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Sunday, November 20, 2016

best time of year

It may be the middle of Fall right now, but let's head back to the end of the summer for a minute. After a summer full of fun times at the pool it was time to say good-bye to pool season. These girls made some great memories together this year. The last day at the pool is always tough, because it is the official sign that summer is over. Counting down the days until pool season is here again!



During Labor Day weekend we decided to take a quick trip to Muskegon, Michigan to visit my Great Grandmother. She is living full time in a nursing home now and her dementia continues to get worse. It has been quite awhile since we have all gone for a visit, so it was nice to spend the holiday weekend with family. Nana Cleo was super excited to see the girls. It brought the biggest smile to her face which made the visit SO worth it!



It was a beautiful, warm weekend so we naturally spent lots of time at the lake. My grandma's house is minutes from Lake Michigan and the girls could not wait to stick their toes in the sand and the freezing cold water!



We had one full day in Muskegon so we decided to spend it at the "beach". It was super warm for September which made for a perfect day. The girls had a fabulous time digging in the sand and splashing in the waves. It is so beautiful there!




That evening we went out for a nice dinner and walked the boardwalk near the lake. It was so nice to get out of town with the girls for the weekend...not only to relax, but to spend time with family.




The girls have both settled into their new school year with ease. Cece is loving Kindergarten life. She was able to take a field trip with some of the other kindergarten students in September to a local farm. It may have been a pretty warm day, but Fall was definitely in the air.




Another Fall tradition we look forward to is September Fest, our church's annual fall festival. Our church puts on quite a party each year with so many fun activities for the kids. We never miss it! This year Olivia's friend Aleah even came along.


After an outdoor church service the girls spent the day getting their faces painted, enjoying ice cream and the petting zoo, playing bingo and riding ponies. We could not have asked for a more beautiful Fall day to enjoy another September Fest!






As Halloween approaches we try to do as much fun stuff with the girls to celebrate this fun time of year. This year we were told about a cute little pumpkin farm only minutes from our house. What a hidden gem, and the best Halloween decorations in town!




The highlight was the scavenger hunt for Halloween themed blow-ups. We ran through the corn field checking the blow-ups off of our list. Of course we had to stop and pose with our favorites too. There were so many to choose from!




After our scavenger hunt we walked through the pumpkin patch. Couldn't leave without picking out a few small pumpkins to take home. This was a fun fall activity and we will definitely add it to our list of things to do each year!


A few weeks before Halloween Cece and her class took a trip to a local pumpkin farm. It was a beautiful day and fun to spend time with Cece and her little friends. After learning everything there is to know about pumpkins we took a hayride out to the patch. The kids had time to walk around and pick out the perfect pumpkin. I was so happy to share this field trip with my girl!





Olivia also had a fun fall event at her school...the Fall Family Picnic. This was our first year attending the picnic since we are new to the school, and it was great! So many fun things to do, the girls didn't know where to start! The highlight was the cake walk. I think we left with 3 cakes that day, which shows you how much time they spent walking in a circle hoping to win some cakes. We have been so blessed this Fall with beautiful weather. This day was no exception!



I think my absolute favorite Fall activity every year is picking apples with the girls. We love visiting the apple orchard and picking as many apples as we can carry home. It was in the low 70's that day, which made for the perfect apple picking experience.





Best part of apple picking? Eating the apples along the way! I think the girls consumed 3 apples a piece as we walked through the orchard. We filled our bags until we could not hold any more. I love doing this as a family every year. Although the weather may not have felt very fall-like, walking through the orchard without jackets sure was nice!




After loading up on apples we hit the pumpkin patch. The girls helped us find a couple of perfectly round pumpkins to take home. There is nothing better than picking pumpkins straight from the patch. I think we did a pretty good job! We are so lucky to live so close to such a nice farm with apples and pumpkins to enjoy each year!





Such a fun time of year and we still have to trick-or-treat! Fall fun continues...