october 2017

Pie Face, Tanaka Farms and Zoo Fun

While Grammy and Grandpa were in town, the girls introduced them to their favorite new game, Pie Face! I wouldn’t really call it a “game”– it’s pretty much turning a dial, sticking your face in a hole and waiting to see if it’s your lucky turn for a handful of whipped cream to hit you in the face. It’s like a sugary version of the board game, Don’t Wake Daddy! The anticipation is the scariest/most exciting part!

Meredith did not understand the point of the game and hated getting messy! She ran off to play more intelligent games, like Risk.

The anticipation!

Swim time with Grammy.

A morning at the park while the twins were in preschool.

Grammy and Grandpa tagged along for our annual trip to the Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch.

Meredith is obsessed with any kind of vehicle– cars, trucks, airplanes, tractors– she gets so excited!

Previous years:

All grown up:

Meredith was very meticulous about her pumpkin picking and traded out her pumpkins from the wheelbarrow several times.

She refused to let anyone help her carry the pumpkins.

Last year, she didn’t have a choice of pumpkins, so this was a vast improvement in her book.

This is getting a little heavy!

Wheelbarrow blast from the past:

We almost lost these crazies in the corn maze!

What’s better than frolicking through a patch of pumpkins? Climbing on a huge pile of them.

Queens of the mountain.

And if that wasn’t enough fall fun, the girls were treated to a zoo trip with Grammy and Grandpa. The real treat was mine, since I got to stay home! Not sure what I did during that time off, but I’m sure it was more relaxing than normal!

Fascinated on the train:

Monkey time.

Lots of love,

October at the Bucket Park

October here is one of my least favorite months, mainly because instead of the weather turning cooler and letting us finally don boots and sip hot apple cider, it always gets hotter! We don’t really have a fall here until January, so we usually spend the hot, dry Octobers at the pool and beach. Not complaining about year-round access to the beach, but it is nice to have actual seasons like the rest of the country once in a while. I guess that’s what visiting Utah is for!

This October, Aunt Sarah and Grammy and Grandpa came to visit and helped us schlep out gear and kids from pool, to the beach, to the water park and all around town. We love that we can walk to the Bucket Park, which is just down the hill from our new house and because it’s a part of our HOA dues, there’s no fee. We spent basically all summer and fall here! Thanks, Aunt Sarah, for the awesome candid photos!

Waiting under the bucket for it to pour water on their heads is always exciting!

Meredith worked on her back float this summer/fall.

Little fish Amelia.

Every hour, they do “safety breaks” which basically means the teenage lifeguards have ten minutes to text and eat snacks before opening back up the water park. During that time, we usually grab Meredith and run over to the splash pad next to the big bucket so that she won’t be tempted to go in the water during the mandatory break.