FALL is HERE!

We always have fun with our friends Lynn and Grace!  This year we hit another pumpkin farm!

Mapleside Farms hosts an annual Pumpkin village loaded with Fall activities for the kids.  We spent at least 3 hours experiencing everything we could.

A little water pumping to get the ducks moving up and down the ramps.  What great science!

 Always our favorite ride....the piggies!  The pigs are pulled by a giant tractor that drives crazy.  Even the parents had a chance to go on this adventure.  A bit bumpy for Lynn and I but, the kids LOVED it!

 Mapleside was full of apples.  these girls each picked out a honeycrisp to eat in between events!

 Time to jump and burn some energy!

This slide was huge and more fun than you can imagine.  Of course, the hardest part is climbing back up the hill to go down again!

Happy FALL!   

Soccer Season #1

We have always encouraged soccer at this household considering Dawson's dad was a Division 1 National Champion in college and her sister has played competitively for years!  The answer has always been NO WAY!  

 There's no giving up at this household so, dad continued to ask each season and got a surprise YES!  He was shocked but, we signed her up right away. 

 Our first practice was a tearful ride to the field.  Once on the field, there was an instant turnaround and an "I love soccer" mom right away!

 The season consists of 7 outdoor games with coed teams.  Her team consisted of 3 girls (all from her school) and 7 boys.  A little different for the girls since they go to an all girls school!  Kind of funny to see the interactions with the boys!

 I am so proud of Dawson.  She got right in there with the rest of them and gave 100% effort.  It's not easy when everyone is so much tall than you!

The funny thing about kid soccer at this age is that they all chase the ball in a cluster. 

It was a fun season and we just signed up for indoor....wondering what sport might be next???

A Late Summer Night of Music

 In the next few days, I'm going to try and catch up on my blogging!  It seems the older she gets, the busier we get and the harder it is to make the time to blog!  

Early September, we headed to Blossom Music center to hear the Cleveland Orchestra play some Disney Frozen music (along with some other Disney favorites).  

The crowds are always overwhelming on the Disney themed evenings!

 These two looked over the program to see what the night was about!

 Then, the waiting turned into some fun silliness.   All of these girls go to different schools but, always have a blast when they get together.

 And a few snacks....

 And probably one of the most fun things to do is make some creations out of glowsticks.....there's nothing better on a late summer night at the orchestra!

Good bye summer....hello Fall!

Ocean City Part 2

Ocean City was not just about the boardwalk, it was about the beach!  We spent our days in and out of the waves and our nights on the boardwalk!  Sit back and enjoy our beach photos....

Always in the water jumping the waves or riding them in on a boogie board.

 And in the morning, it was kite flying time.  There was an awesome kite store that sold so many kites for each type of person...from beginners to advanced kite flyers.  I was amazed at how fast and easy it was to get the kites up and flying

A little night time swim in her dress.  This didn't last long, I turned around to put my camera away and she was totally underwater in her dress!  I guess that's what vacation are all about!

Lots of wave jumping!

Yes, this makes me claustrophobic....she begged us to bury her every single day!  

Wonderful family memories were made in ocean city....there's nothing better than a beach vacation!

Ocean City Part 1

We wanted to go on a last minute summer vacation in August but, didn't want to fly because our dates were a bit unknown.  We decided to jump in the car and head to Ocean City with about an 8 hour drive which wasn't bad at all!  We headed there without a hotel or plans in mind.  The hotel issue was a bit challenging since just about everything was booked.  After our arrival, we found a hotel on the boardwalk and had a fun, relaxing week at the beach.

 At the end of the boardwalk, there are a few old fashioned like carnivals and rides.  The kids could not get enough of these places.  We went there two different times.  The above ride was called the "Hopper".

 The roller coaster was probably the favorite for both the girls.

 The spinning tea cups.

 Fishing for prizes.

 More carnival games with dad.

 The "Whip It" which the girls could not stop laughing on the whole time!

 The two girls loved crashing into each other on the bumper cars!

 There were some super fun mirrors.  This is the stretchy one...

 This is an old, old Haunted House ride.  It's the longest ride around at 5 1/2 minutes.  Also a bit hot, slow and bumpy....but fun!

    

   

We had a great, spontaneous trip.  Next post will be our pictures at the beach!

Baby Snow Leopords

 A summer visit to the Akron Zoo brought us some fun with some baby snow leopards.  We had to get to the zoo early and get in line just to get a peek at these cute babies.  

 On our way, we stopped to catch a glimpse of the penguins who seemed to be quite active today.

 The mom kept a close eye on her babies.  They taunted her by playing with her tail but, she seemed to be calm and just watch them.  She was very protective!!!

 As for the little ones, they just wrestled and did a lot of falling over.   Kind of like a young child learning to walk!

 A quick stop as we headed up to an area of the zoo know as Grizzly Ridge.

 The best part about this zoo is that you really can get up close to the animals.  This bear was taking a quick bath in the water.  It's amazing that you feel like you can almost touch him!