Dave's Pumpkin Patch ~ 2013

We did manage to squeeze in a trip to our local pumpkin patch before Halloween.  We are lucky to live 5 minutes from a pretty cool one, so a Sunday night trek was totally doable.  Plus I got a Groupon so had to use that!

Emmie was more than happy to let her brothers bury her in corn kernels.

And then she decided to take a nap all snuggled up in corn...

Corn Angels

San Francisco Kite Flying Weekend

The first weekend after school let out for the summer, we created a list of things we wanted to do before summer ended.  We have been systematically checking things off but needed to hurry up and get several things checked off this weekend.  So, we decided to head to San Francisco, fly a kite, see Kirby Cove, and feed some ducks while we were there! Cheri came with us and we headed to Chrissy Field and Golden Gate Park for the day.

Earlier this weekend we camped in the backyard so all we have left is the ice cream from an ice cream truck - which is surprisingly harder than you might think to complete! 

Ducks fed - check!

Picked a flower for Mommy - such a gentleman! 

Handsome rock climber.

Awesome kite flying action.

Handsome curly-cue!

Why wait for a windy day in Sac when you can head to SF and fly a kite with this view?! 

There is no way we could go to Golden Gate Park without visiting its famous playground.
Logan slid down the concrete slide on a piece of cardboard no less than 40x.

Emmie loves the ocean!

My flip flop broke so I was pretty useless - not a lot of shoe stores in the park!

Camping in the Backyard

This past weekend we ventured into the backyard for a low-key camping night with our neighbors.  Have I mentioned lately how much we love our neighbors?!  They are the best! 

Friday after school we pitched the tent, tested out the new fire-pit to cook hot dogs and s'mores, and broke out the deck of cards for a round of Old Maid.  

We originally thought an adult would accompany the kids in the tent but the boys were all about a boys-only camping night.  Sure, we were just a few feet away in the house but still it was nerve wracking for me to have the boys outside alone.  Cue the overprotective mom eye roll... but I slept on the couch downstairs with the window open so I was literally 4 feet away.  They were fine of course, and I worried for nothing of course, and I got a crappy night sleep on the couch for no reason - of course! But it was all worth it - the kids had a blast!   

Gidgit supervised and stayed with me on the couch.

LOVE this picture - it so shows how awesome this night was.
Chatting with good friends in our backyard over an open fire with s'mores - what could be better than that?!
Looking forward to more fire pit gatherings in the fall!

Art Beast

Jeff and Joey were off to their first Cub Scout Mt. Lassen Camping Trip so I had the pleasure of spending the day with my two youngest.  Determined to make the most of our day (so they wouldn't be too jealous of Joey's trip) we headed to Art Beast.  This very cool kid art studio is such a treasure!  We haven't been in a couple years so everything was new to the kids. 

Art Beast has everything a kid could need to create and use their imaginations - paint, clay, sand, play houses, instruments, the list goes on and on.

Logan set the table