Botanical Gardens Fall Festival - 2013

We decided to keep away from the large pumpkin farms this year and instead get our pumpkins at the smaller fall festival held at the Botanical Gardens.  The fact that you can have beer and wine at this festival did not sway us one bit :-).  We joined up with some friends from Isla and Drew's school and enjoyed the nice fall weather in Boise.

Only in Idaho do they have a fake cow that the kids can take turns milking.  It was quite the hit:

Isla and Kyle looking at the trains.  Not sure what was going on in this picture as I was trying to keep Drew from riding on the model trains:

Taking in the view from the new tree house:

Add of course, painting their pumpkins:

Which the squirrels have already decimated.  Halloween pictures to come!  

Isla Turns 5!

I can't believe I have been a Mommy for five years already.  My sweet Isla turned 5 a couple of weeks ago and is quickly becoming a big girl.  We went shopping for new clothes the other day and she was sooooo into it.  She wanted to try on all the clothes we had picked out for her in the dressing room and with every new piece of clothing she tried on she would look at herself in the mirror and strike a pose.  It was so darn cute and I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes.  I want to keep her little for a bit longer.

Isla is still quite shy around those she doesn't know well and is very loyal to her friends.  She loves to play with her babies and have a school day with them complete with projects.  If this girl is not a teacher I will be surprised!

She has a couple of sayings right now that crack me up.  She calls her hair conditioner her air conditioner and her cup holder in her car seat her cup folder.

I wasn't with Isla on her birthday either, but again, my family made her feel extra special on her day (even while her brother was stricken with a stomach flu):

Happy Birthday my baby girl (you will ALWAYS be my baby girl even though you don't like me to call you that), I love you!

Drew Turns 3!

Say it ain't so that my baby boy is three.  Actually I really dread this age as it has proven to be the hardest so far with our kids.  It's good thing this boy is cute as can be as he is showcasing some major attitude and some huge temper tantrums.  But along with the bad there is some good - he still has the best laugh and a great sense of humor.  He also has a great imagination that keeps him playing outside by himself for long periods of time.  He also entertains me with some of the best car/train/animal noises I have ever heard.

I unfortunately wasn't able to be with my kids on their actual birthdays this year.  It was really hard, but I got through it knowing they were with people who love them as much as I do (grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins).  I'm sure Drew didn't miss me as much as I missed him:

 Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!  I'm so blessed to be your Mommy.