Day at Stoner's Farm

For the past few years, we have started going to Stoner's Farm Festival with Ty and Tammy.  Last year we also had Bethany and Alexis meet us there too.  This year, Tammy called and since Troy was off with his shoulder due to recent surgery, he was going to go along.  This of course had Micah deciding he was going too, so we took a Sunday afternoon and started on our way.  We went to Milky Way first, because we all love the food there.  Then we headed to the Farm.  Once we got there, while waiting in line for the hay ride, we saw that a little girl from Ava's class in school was there.  She played with Ava and then they sat beside each other on the hay ride. Her name was Malorie. 

After the hay ride, we wondered on over to the small petting zoo, which was most def. Ava's favorite part.  She seemed to really love the animals and so did Ty.  They had baby calves, rabbits, pigs, ducks, peeps, goats and much more.  The kids loved the opportunity to hold the animals.

Probably the highlight of the entire day though was the fantastical awesome duck racing pumps.  The kids would pump the water as fast as they could and as they got the water to move, the ducks would float down the piping and end up on the other end where another kid would pick them up and send them floating back.  The majority of our day was spent with this idea.  The kids loved it. 

Grandma and Pappy's Pumpkin Patch

So, we usually go to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins, but this year, Grandma and Pappy decided to plant their own pumpkin patch.  The kids were so excited about having their very own pumpkin patch to get pumpkins for FREE.  They thought it was great that EVERY TIME they came to see Grandma and Pappy, they could go and pick out another pumpkin.  Grandma then helped them to actually just draw on the pumpkins rather than the mess of carving them. :)  It worked out for this year at least.

Orbisonia Train Ride with the Family

I know I am extremely behind in my posts, but life lately has been a tad bit elevated in my list of "things to do"  However, blogging is therapeutic for me, so I am focusing on the many blessings in my life.  I want to take us back to September 25, this year.  Micah's mom and dad wanted to take Christian on a train ride in Orbisonia, and so we finally had the date set.  After church we met his parents back at our house and started on our way. We were planning to stop to eat at Milky Way.  What Micah didn't know was since it was his Birthday, his parents had let the rest of the family know so they all met us up there to eat with us and surprise him.  He even got a donut with a candle for his birthday. :)

My goof ball of a hubby, Happy 33rd sweet schmookums!!

After lunch, we headed to the train station and bought our tickets.  The boys were having fun hanging out and the kids were so excited.  We snapped many pictures but the best was of the kids with their tickets standing with the conductor.  Christian was determined to give the conductor that ticket. :)

It was a gorgeous day and the weather was amazing.  The ride was smooth and the train whistle was a joy to Christian every time they blew it, which seemed to be pretty often.  Christian sat with Pappy most of the ride and Ava actually fell asleep on the way back.  She curled right up on the train bench and slept.

We had a short pit stop at a little park and picnic area.  We managed to get a lady to take a quick picture of us on the train, with our group.  It was a great day.

Doe Re MEEEEE. . .. Micah Shoots a Doe

Micah has been hunting in his favorite spot in Westminster, Maryland and he called me one morning to say he had shot a nice big ol' doe.  I was excited for him and the kids couldn't wait till he got home to tell the story and show off the trophy from the hunt.

I absolutely love how excited the kids are about the entire process. Last year, Micah shot a small fawn, that he had misjudged on how large it was from his angle in the tree.  The funny part was when he brought it home, as he was already embarrassed and cutting up the small thing, Ava and Christian observed the whole thing.  Finally, after awhile, Ava said, "daddy, you really should wait till it grows bigger."  He was mortified and made me promise not to post any pics last year.  Now, a year out, he has let quite a few deer pass him by with the thought process of "would Ava approve?"  On this big ol' doe, she def. approved.  She was very proud as you can see with her faithful hand on her daddy's shoulder above.

Ava was so proud of her self as she coined the phrase, "lets call this meat. . . DOE MEAT."  She was so excited and she corrects us anytime we refer to it as deer meat.  . . . nope, it is DOE MEAT.  Last year, as they were watching the process, Christian was gagging and making awful sounds from the sight and smell.  This year, he was much better.  He even was taking pictures with his toy camera.  This was a fun day activity for all the family.

Personal Pan Pizza - Book It Returns

I bet we all remember when we were able to participate in a program in school called "Book It."  We had to read books, have our parents sign off that we did so and then we would bring home a small coupon for a free personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut. I remember because this was one of the rare times we got to eat out, when Ryan and I would earn our Personal Pan Pizza Coupons.  Great memories from my childhood.  So, you can imagine my excitement when Ava came home with her first Book It Pizza coupon. I was immediately taken back to the early years of my childhood.

Being who I am, I had to capture our first time going to Pizza Hut and getting her own Personal Pan Pizza.  She was quite excited about it.  We of course, bought Christian one too, but I had to put this blog up just because it was a great memory for all of us.

