Hunter's First Date

Hunter and I had our first mommy-son date night. We started off by going swimming. Hunter is a different kid than Ellie, so it was fun doing everything at his pace. We had the pool to ourselves, and we took full advantage of it!

 Before swimming

After the pool, we headed to Freddy's for dinner! Hunter chose a hot dog and ice cream; then after just two bites of his hot dog, it slipped right out of the bun and onto the floor. So Hunter ate the bun for his main course :) As he ate his ice cream, half of it ended up on the floor as well - and when Hunter put his feet down on the floor to stand up, he slipped right through the ice cream. I went to get some more napkins and when I came back, he was on the floor trying to clean up the ice cream and also wiping the floor where the hot dog had landed. Hunter is conscientious, and he likes things cleaned up :) 

After dinner, we hurried out to the car through torrential rains and a flooded parking lot. Hunter did not like being wet and cold in the car! We had a wonderful first date, nonetheless. It was fun spending one-on-one time together and doing what Hunter wanted to do!

Kind of a Big Deal

Hunter is taking swim lessons this session. It's been awhile since he last had swim lessons, so I wondered how it would go....

He's in a class with two other little boys - and the class right after has no one enrolled, so basically, we can swim for the whole hour if we want! We will definitely take advantage of that. Hunter and the other two-year-old boy just giggled and splashed the entire time. I think it's safe to say that he loved it.

Ellie participated in her first primary sacrament meeting program. We were thrilled that Nana and Papa were able to make it down for it! Ellie hadn't yet said her part during any of the practices (even though she'd practiced at home AND had her part memorized...); so we were pretty happy for her to get up and bravely say her part (after a week of practicing, talking about what to do if she gets scared or nervous, and taking her over to the church to practice with the microphone). She was the last Sunbeam to say her part. After jumping down and running down to her seat, she turned around and said in a loud whisper (to us - three rows behind her), "I did it! I said my part! I looked at my twinner Nana and wasn't afraid!"

 Papa with twinners - see the matchy dresses??

 Hunter and Dallas had to get their pictures taken with Nana and Papa too.

Thanks for coming, Papa and Ellie's "twinner Nana"!

Cider Hill Apple Orchard

Fall is my favorite season! One of the items on our fall bucket list was to go apple picking. The place we went had lots to do: there was a wishing well, a fire pit with marshmallows for roasting, a gazebo, picnic area, a lake, a store where you could purchase apple cider donuts and apple cider, as well as other goodies and treats, and of course the apple orchards. We started off at the close trees. The kids ran around filling their bags with the best apples they could find - and snacking on many apples along the way. Then we jumped on a hayride and went farther out. 

This is definitely something that will make it on our fall bucket list again!

Our September - Daily Living

Just some moments to remember:

 Dallas spying on the action in the backyard

 Taking the kids out for a spin in the bike trailer - their favorite activity lately

 Shopping fun - cool carts are the BEST!

Perfect weather days at the park

 This is how he came out of his room after quiet time...

Snuggle time with this cutie

 Hunter loves riding his bike

Sleepy baby

Pre-K

The other day, I was at Costco with all three kids. The boys were in the cart and Ellie was mothering them as she hung on to the side. A woman commented on the cuteness of the kids and then she started talking to Ellie. "Oh, I bet you're a great big sister, aren't you?" Ellie replied, "Yes! I am!" The woman asked her some questions about how old she is and asked if she's in school. Ellie's response was, "Yes! I'm in Pre-K - that's pre-KINDERGARTEN! Not preschool."

Here's some of the fun Ellie (and sometimes Hunter) are having at Pre-K:

 Alphabet hats

 Making the shape of the day - at first it was a rectangle - then Hunter needed to join in :)

 Homemade orange play-doh that smelled like oranges

Ellie and Paislee after story time at the library

We had the opportunity to go on a field trip to the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm. We didn't have as much time there as we wanted, but we got to experience some really cool things.

1) We stood right behind the cannon as it went off at 11:00 AM

2) The kids learned how to use a rifle (and they practiced washing clothes on a washboard, but I didn't get any pictures of that).

3) We road the stagecoach. Hunter kicked and cried and didn't want to get on. But being the good mom that I am, I handed Dallas off to a stranger while I hauled Hunter up into my arms and put him on the stagecoach anyway. He had a great time once it got going!

4) We ate a picnic lunch at the farm before heading home.

The school year is off to a great start!