! Mommy's fault!) & likes things to be neat and orderly.... so she had pretty much NO interest....
but eventually she came around... and we found that she REALLY likes to hug trees! (Maybe because there were no leaves left on it?)

Check out some of her best shots....

Yep, That's our girl... the tree kisser....

Pumpkins, Playdates, More Pumpkins & Some Trick or Treating!

This October we excitedly made our way to the Pumpkin Patch to show our "Toddler" (Wow!! She's not just a little baby anymore! Where has the time gone?!) all the fun & exciting activities the fall season brings...

So, we got Madi dressed in her official "Pumpkin Patch" outfit & headed on out... This year we were invited to join Liz's cousin, Ben & his family at the pumpkin patch in Dayton, Or (Heiser Farms)
We got there just as they were opening which meant parking was fabulous and there was hardly anyone else there! Madi (& her Daddy) are not big fans of crowded places so this worked out perfectly! Of course the first place we found ourselves checking out was the animal barn! Madi loooooooves animals!!

She and Bridget checking out the sheep

Madi had to stretch up on her tippy toes to be able to see the "Baby Chicks"
She also saw bunnies, piggies, goats, and her favorite of the day..."BABY COWS!"
Madi was in animal heaven! We must have spent an hour just walking from one end of the barn to the other checking out all the animals over and over again while Madi giggled!

Next, we stopped by the riding tractor area... There were lots of little ride on trucks and tractors the kids could choose from. Since there weren't very many people there still the kids were able to take their pick! Of course to Madi this meant she had to try them ALL out at least once! She wasn't able to peddle herself around but luckily for her, Mom & Dad were close by to give her a push!

The next stop on our list was the CHOO-CHOO TRAIN! Madi was SO excited to get close to the choo-choo... She was non-stop talking about it on the walk over and could hardly manage to control herself while waiting for Daddy to buy the train tickets.... then once it was time to get on the train..... she was Little Miss Quiet! She had such a serious face on the whole time around the track. But, once she was off the train once again she was oohing and ahhing about how exciting the Choo-Choo was. Silly Girl!


And next...was Brendan's favorite part...

PUNKIN' CHUNKIN'!
We sat and watched them fling pumpkins across the fields and into junkyard car targets for a while...It was fabulous.

Then it was time for us to take the hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick out our very own pumpkin....

Madi & Liam were very concerned with all the dirt built up on some of the pumpkins... so they spent some time trying to clean it off...

Madi finally found the perfect pumpkin to take home!

Which she and Daddy turned into a .......

PRINCESS PUMPKIN!


A few days later the girls and I had the chance to join our playgroup at the Carousel for some Halloween dress-up fun!

Madi went as, Minnie Mouse (one of her favs!)

Isabella went as an OSU Cheerleader.
They were both SO cute!!

We took a ride on the Carousel.

Then went outside while it was not raining & spent a few minutes on the playground.

Although Madi was a little disappointed that the slide was all wet... :0(


And Finally, we ended the month with some good 'ol Trick or Treating!

Little Miss Minnie Mouse all set with her Mickey pumpkin bucket!

While we were out & about Madi caught a glimpse of a kitty! She got so excited!

Madi & Daddy trick or treating.

We made a stop by Grandpa's house on our way home.

Then ended the night (and the month) with a quick visit from some of Madi's favorite people!
(Izaac, Paige & Justin)

Off to the Fair we go!

The end of summer got here before we knew it... and with it... brought the Oregon State Fair!
This year we were able to all go as a family...
Grandma & Auntie Ashley even came along too!
We were very excited to show Madisen all that the fair had to offer.. she has been recently obsessed with animals and has learned what sounds they make.. So of course the first stop on our "things to do at the fair" list was to check out the animal barns...
She checked out the Horses

And the Cows...

And the goats...

and then took a little walk to see Madi's very favorite "fair" animal of them all.....


The Miniature Horses!!
I think she would have stayed there all day if we had let her.... but alas... the curly fries were calling our (ok, MY!) name.... so off we went to have a bite to eat...

Yum! Curly Fries!

After a quick lunch we made a stop by the petting zoo ... at first Madi wasn't too sure about being THAT close to the animals... but within a minute or two she was talking to them & petting the animals like they were all her best friends! (Although she kept calling the goats, piggies and then the piggies, sheep...the horses though she got right everytime!)

Summer time fun!

It seems as though the summer just flew right by this year!

We had lots and lots of fun in the sun!
Check out some of the highlights.....

We hung out at Izaac's (Madi's cousin) baseball game:

We had lots and lots of playdates at the park with our friends:
Celebrated a few birthday parties: Had a fantastic visit with Brendan's cousin Elizabeth: Played around in the sprinkler: Played with the sidewalk chalk daily: And of course lots & lots of dress-up!:

We were sad to see summer end... although with little Mr Halen on the way we are all looking forward to January!

(Ps: Liz's belly is growing like crazy! Mama & baby are doing great! That boy kicks like crazy! We think he is going to be a kung-fu expert by the time he makes his entrance into the world!)