Random acts of Fall
We've been working hard on our Fall Bucket list. Hot chocolate, stargazing, leaf raking/jumping, bike riding, making pumpkin treats, seeing friends...it's been great. E can spend more time outside now that the mosquitos are gone for the season.
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| Leaf Pile Action! |
Belvedere Plantation
When the girls were small, we'd bring the wagon and pull both. Last year, they both walked the whole time--amazing! This year, with Elena's crouch issues, I brought our double jogger stroller. Not a great fit...but neither is her wheelchair. If anyone has a good suggestion for a mobility solution when terrain is too challenging for a wheelchair, and can accommodate two small kids, please comment. Both E and Viv are close to 40 lbs, FYI.
Anyway, we had an awesome time as usual! Here are some of my favorite pictures!
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| Vivian insisted on standing on a little hill |
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| Fam Sunflower picture! |
We tried to do EVERYTHING this year--last year we ran out of steam for the corn maze. With the stroller, Elena and Vivian lasted longer. Elena had trouble in some of the same areas--keeping her feet on the tractor bike pedals, trying to get on the bouncing pillow. We had some successes too, like navigating deep hay and getting a running start on the zipline.
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| Viv has a bit of a competitive streak |
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| E loves the zipline |
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| Ready Aim FIRE! |
Both girls had a chance to fire the pumpkin cannon. Vivian was the first one to hit the target! She won a free bag of kettle corn! Elena was chosen to fire the BIG cannon (they pick one child per hour)--and hit the target too, winning us another bag! They were the only kids I saw there to win!
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| Falling off the ropeswing into the hay |
Vivian was chosen to be our guide for the corn maze. She definitely got us lost. Lucky for us, Elena thought it funny (instead of being too tired to see the humor) and we all had fun as evening came.
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| Where's Vivian? |
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| My Pumpkins |
Halloween
I let the kids pick their costumes. Normally they pick ones that go together, and this year was no exception. Even though I am a classic Star Wars Nerd, I had no influence in their choices. Yes, they are homemade--Viv's is mostly cardboard and paint (she refused to model for me, so the headpiece didn't fit on quite right) and Elena's is recycled plastic and paint, put on like armor with painted duct tape. It worked out better than I expected! No headpiece on Elena--I figured it wouldn't work out with her glasses, and this took so long to put on I didn't have time to put gold makeup on her face and make her crutches black. No big deal.
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| E is C-3PO and Viv is R2D2 |
I expected Elena to last about an hour (previous years it was 2 hours), and she surprised me. Again, 2 hours, and again, no carrying!
Vivian's Birthday!
Vivian had her 6th birthday (!) celebration! She chose a Fairy theme, so we made Fairy houses, played outside, and had a mini scavenger hunt. Everyone enjoyed good food and great company and lots of playtime.
Dear Vivian,
Happy 6th birthday to you, my little ball of entropy! You love fairies, legos, Barbie, and computer learning games. You love being in Kindergarten, even though you read like a second-grader! You are so helpful at home, and patient with the rest of the family (most of the time!). Your favorite colors are still purple, pink, and white (in that order) and you want to be a veterinarian when you grow up! You love baby animals, especially four-legged furry ones of all types. You can't wait to lose your first tooth, and are looking forward to the cold weather. I promise I will get you into a dance class as soon as I can!
We love you to pieces, sweetie darling!
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Elena
