California!

At the end of October Kevin and  I went to California for a wedding. Grandma was getting in at the airport from a work trip and we met her there to swap carseats and kids before parking and leaving for our trip. So many things could have gone wrong with our plan but it worked flawlessly. 

Airport greetings!

It was a whirlwind trip but we did get to meet up with Colin and Andi for brunch before getting ready for the wedding. We hadn't seen them in  about 4 years and we had so much fun catching up. 

Me and Andi

Colin and Kevin

Group selfie!

The wedding was at a beautiful golf resort in Morgan Hill (further south from San Jose). We had a fantastic time seeing so many old friends and dancing the night away. 

Rachel and Me

Arun, Matt (the groom), Dennis, and Kevin

We had to leave first thing the next morning and I wished we could have had more time but I'm so happy for the time we did get. It would have been nice to head up closer to our old stomping grounds to see more people but there wasn't enough time. Not trying to fit in visits made for a very relaxing and much needed break from life. 

Fall Fun

I always have so many photos on my phone and it takes a little longer to sort through them to load (especially when I'm really far behind). Here are some from the fall. 

We have a membership to Prairie Fire Museum and we've been making the most of it so far. There is a Discovery Room where the kids can touch and play with things. They even let the girls hold a giant cockroach! 😨

For this particular visit we met up with our friends. They had just opened up the space exhibit and we were all excited to check it out. 

Eric, Anna, Ethan, and Jane

After exploring the museum we wandered over to have lunch at Pinstripes and then stayed to play outside for a little bit.

Kevin had a day off from work and we found out Uncle Joe was in town so we met up with him for lunch. 

Storytime at the library! We hadn't been for awhile (preschool interferes a lot and our favorite librarian from one of the branches left and it hasn't been the same).

Every now and then we go to Debbie Howard's Open Gym to burn a little energy. 

This was the first time Anna was able to climb all the way up to the top of the climbing structure and it wore her out. Jane is still working on figuring it out but she wore herself out trying. 

One of Jane's favorite spots at the gym. 

She's my dangler!

Our friend Margot celebrated her 5th birthday and we had so much fun at her party. Dolls and Donuts for the win!

A little girl in Anna's preschool class invited all the girls to her birthday party at another gym. I almost missed the evite but luckily it worked out for us to go. Anna's buddy, Kenzie, was there she had an awesome time. 

Pumpkin Hollow and Halloween

The year is coming to a close so lets see if I can finally try and catch up a little bit. I don't like perpetually being 2 months behind! Back in October we hit up Pumpkin Hollow at DeAnna Rose to fulfill our pumpkin patch visit for the year since going to one on the weekend was not going to happen. We had a nice time and the girls got a pumpkin so they were happy. 

It was pretty cute watching Anna and Jane go down the slide together. 

These two !

The wagon ride and small pumpkins were a big hit.

I didn't really want to deal with the mess of carving pumpkins this year so we opted for painting them instead and this made for some happy kids. 

It cracked me up when Jane picked the smallest paint brush to work on her huge pumpkin. It took a while. 

Maybe next year we'll get messier and make proper jack-o-lanterns. 

The Bass Pro Shop has a Halloween event every year and we've made it the last couple of years. There is a free picture and a craft and the girls have fun. 

It was fun having a chance to put on the costumes more than once. Especially considering how much time was invested in the costumes....mostly Anna's. Anna wanted to be Tamatoa from Moana and since Kevin loves Halloween and costumes he was in charge of Anna's shell. 

People who hadn't seen the movie were confused but those knowledgeable on all things Moana were impressed. 

Jane was Fancy Nancy from the book series and it was perfect for her. Nancy had curly red hair and loves to dress super fancy...the more jewelry and accessories the better. Jane is pretty much the same person. All we had to do was curl her hair and borrowed the perfect hat (and dress) from Grandma's dress up box and we were set. 

We goofed around at the store and had fun beings silly. 

Goofballs. 

On Halloween night it was cold so we layered the girls up to hit the streets. 

I don't have a ton of pictures from our actual trick-or-treating but both girls lasted longer than we expected. 

Anna remembered the drill pretty well from last year and for the first few houses they went up by themselves which was pretty fun to watch. 

They had fun and were happy with their collection of candy. It was a successful Halloween!

Preschool Fun

Preschool has been going so well for both Anna and Jane this year. It makes me super bummed that we won't be able to send Jane there next year since we're moving but we're going to enjoy it while we can. 

The girls wanted me to take their photo after school one day.

Parents can sign up to be the snack helper and I signed up for two sessions this fall. Luckily I was able to do both Anna and Jane on the same day since their snack times aren't at the same time. Both girls were excited for me to be there but especially Jane since this was her first time with me as the helper. 

Jane was so snuggly during storytime and it was so nice getting to see her interact a little bit at school. 

Going from the 3/4 year old class to the 4/5 year old class is so different and it's fun to see how much more independent the kids get in just one year. Anna was pretty excited to introduce me as the helper in her class. 

We had a little time to play after snack time and Anna loved having me there as well. 

Anna and Jane wanted a photo by the circle window again on another day. 

One evening the school held a Fall Festival which we were able to attend for a little bit before heading off to soccer. The director, Ms Cyndi, loves interacting with the children and plays her guitar and sings with the kids. They all love it. 

In November Anna's class held a Parent Day. Kevin wasn't able to attend this one but I took pictures and a couple videos of Anna singing. She sings out so much and has become much less shy since getting into the groove of school. She's even made a couple of friends which is absolutely adorable. 

Anna singing at Parent Day next to her school bestie, Kenzie. 

Anna sort of thought that Parent Day was the Best. Day. Ever. There is another Parent Day in April and she already asks me when that is. Kevin is planning to attend that one and she can't wait for Daddy to be there too. 

The schedule for the day was different than normal so Anna and Jane were at recess at the same time which doesn't usually happen. They didn't really acknowledge each other at first (Jane apparently does the tire swing first every day followed by the slides before breaking off to explore other things.) Eventually they began playing together though. 

It is wonderful seeing Anna and Jane thrive in school and it makes my heart happy to see how much they are enjoying it.