Fall is Here and We're Lov'in It !!

It is no secret that Fall is simply my favorite time of year...the cooler temps that encourage that comfy old sweatshirt and pair of jeans to come out of hiding and the beauty of the leaves and mums just simply make it all the better. 
I also love all of the fun fall festivals and activities that encourage us to be outdoors to enjoy the beauty of the season!

The girls have been enjoying it this year as well :)
Here are a few of my favorite pics of the season so far...

The girls LOVE getting their faces painted and during our visit up to North East last week, they were able to get these incredible face masks done at a local fall festival...

We also decorated pumpkins, made sand art, played with these fun bubble guns and, of course...went on a wagon ride ~



Another favorite part of this season involves football and we, of course, watched and rooted for the Steelers during their game on Sunday (Papa actually got to go to the game, so the girls celebrated with him when he got home).



The day after we got home from our visit to Grandma & Papa's...we enjoyed an evening at the Mechanicsburg Halloween Parade.  We were surprised to run into Aunt Laura, Uncle Matt & Autumn there and spent some time hanging out with them before the parade began.



However, once it was time for the parade to begin...Alexia partnered up with her friend, Leeann, and the two of them and Megan were ready to scramble for some candy!

This was our first year going to the parade as a family and we had a great time!

Alexia was certainly a strong competitor for getting her share of candy...check out this move...she wasn't messing around!

Megan definitely held her own in getting some candy, but was also interested in the parade itself...the things I thought might be "scary" to her were actually things that she thought were "silly."



"LOOK ... DADDY!!  I GOT CANDY!!"

Both girls were very considerate of each other and often "shared" or gave some of their candy to the other one.  Those moments always make a Mama proud...especially when I don't have to prompt them to do so.

Another "First" for us this year was going to Mechanicsburg's "Streets & Treats" yesterday, which is another community event where many of the downtown businesses set up games, crafts, activities and pass out candy (ya know...just in case the girls didn't get enough candy at the parade...oh my!).

Anyway, it was a good opportunity to try on their halloween costumes to make sure they fit and are ready to go for Trick or Treat night in a couple of weeks!

Alexia is going to be an "Ice Princess" this year and Megan, well...I just couldn't pass up this "Little Bo Peep" costume.

And, finally, here's the clan...headed back to the car after another fun fall activity!



Megan's Bedroom Makeover

So, a comment Megan made to me tonight reminded me that I never posted these pics (but I'll get back to that comment later...) :)

I mentioned in my last post that once Alexia's room was done, Megan was ready for her room to be redone.  She mentioned that she wanted a Dora room, so I had planned to head out this past weekend for some Dora decor.  However, last Wednesday I was able to shop at the consignment sale I participate in each season and I hit the Dora Jackpot.
So, on Wednesday evening (while the girls were at Scrimmage), I quickly added all of the Dora treasures I picked up at the sale so that Megan would have a nice surprise waiting for her when she came home.

Here's the finished project (and the incredible savings from the sale)

$5.00 for a new comforter...

$6.00 for a Dora chair... (and a bin of Dora toys, books, dolls, etc that we already had)

$3.00 for a Dora alarm clock...

& $4.00 for a Dora Light Globe (which has taken away her fear of her room at night)!!

An entire new room for less than $20...Awesome...my mom has trained me well :)

Now, back to that comment ~ As Megan was playing with her Dora guitar tonight, she turned to me and said..."Mommy, I think I want a Tinkerbell Room."  I laughed out loud and said that it would be a while before we would be able to redo her room again...well...I guess it will at least be on hold until the Spring Consignment Sale :)

Big Girl Room

We spent the afternoon today transforming Alexia's room into a "Big Girl Room"...she was very excited about this and has been waiting for this day since we first talked about doing it on her birthday. 

We started with some new curtains and a couple of new throw pillows...

And then we put on her new comforter set...which is very bright, but looks great!!

We cleaned up and rearranged some of her dressers and her bookshelf...

Here's the Big Girl herself...showing off her new room to her little sister...

And, after a long afternoon/evening of working in her room...she quickly got snuggled into bed and was ready to call it a night!!

As I was tucking her into bed...I used this opportunity to explain to her all of the "responsiblity" that comes with having a "Big Girl Room"...her response, "Don't worry, Mommy...I'm not ever going to play in my room and mess it up...it's so pretty that I always want it to look like this...I really love it...I want to keep it like this forever...really...I'm serious!"

I'm thankful she loves it so much :)

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm

Today we made our annual visit to Cherry Crest Adventure Farm and really had a great time!!
The girls and I have now been there 3 times, but today was the first time Daddy was able to go with us...so, this made our visit extra special :)

Cherry Crest is known for their "Amazing Corn Maze" and while we attempted to go through it as a family...the girls did not last very long...so Alexia, Megan and I took a quick exit out of the maze and left Daddy to fend for himself as he finished the rest of it on his own (he actually enjoyed the challenge and being able to go at a bit of faster pace)!

Here are a few pics of us while we were still together in the maze...

The weather was okay for most of the day...but we did get about an hour of rain while we were there.  So, the girls and I made the best of it inside a huge hay bin... 

Another activity that kept us busy during the rain was the girls creating their bottled Sand Art...they love doing sand art and were very focused on their creations :)

There were many other activites that they enjoyed as well...here are a few other highlights...

Cherry Crest also offers a wonderful little animal farm, where the girls enjoyed feeding and petting many of the goats, sheep, bunnies, and even a llama. 

However, what the girls enjoyed the most in the animal farm area was being able to hold the baby chicks, who were only 4 days old.

And, finally...before we left the farm...we had the chance to meet Bob & Larry from Veggie Tales...what a neat surprise...and, of course, Mommy had to get a picture :)

As a mom, I love bringing the girls to this farm each year because it is just full of simple, everyday kind of fun...none of the activities are super over-the-top, but all of them reflect a sort of "old school" fun that doesn't require crazy technology or flashing lights. 
All that is really needed is a family who loves each other and is ready to spend a fun day together...and that is what we had today...it really was a great day in my book :)

And, when asked what their favorite part of the day was...
Scott-- definitely the challenge of the maze...you can ask him about puzzle piece #2!
Alexia--jumping on the massive trampoline bounce
Megan--going down the super big slide with Daddy and Alexia (sorry, no pic..batteries died);
Mommy--spending the day with the 3 people who help make my life so complete!!