Cherry picking with Daddy.

 It seems redundant to say how much fun the girls had.  

These girls have fun what ever they are doing.

They washed them and I made dessert. 

 Swings are fun.  

Huge swings are more fun.

Huge swings off the side of a hill are the most fun.

Our favorite beach.

 Katie scaring a seagull. 

 Dinner on the jetty.

 Daddy took the girls exploring but as soon as Katie heard the word "crab" she lost it.

 She calmed down long enough to see the crab hiding from us.

 The girls love climbing on rocks but the sound of the crashing waves always scares them.

 They prefer to be held by Daddy. 

Aunt Heidi's and Carlos's Wedding.

 When Aunt Heidi found herself with out flowers down the aisle,

Emily and Katie saw a need they could meet. 

They do have a bit of experience in this area.

 They also offered to check the grounds to make sure the wedding site was secure.

It was.

 Please ignore the face that everyone is staring at the real photographer.

 Welcome to the fam Carlos!

The Carnival of Animals

 Before the show.  Games.  Double checking costumes.

 Coloring and waiting until it was the chicks turn.

 The youngest class at the ballet school.  There were a bit off in their timing which added to the performance.

Who wants a perfect row of chicks?  Not me.  The kids were great.  Katie was the youngest.  She started the class a week before her second birthday.  At 2.5 she is a rock star.  She pays attention and does just what the teacher asks. 

 Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

 Tondue.

Arabesqe.

 Tada.  The finale of the Carnival of Animals.

Thank you for the flowers Daddy!

First Day of School

 This is a bit late but I still wanted to share.

Emily was so ready for school.

We talked about it.  Drove to the preview day.

And then it finally happened.

I packed a lunch. New backpack.  Sharpened pencils. Cute eraser.

 Sister wore her best ballet outfit.

We walked her in and I tried to reassure her but she didn't need it.

It was no big deal.  So after a couple of kisses and small prayer, Katie and I left.

She loves school. 

 She does occasionally try to convince me she really doesn't like it and wants to stay home with sister and me.

 But we manage to get her to class.  No tears.  No rushing.

 Just one step at a time.  She loves to tell me all about her day.   I know this won't last forever so I eat it up.

Little Red Riding Hood x2

 This year, Little Red Riding Hood decided to ride a pony to Grandma's house.

 Her sister too.

(Capes by Rachel, of course)

 We stopped by Bates Nut Farm for a maze, hay ride and pumpkins. 

No, Colin didn't do the maze by himself.

The girls are still too short to show up.

 A hay ride through the corn fields.

 Em picks the biggest she can find.

 Katie helps Daddy. Yea right.

 We grow giant pumpkins every year.  This year was no exception.

But there was a slight problem, the pumpkins were large. 

Bigger than anything you find at the store,

but not giant enough for my husband. So we bought a couple.

Tonight we will stop by the local rest home before

Trick-or-Treating the neighborhood.

The girls and I hopped in the car late on a Wednesday evening for a quick trip to meet Kelle Hampton.

There were a ton of people there. San Diego loves Kelle. The common feeling of being among friends that you just haven't met yet was fun.  Waiting in line wasn't terrible, it was just a chance to chat with the other moms.
Emily loved that she and Ms Hampton have the same bangs.  This has become a theme as Emily is very particular about how I cut her hair.  She describes how all the girls in class have their hair trimmed.  So cute.