Family Pictures

Over Labor Day weekend we had a family photo session scheduled. Our photographer, Elena, over at Glass Lantern Photography was only a few weeks from going on maternity leave and I really wanted to squeeze a session in before that. 

Elena brought some darling tiebacks she'd made for the girls to wear and Anna and Jane absolutely loved them. 

As usual it was difficult for me to choose which photos to post so there are a lot. 

These dresses were a last minute addition. Sparkly Grandma just happened to send me a photo of them the week before our session. Then I found these cowboy boots and I HAD to use them!

Some of these photos will be making their appearance on some holiday cards if I can get organized enough to send them and decide which to use of Anna and Jane. I realize I'm extraordinarily biased but I think they are darling and that Elena captured some incredible moments with them. 

Random Fall Fun

One morning when we didn't have to be anywhere and Anna and Jane ended up spending over and hour working on their sticker activity books.

 I looked over and and saw Anna helping Jane with something and it made me smile. 

We coordinated with some friends to go to Whimical Woods at Ernie Miller Nature Center. 

Anna and Jane with Louis

There were various stations on a walk through the trails. Different characters told stories and shared facts about animals. 

At one of the stations they pulled out a tarantula. I took a picture but I can't stand looking at it so I've opted to not post it. Instead I'm sharing this adorable photo of this cute little owl. 

On a nice evening we ordered pizza and had dinner outside before roasting a few marshmallows over the fire pit. 

Lately Anna has been having fun pushing Jane in the swing and they made up a game where Jane knocks down all the chairs after Anna sets them up. They were entertained for the longest time.

Me with my handsome man!

The girls have been working hard on riding their bikes and one of their favorite things to do is to ride around the cul-de-sac and play P.J Masks where either Kevin and I are the bad guys and they have to catch us. 

Kevin has been working with the girls and they've improved so much on the bikes since the summer. We're so proud of how hard they have worked. 

In Anna's pre-k class they send each student home with Cookie the Cat. After making some memories the kids draw pictures/write about what they did with Cookie before bringing her back to school. Anna LOVES Cookie and we made lots of memories including taking her out for a spin on the bike as well. 

Jane brought her Cat out for a spin as well. 

I'll have more random photos when I comb through the pictures taken on our phones. It may be a while but I'm starting to make a little progress. 

Grinter Farms

This fall has been incredibly chaotic since we began painting the walls and trim in our house. We tackled it a wall or section at a time and it consumed numerous nights and weekends. I'll try and post some before and after pictures at some point after I catch up on some other things at home.

We did manage to fit in a few fun activities and make some memories. This included going to Grinter Farms to see the field of sunflowers. Just as it did last year the sight took my breath away. With Jane being another year older we were able to venture further into the fields and we had so much fun exploring. 

Moments like these make my heart happy.

These girls sure love their Daddy.  

Kevin wanted to pretend they were sunflowers. 

Then things got silly. I smile every time I look at this photo. 

So does this one. Anna and Jane were having such a wonderful time and I can never get enough of seeing the joy in their faces when they see such beauty. 

I am not typically in the photos around our house (which I know many Moms out there can relate to since we're often taking the pictures) but I handed the camera off to Kevin for a little bit. I feel a little strange posting so many pictures of myself but here I go. Kevin is a better photographer than I am and I think these turned out pretty well. 

My goofy little Jane. She's always squeezing and grabbing people as a sign of affection. She sure knows how to make a person feel loved even if it can be a bit aggressive at times. 

There are moments when Anna forgets how to smile but when she remembers she can sure charm the camera. 

Our family picture. 

We were wrapping up our visit to Grinter Farms and I was pretending to come after the girls. As I took this picture I was thinking I should call out to Jane to pay attention to where she was going. Before I could complete the thought Jane tripped and bit the dust....hard. 

Luckily Daddy was there to scoop her up and I took a few pictures. 

Once Kevin determined it looked worse than it was he proceeded to take more photos. 

We did get a few looks as we snapped away but it is worth it. We wiped up the dirt and blood back at the car and it was mostly just a bruise and small cut on her head. 

Despite the injury it was a fantastic outing and I'm thrilled we made it out a second year in a row. This may be one of my favorite traditions that we've begun and I look forward to next year.