Connors Farm

We love Connors Farm...they have a corn maze, jumping pillow, hay ride, cow train, tons of other activities for kids and of course PUMPKINS! Here are some pics and videos. Sydney and Maddie led the way in the corn maze for the first half, then got piggy pack rides for the second half :)

Clue #10 The Last Clue!! 

Jumping Pillow

Hayride! 

Maddie insisted on squatting on a little pumpkin :) 

More princess poses... 

Rubbing her ear means she's getting tired. Time to pick our pumpkins and head home.

Caramel Apples

I've never made caramel apples before but with all of the apples we picked I was looking for ways to use them up. I followed the recipe on the bag of caramels and then chopped pecans, reeses candy, snickers, and added marshmallows and white/milk chocolate chips. I dipped each apple in the caramel and had all of us pick to toppings to roll our apples in. They were sooo yummy!!

Apple Picking

We went apple picking at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow MA. We lucked out with the weather and the low crowds. We first bought cider donuts and enjoyed them as we made our way over to the animal farm. There we saw our friends Diane and Aubrey and their children AJ and Dominic (AJ is in Sydney's preschool class). Next we went to the apple orchards and picked 20 lbs. of Macintosh apples. These apple trees were perfect for the girls because the branches were low and wide. There were even ladders already propped against the trees for you to climb and pick more apples. In the evening we made apple crisp and the next day apple pie. The girls are enjoying helping themselves as well. Not sure how long this bag will last!!

 Maddie looking at a sheep.

Sydney sending her cup of pellets up to the goats. 

Looking at chickens. 

Meeting up with friends. 

Photo Op with the Honey Pot Bear. 

Maddie trying to get an apple. 

Our bag is full, but Maddie doesn't want to leave. She was enjoying picking flowers just as much as the apples.

Yum!!

Madeline's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe we are here. Maddie is two years old today. What a crazy, roller coaster, amazing, emotional, fun two years it has been. Maddie is a fighter and so full of love and we are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Some of her favorite things are:

Favorite songs - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, The ABC Song, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the Hello Song

Favorite Books - "The Five Little Pumpkins" "What Makes A Rainbow" "Little Bunny Foo Foo"

Favorite foods - Apples, French Toast Sticks, Mac and Cheese, Grape Tomatoes

Favorite toys - Playing ping pong (with a painting sponge and ping pong ball), dollhouse baby boy and girl, throwing/catching balloons, coloring with markers with her big sister.

Favorite characters - Minnie Mouse, Dora, Elmo, Backyardigans

Favorite sayings - "Aww Man!" "I do by self!" "I love you most"

Here are pictures from her big day...

Going to bed as a one year old...

Waking up as a two year old!!

Presents!!

Having fun in her Minnie Mouse Outfit and her birthday balloons. (She is holding her little paint sponge in her hand, she loves playing ping pong after the Backyardigan episode "Blazing Paddles")

Laying with a tired Mommy. I had a take a cat nap to gear up for the rest of the day.

Elmo Cake.

Enjoying cake with with our courtyard.

Yummy! 

Birthday dinner at a Japanese Steakhouse. It's a family tradition!!

Summer Bash

This afternoon Hanscom AFB had their Heroes Homecoming/Summer Bash to celebrate and give thanks to those who have returned home from deployment this year. We go every year and we always have a great time. They have food, rides for the kids and music. We had dinner first, then hit the rides and finished with fried Oreo's YUM! Maddie was big enough to ride on a few rides with Sydney which was too cute to watch :) It was great running into friends, including Sydney's preschool friends. The closeness of the families on this base is so strong, I'm so thankful to be a part of it. 

Father's Day 2011

Father's Day started out with French Toast with Challah Bread and fresh sliced strawberries at Andrew's request. I wrapped Andrew's gifts with white easel paper and wrote "Happy Father's Day" on each. While I made breakfast, the girls sat together and decorated each gift with stickers and markers. The girls gave him new gym shorts for biking/running and two short-sleeved dress shirts for school this summer. In the afternoon we went to Russell Farms for their Strawberry Festival. It was so much fun, much more than I had anticipated. It wasn't crowded and there were plenty of strawberries to pick. Sydney had her face painted and Maddie got a pink balloon puppy from the "balloon man." We took tons of photos so I'll post them below. I'll post the videos in a separate entry below this one.

Eating Strawberry Shortcake and listening to a local bluegrass band play.

 Hayride to the Strawberry fields!