{Happy Harvest}

i love the fall and this past weekend we took the kids to a pumpkin farm. it was actually a beautiful day and the kids had a blast! my mom and emeric came along as well, to enjoy some harvest fun! below are some pictures from our trip.



playing in the corn maze



walking the corn maze...he's such a big boy!

peyton and nana

peyton and papa shaking hands with the scarcrow

we love pumpkins!



i love these kids!




jeff trying to teach peyton how to climb a rope



one of our monkeys climbing a tree

daddy and son

Happy Harvest! Hope you have a great one!

{My Little Helpers}

it's a wonder why my house isn't always clean when i have such great little helpers! whenever i bring the broom or vacuum out into plain sight i know i'm gonna have two little followers behind me until i let them have a go at it! i can't complain, they have their father's genes!!

and YES, my son rarely has pants on!

{Whoo Hoo --Outdoor fun!}

if there is one thing that we miss, besides our church, family, and friends, it's being outside! it's no surprise that when we lived in Folsom we took walks thru the historic town almost every night after dinner and it's not shocking that i would stroll my kids to the community park right near our home...but here in arizona it's rare to do either of those two things until the winter months. it's been way to hot outside to let the kids play and after dinner the last thing we want to do is take a walk thru the neighborhood during 100 degree nights. Although it didn't last, just a week ago it dropped to a cool 89 outside and we took every chance to be outside during the day! the kids had so much fun running and playing in our backyard. i think they were actually shocked that i was letting them outside! I snapped a few pictures for you all to enjoy! i'll post some more once it cools off again, hopefully that will be soon as summer is suppose to be over! :)

he doesn't care that he's riding his sister's
pink bike!

it was even cool enough to wear a
sweatshirt to gymnastics!

{time with daddy}

most nights ,it's true to say, that by the time dinner is done and cleaned up and the kids are bathed, i am ready for a break. i'm exhausted! and i would dare to say that sometimes i think.."should we put the kids to bed early tonight?" then i am reminded that this is the only part of the day when the kids get their daddy!  i'm not the only one who has worked all day and i would completly understand if Jeff was just as tired and most nights i would say  that he is tired but some how, some way he finds enough energy to match our kids! he delights in this part of the day just as much as they do! so, often i find myself sitting on the couch watching the joy in my children's faces as they play with their daddy and every so often i snap a picture or two!

their favorite "fort". only daddy knows how to build it
so that it's indestructable!

playing chase! i don't ever hear my kids laugh as hard
as they do, as when they are being chased
by their daddy!

DANCING! one of their favorite past times.
they even know how to turn on the ipod to
their favorite songs!

playing dress-up! actually they just like to do this
while they are dancing...but it's cute!

ethan makes a good T-Rex! and
peyton is always cinderella!

{Gymnastics Fun}

seeing as there isn't too much to do when it's still 100 degrees outside after the sun sets, we decided to enroll the kids in gymnastics. it's actually a parent-tot gymnastics class for ages 12 months-3 years! we have been going for the last 6 weeks (when i say "we" i mean that my mom and i participate and jeff watches from the side lines.) and the kids had so much fun that we enrolled them into another 6 week session. the kids have a blast walking the balance beams, rolling on the floor, jumping on the trampoline and swinging on the bars! by the end they are exhausted and ready for bed and to be honest, so are we! below are some pictures of my two little monkeys! enjoy and i'll post more pics as we continue in our class. :)

ethan trying to jump!

peyton loves the bars and rings! she actually
learned how to go around in a circle on one
of the bars!

balance beams

trying to pull herself up

walking the high balance beam!

trying to get ethan to do a handstand ...he wouldn't put
his hands down!



TA-DA!




ethan running around! his attention
span isn't long enough to wait in line for an aparatus!



{Wouldn't change a thing}

many of my friends have asked me what life was like having two kids under two. very honestly i would tell them that the first 3 months were tough!  even looking back 16 months i would still say it was tough, but with more of a smile on my face. i knew that i would have my hands full with a newborn and a 21 month old (and to my sweet friends who have experienced life with many little ones close in age, you amaze me! ) but i didn't quit grasp how full! my daughter wasn't really talking yet, still in diapers, still like a baby in my eyes, and now i had this teeny tiny little baby boy that needed all my attention. there were many tears, many frustrations, many sleepless nights and many nights feeling guilty as a mom. was i being patient enough, being compassionate enough towards peyton (her world just turned upside down and she was still too young to quite understand), was i taking time to enjoy her or was i focusing on her immaturities (she was in fact only 21 months old, how mature could she be?), not to mention trying to take care of a newborn! was i being the mom God wanted me to be or was i just trying to make it thru the day? in all honesty i was just trying to make it thru the day but the Lord granted me so much compassion and grace!

i can remember those first 3 months so vividly and clear because it may have been an extremely difficult time but the Lord used it to remind me of the promises we have in Him. His mercies are new every morning. although i would go to bed exhausted and questioning my day, i would wake up remembering that my children are blessings and gifts from the Lord. and i knew that the Lord would provide all that i need to get thru that day if I rely on His strength, not mine.



i'm happy to say that the first 3 months don't last forever but i'm thankful to say that the lessons do! i ,now, have a 16 month old and a 36 month old, and although i may have questioned having them so close in the very beginning, i am so thankful that the Lord's plans are perfect. they are at the age were they are beginning to adore eachother, play with eachother, watch out for eachother, and although peyton does like to take over the role of "mommy" towards ethan, they absolutly love eachother! that makes it ALL worth it and easy to say that i wouldn't change a thing!

taking turns pushing each other! yes, ethan can push peyton!