Fall Break Trip to Texas

Matt and Abbie feeding the dolphins!

Abbie, Sophie, & Matt by the dolphins.

Mama and Abbie are ready to ride the Shamu roller coaster!

Here we are riding the carousel.

Sophie and Abbie are ready to go!

Last week was Sophie's fall break. They were only out for 2 days but we took Sophie out of school about a day and a half early and flew to San Antonio. It was the girls' first time to visit Texas. For our first day there, we headed to Sea World. We were ready to enter the park when it opened and we headed straight for the dolphins so that we could feed them. Dolphins are Sophie's favorite animal and Matt had found out that if you want to feed them, first thing in the morning is best. You can buy little trays of fish and feed them yourself! It's not cheap to feed them but it is pretty amazing to reach out and pet a dolphin. I did it (though Matt had to handle the fish). Our girls were so excited to see the dolphins but they became kind of timid when they saw the dolphins with their mouths open wide and all of those teeth coming near them. Sophie was a little disappointed that she didn't touch one but after we had bought two trays of fish (which were gone in no time), we decided that maybe she'd have to work up her courage to do it in the future.

We had a wonderful time checking out the rides in the kiddie area, seeing some amazing shows, the girls trick or treated in the park one day, etc. On Friday afternoon, we headed over to the Davies, friends of ours from Maryland who Matt also went to college with, and we hung out with them on Friday night. They were gracious enough to let us stay with them. We didn't want to wear out their hospitality too much so we spent 2 nights with them and went back to a hotel. We went back to Sea World again on Saturday. Abbie's favorite ride was this boat ride which she was barely tall enough to ride. It's a water ride and if you asked Abbie what she wanted to do, she'd say, "the boat ride." She just loved it! It was hard for me to believe because this boat ride had a huge drop at the end.

Walden Farm-part 2

This isn't as clear as I'd like but Abbie has a big grin on her face as she blazes her own path through the corn maze.

Yes, it's staged! I grew up with Shelly (Reeves) Walden who married into the Walden family. Matt wanted to get into the tractor. She told him that he could drive it but we just snapped the picture. Matt actually rode on the pumpkin train though with the kids.

Abbie climbed up hay mountain.

We all had a great time at the farm! The girls both had their faces painted and Sophie did a little sand art necklace.

Walden Farm

Look how tall the girls have gotten!

baby calves

our family

The girls are heading into the corn maze!

The first weekend in October was a wonderful weekend for us! Friday afternoon, we decided to be brave and take both girls to see the movie Dolphin Tale. Abbie had to go to the bathroom no less than 3 times during the movie and she had a hard time being still but the movie itself was good. It was probably a little slow for Abbie but Sophie loved it! Matt and I were able to see Winter, the dolphin, in person almost 4 years ago when we visited Florida. Uncle Phil met us at the movie and then we had pizza with Nana and Paw-paw afterwards.

On Saturday morning, we decided to head to Walden Farm. The girls enjoyed the mazes, had fun riding the pumpkin train, seeing the animals, playing on the playground equipment, etc. It was a little chilly but at least the sun was out. Nana met us at the pumpkin farm. Afterwards, we headed to Martin's BBQ for lunch. That afternoon,we stopped by LifeWay for kids day (Aunt Patti works there), ran a quick errand or two, attempted to rest, and then played outside.

Virginia vacation slide show

This is a slideshow of pictures from our vacation to Virginia with Matt's family in July.

My Big Girl

Abbie on her "new" used bike

In the last couple of weeks, Matt and I realized that Abbie needed a bigger bike. Recently, she would find a bike at Toys 'R' Us or Wal-Mart and start riding around the store on it. She had also started riding Sophie's bike (with no fear and looking pretty confident) recently. At first, I thought that we could wait until Christmas but she has really been into riding a bike lately. So, instead of buying a new bike the same size as Sophie's (since she's not quite ready for the next level), I suggested that we look at consignment sales or garage sales. Matt, being the good husband that he is, went out early last Saturday morning to a consignment sale and found this bike for Abbie. She is so proud of it! After all, it's purple (her favorite color) with princesses and a basket, it has a bell on the handle and a hand brake. At first, she had no fear but she has become more cautious after a couple of falls where she wanted to be independent but didn't know how to stop. We'd have to run to catch up with her and once I didn't quite catch her in time!

Bella Rustica

Sophie riding a horse

Abbie's turn on the horse

the girls pose for a picture

Abbie's pushing Sophie on the tire swing!

Last weekend, we were trying to get a couple of things done in the morning and then Sophie had some birthday parties to attend in the afternoon. However, we had a little time in the middle of the day so we headed just down the road to Bella Rustica, a fundraiser for Agape at a local farm. They were having a big barn sale and one of my friends was selling some of her children's clothes so we stopped by. Abbie was especially looking forward to riding a horse for the first time! Sophie was a little unsure (she's ridden horses before but it's been a while) but she decided to ride one. It was a beautiful day for the sale and the girls enjoyed riding on the tire swings. There was live music and people were selling all kinds of things at the sale. I didn't buy anything but I had a good time browsing around and running into some people I knew.

San Francisco-part 2

us with the cable car

Matt and Paula-Muir Woods

                                                               Chinatown

We had so many good pictures from our trip that it's hard to narrow it down.  I just thought I'd share a few more with you.  Matt took his new camera on the trip and we got some awesome shots!