Beautiful Day at the Farm

Fiona and I had our own little field trip today. Yesterday we were early picking up Luli and because it was nice out we decided to take a stroll around the farm, even though it was really muddy and Fiona insisted on her maryjane's that morning. There are a ton a baby animals on the farm and Fiona was loving it. She was far more excited about the animals than Luli ever was. It was hard to tear her away yesterday so I promised we'd come back today with our galoshes and have more fun with the animals. And fun we had! It was so much fun to tour the farm and see her reaction to all the babies. She would say "awww baby, Hi BABY!" and "awww Mama, Hi Mama." She did get mad that the animals wouldn't say hi back and I tried to explain that they spoke a different language and just may not understand her. Her favorite was definitely the Big Mama Pig and all her babies. She told me the wolf (lobo in Spanish) couldn't blow down the pigs barn, and she seemed pretty happy about that. Then she told the pigs the story of the "Three Little Pigs." Her version goes something like this-- "pig little pig" "not hair my chinny chin chin." We toured all the animals and did return to the pigs just to see them once more, and say good bye. Time for the obligatory tractor picture! Finally off to the playground where we found a few people we knew :)

Busy Saturday

This Saturday was a very busy day for us, but LOTS of fun! In the morning we went apple picking at Hartland Orchards with our friends. The weather was absolutely perfect for apple picking.The girls loved running through the trees, climbing the trees and picking apples. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in the orchard and then Luli and Hannah were climbing the trees. They both got rather daring and tried to climb as high as they could. It was really adorable to watch them! Fiona really wanted to climb too and we helped her into a few branches.

After we picked enough we ventured to the hayride. I didn't expect to actually ride it because when Luli rode on a hayride at camp this summer she apparently freaked out the entire time. This time both girls loved it. When the hayride was over we filled up our apple bag with a few Fuji apples (we couldn't find those trees). The orchard was also making their cider right then so we watched the process, and then saw they were also starting the process of making apple butter...YUM!

We bought some cider and regrettably did not buy any apple butter.

We got home for naptime, and then immediately Oscar and I started work on the apple cake we were bringing to dinner at our friends Jeanine and Keshav's house. The cake was a lot of work but it was well worth it, not only did it look great, it tasted great too! We played on the playground with Abhi and wore all the kids out so they ate dinner pretty well. Poor Abhi didn't have an afternoon nap so he was very sleepy. Our girls did well staying up until 9:30pm, they were pj'd and toothbrushed before we left and fell asleep before we were out of the neighborhood.

It was a busy day, but so much fun!

Raspberries

Today we went to Hicks Farm and picked fall raspberries. It was a great time and the girls really enjoyed it. Not only did they have so much fun, they ate a ton of raspberries and were in terrific moods. Pahpah came with us and enjoyed the picking and fun of the girls also. There was no one else there, we were the only pickers. Which was really great! The weather was beautiful, maybe a little hot but really a lovely morning. The girls were great about only picking really red berries, and never once complained about the tiny thorns. Luli commented:"Mommy these are so DElicious" emphasis on DEEE. I asked her if she had more berries in her pail or in her tummy, she said pail. Pahpah and I both laughed out loud on that one! She had about four in her pail, and I was certain a good 20+ had already entered the tummy. Nearing the end, Fiona handed me her pail and said "car." Taking the hint, we went into the store and looked at the model (really large) train that circles through the ceiling of the store house and around the donut making area, pretty cool. Fiona loved it so much she walked around with her head tilted back so she could see, and even tried walking backward for a continuous view. Then as a treat we all got apple cider donuts to enjoy on the car ride home.

We've been having a great time and enjoying the pool almost every day. Fiona has a one track mind on the pool! We checked on the fairy house the day after we made it and would you believe? A fairy has started living there! We can tell because she left behind crumbs from her dinner and fairy dust is all over the place. The girls are really excited they were able to build a home for a nice fairy, if only they could catch a glimpse of her.

Other than that we've been enjoying the backyard, it is great for chase, and Fiona is regularly asking someone to "play catch." Remarkably the girls are going to bed at 7:45pm every night and waking at 7:15am! Though the past few days Luli hasn't napped and the evening does become a bit challenging.

On for tomorrow is raspberry pie making and my cousin Sue's Bachelorette party. I've also posted all of our photos from the past couple days in the album. Enjoy!