can't resist a leaf pile

happy birthday grandpa!

Ev and Em's grandpa always gets the short stick having his birthday on Halloween. So we like to celebrate with the family a day or two in advance. This year we made a killer carrot cake!

October dahlias

October is the most spectacular month for dahlias in Oregon. Check these out from the Gorge White House. So lovely!

fruit loop fun

We hit the Fruit Loop south of Hood River last weekend. We love to stop at the orchards and stock up on apples, pear juice, and pumpkin butter. This year we found a place where you can cut your own table grapes. Yum! They were tiny and delicious! We are still nibbling them.

The fruit loop is so beautiful with rolling hills, miles of orchards, and pretty misty fog the morning we visited. Fruit loop forever!

spending time on the ipad

Having access to an itouch, iphone, and iPad means there is always a way to fill time. My latest favorite app is Instagram - super fun way to play around with pictures.

4 little pixies

By shear luck, we have four little four year-olds on our street - little pixies that like to run around together. I'm so happy for Ems to have these sweet friends so close by.

fall porch

The best part about our new porch, besides having an outdoor room to hang out in, is the possibilities around decorating. This weekend I put together the fall scene - haybale, corn stacks, pretty grass, pumpkins, flowers, gourds, and even a gravestone or two. Such fun!

living large at the pumpkin patch

We have a fall to-do list that includes fun things like make carmel apples, have a photoshoot in a leaf pile, drink fancy coffee drinks, etc. This past weekend we checked a bunch off the list - corn maze, pumpkin patch, hayride, and decorate with pumpkins. And though it's hard to admit, the corn maze beat us. We couldn't find the true end and skipped out through another entrance. Maybe next year.

sleepover

Em's had her first sleepover with best friend Margaret. They played and played and cuddled into bed. Em's said, "Actually, at sleepovers you are supposed to stay up all night." When I told her that was for when you are older, Margaret piped up, "Yeah, like 16." So they followed their 4 year-olds' need to sleep and were out by 9:30pm. Em would like Margaret to stay over every night now.

soccer!

Soccer fever has taken over our house. After one bad preschool soccer class, E never wanted to try it out again. But his good buddy J is a soccer star and convinced him to give it a try. And he LOVES it! In fact, our whole house really loves soccer - fall mornings with coffee, super talented boys, and E's natural ability to boot the ball way down the field makes us all soccer crazy.