Daddy's Little Jogger

Ava loves to Jog.  She loves exercising and feeling big and so when we are in our healthy kicks and wanting to jog or exercise, she is always right along side us, trying to keep up.  So at this particular time of the year, Micah was attempting to get back into jogging.  He had gotten out of his routine because he had injured his knew playing softball this summer and it took a good while to heal up correctly.  I myself had done some jogging with the BEAN and she can keep up with me for to the stop sign and back.  So when daddy said he was jogging, she went and got all ready so she could go along.  She begged him and so he finally gave in, because THAT is what daddy's do for little girls. 

He decided to do the loop which isn't real far, but it is far for a 5 year old.  She was ready and they made good time. I happened to catch them just as they were rounding the corner toward our house.  She saw the house and sped up to look as though she had been keeping this pace the whole time.  I later heard that she had actually done really good endurance wise, but they had stopped to walk a little bit of the way.  When she got back in, she was huffing and puffing and making a huge show of it.  SO funny.  Then daddy snuck away for his REAL jog.  :)

Micah's MD 7-point / 2011

Micah got a 7 point buck in Maryland with his bow.  He was really proud to show our kids and they were really anticipating seeing it too.  It was funny, but when I got off the phone with him, I told the kids that daddy had shot a big ol' buck and was on his way home to show them.  Christian ran to get in his HUNTING shirt and said, "I need My camera!!"  Yup, he is my boy.  I guess he has heard me say that a time or two.  I posted some pictures of the kids as they celebrated with daddy about his dear.  We had to get little Jamie Blue Eyes in there too for it was his first experience of hunting trophies.  He looks thrilled as you can see.

I really love the kids on this one and Micah's face as he is watching them check out his deer. :)  His mom and dad came up to see us that day too and to check out his new deer.

 

Happy Birthday To Us!!!. . .The Crowdtap Way!

Well, Crowdtap did it again. I was able to participate in another of the Old Navy Sample shares through the crowdtap website I currently use. This will be the third sample share I have been able to participate in and when you participate, you get great stuff free!!! Yup, FREE!!! If you are not a part of this awesome website, you should be.  The link you need to go to sign up is . . . http://www.crowdtap.com/  When you become a member you get to join in on discussions to win points, share your opinion and even win cash.  Depending on how you do, you get opportunities to get involved in many sample shares too, which as you can imagine, are my favorites. :)

Okay, so back to the sample share.  I got a packet sent in the mail with a coupon for me and a coupon for a friend of my choice to each get a pair of compression old navy pants and an air dry shirt for working out.  The only thing we were required to do was to show up at Old Navy the week of the sample share, pick out our outfit and take it along with our coupon to the front register.  That's it!!!

Here they are. . . the best Birthday presents ever. 

Okay, then to decided who to take along.  Well, not a hard choice.  I have a sister in law that is more like a sister and her birthday is literally not even 10 days after mine.  So, no brainer, we decided to take a birthday get away.  We are both stay at home mommies and though we love our jobs more than anything, we also love to get away sometimes.  Old Navy and Crowdtap made that possible without costing us anything but two iced coffees (brought my sweet sister in law) and the gas to get to the store.  To say we were a tad excited was an understatement.

So first we went and found our section of clothes that the sample share was for and that was the active wear section.  We grabbed lots of different styles to try on and then off went to the dressing room to reveal what we truly looked like in these pants that were so cute while on the rack.  :)  As we were trying on our different outfits, we then had to capture the moment on film.  So right there and then, we modeled for each other in the dressing room aisle in front of the mirrors.  Were people looking at us oddly you ask?  Well, yes as a matter of fact they were, but hey we were having fun and living it up.  So we didn't mind TOO much. I even put on a Zumba show for Brianna, as she shot some video of the whole event. :)

okay, so the stupid computer won't let me upload the pictures so I have to add the videos.  Don't laugh and don't judge. :)  I was ZUMBAING.  Love me some ZUMBA.  Blepps, I will respect your wishes and not upload your video though I can't stop laughing at it. :) You are hysterical.

My sister in law, Blepps, chose the pink color with Gray accents. I loved the pants on her.  She looked great in them.  She too finds them to be very comfortable and wears them lots, like I do.  We opted to go for the different colors so we could trade some. :)

She really was dancing for the camera, like I requested, but she told me I was not allowed to post these videos. :) So I posted some pics. Love you Blepps!!  Look at her though, she is the perfect person to model this outfit.  She looks fabulous in the outfit and it is something that makes us both feel more motivated.

We bought the outfits, or should I say, OLD NAVY gave us the outfits and then we walked out of there like little school girls, laughing and giggling with excitement.  What a great birthday day and we are truly appreciative to Old Navy for their Generosity.