Harvest Festivals ::look book::

Well here we are three post days later. I'm getting quite good with that. Although, the excuse is exceptional if I do say so myself. As mentioned, this weekend was full of festivities and began on Thursday! Needless to say, I am exhausted. Nevertheless, the weekend was incredible and I'd relive it all over again. Except for the fact that I may or may not have gotten sick from all the food... literally, sick. Not that the food was by any means intolerable, just my stomach's intolerance to the over consumption. Moving on! I'm excited to share some of the highlights of this weekend. Given the amount of photos I gathered, I decided on a few look book collages. Get ready for a photo overload.

The following consists of the line for dumplings, our lunch after waiting in said line, Jess and her roasted corn on the cob, the children and the freaky pumpkin that Audriana was obsessed with, and lastly me and my girl.
A successful afternoon!

Next is our second day, split into two occasions. Earlier in the afternoon, Audriana and I met up with Jess, my mom, aunt, mother-in-law, sister-in-law. We had the usual for lunch (yes, more dumplings) and then enjoyed a few games for the little one. She attempted at the race car game, got some cotten candy and a balloon (a pretty sweet gumball machine) and lastly made her first sand art!

Second half (me in new attire, given I sweat my butt off that morning - hot!) we went back down for our last venture around the booths. Along for the final night was Chris, Audriana, my parents, my aunt and uncle. We like to make sure we take up the whole street when we walk through the crowds. Ha. Well no dumplings were consumed for this occasion, given we just had them that afternoon, but don't you worry, we already stocked up and had them in the fridge at home. This time around we enjoyed some roasted corn, pumpkin ice cream (not pictured), and apple dumplings. Mmmmm.

That concludes our Harvest Homecoming adventures!! Did you see the size of that cup? Those were the apple dumplings. Seriously, it's no wonder why my stomach ached this weekend. All worth it, though.

Next was our adventure to Gallrein Farms for another family festival. We're talking trains, hay rides, pumpkin patch, hay stack pyramids, face painting, bounce house, and pony rides - to name a few. It's open to the general public, but my husband's work reserved an area for their private party. Thank goodness for that, because in most cases that means clean bathrooms. I celebrate those little perks given my frequent potty breaks.

So moving forward from my pregnancy blatter nonsense. Here are some photos I was able to capture of our family fun day. It was a looooooong afternoon (1pm-6pm) but we survived! First we made our way to the pumpkin patch. There we found one for mommy & Papa Chris, then two of the smallest pumpkins I've ever seen for Audriana and her baby brother. :)

Next we had some lunch, and awaited the raffle drawing for prizes. No winners here, but we didn't walk away empty handed. Having children always means some sort of goodie bag. So a few candy bars later, we were now on to the general public area for more fun! 

Here the girls rode on a John Deer train, got their faces painted, rumbled around on hay stacks, and Audriana experienced her first horseback ride by herself - while I nearly had a heart attack.

So like I said... what a weekend!!! Luckily after a good bath and early bedtime, babygirl and I slept in till around 8am this morning. Much needed, at least for me. She was up and at it, ready to paint her and her brother's pumpkin! So that's on our agenda today. Oh yea, check out the size of this baby pumpkin.

They always say to count your blessings, and I certainly do everyday. I'm grateful for the opportunities God allows for days like these; beautiful weather, the gathering of friends and family. This weekend could not have been more perfect, and I find myself speechless in ways to describe my happiness.

I love my family, and I cherish these moments together. Tomorrow is never promised, so we should always be grateful for the current moments we embark on and take advantage of enjoying every second. He is good to us, and not a day goes by where I forget that.

A bunny and a festival

I wish I had an interesting prologue to lead my evening post, but given the reality that it is indeed the evening, while battling unimaginable sinus pressure, I'm doing my best to just get this thing out there. Not that it's of any less importance, because on the contrary it's about a very proud moment I experienced as a mother. This weekend, my daughter was picked to bring home her class pet!! I don't remember having a pet in our class back in the day, but my husband does. He remembers a gerbil... that apparently bit him. Whether that stands true or not, I'm sure it was a traumatic moment for him - 1, 2, 3... awwww poor Chris. That could explain why now they no longer have live animals, but stuffed ones.

Everyone, say hello to "Berrie Bunny".

When the children bring home Berrie, she comes along with a book, pillow, blanket and a journal. She is to document her adventures with each child. It's really quite adorable, and Audriana could not have been more excited to bring her home! Although, the first thing she did was put her to sleep. Apparently Berrie was in desperate need of a nap. It didn't last long, though. Since my mom picked her up from school (I had a doctor's appt for baby #2; both mommy & baby still healthy) we stayed around GiGi's house for awhile. That being said, there are many toys that remain in the living room, so Audriana had Berrie up and ready to play along! I had to document the adorable moment they were both riding on the horses.

Sadly, I do not have any photos regarding our adventures on Saturday. The entire day was spent prepping for a dinner party we hosted at our house, for my best friend's birthday! No worries, that was documented for certain. Post to follow tomorrow - on her birthday! But by the end of the night, I did capture one of her many sweet moments. Friday and Saturday night, she wanted Berrie to sleep in bed beside her. Too cute for words.

Sunday, was spent at Audriana's preschool where they had their Fall Festival. All families were invited to attend their chapel service, and witness the glorious moment of our preschoolers singing songs! For a couple weeks now, Audriana has been singing a song nonstop (with sign language) so we knew what was to come. However, we certainly did NOT see SOMETHING to come........ Audriana wouldn't go up on stage. She completely froze. My poor girl takes after her mommy in more ways than one, evidently that being stage fright. I wasn't upset, but we were sad she didn't want to participate. She was perfectly content in the pew with Berrie.

Nonetheless, after chapel service she was back into her old self. We spent the afternoon playing games at the Fall Festival. While Audriana stayed busy, Berrie tagged along with mommy in her purse. I imagined she preferred that over being on the floor. Here's a couple candids of Audriana doing her thang while rocking one of the most impressive balloon hats I've ever seen!

  Unfortunately, today we had to send Berrie back to school. Audriana did really well taking care of her; I was really proud. She showed responsibility, as much as one can at 4 years old. Ha. I just love these special moments. "Thanks, Berrie Bunny for making my child feel so special!" .... I'm talking to a stuffed animal. Goodness, I need to get some rest.