The Ladies McGurr Love the Pumpkin Farm (and their new digital camera)!

We made our first annual trek to Leeds Pumpkin Farm a few weekends ago. We went last year (which means this is the first annual, right, not the second?). Anyway, it is great fun. So, we had our plans set for Saturday morning and then Sean saw an ad saying it was Autism Day at Leeds! So, we all got in early, got in free, and they gave the girls a free pumpkin! We had to call ahead to let them know we were coming. I was not sure how we could prove that Maddie was autistic, but they took our word for it!

The farm is super fun--there is a hay ride, zip cord rides, tractors to look at, a hayloft to play in, and much more. The longer we stayed, the more comfortable Bettie got. I think her farm girl roots were showing.

At first we spent a long time in the hay barn. This was one of Maddie's favorite things. As you can tell from the smile on her face.



Bettie enjoyed the slide and playing in the hay.




Just to get her eczema and allergies all worked up, Bettie is getting ready to rub hay all over herself. I did not get as bad as I did last year--Sean reminded me that I had a very bad time with the hay last year--but I was still itchy and sneezy before we left.



Maddie mostly did this:



She ran around the perimeter of the barn on top of the hay too. By the time we did all the other fun activities, we had to go back to the barn for one last roll in the hay. The girls shed a layer of clothes by this time and everyone was getting tired.







Maddie also loved the corn barn. They have huge vats of corn where kids can play with trucks and other toys. Maddie is fascinated with it and would stay there all day if we let her.



Sean called this her CSI picture. He is sick.





Bettie was a lot more active with the corn, but also took a rest.




They both look a little spooky here, like something out of the Twilight Zone.







The also had barns with farm animals--goats, rabbits, and pigs. Bettie fed the goats, but I'm guessing she was not fond of the smell. She was watching a lot of Shaun the Sheep during the week before this, so I think she was not so sure about the goats. They are not the nicest animals on the farm.



Maddie enjoyed the rabbits. I think they reminded her of the Teletubbie rabbits.




We also posed for an official Ladies McGurr portrait (since I guess I am officially a Lady McGurr, right?)



Bettie was super energetic and loved all the action rides...like pretending to ride the tractor with Maddie:



Riding the slide:



Rode the zip cord---twice!



Riding the mini-tractor:



And jumping on a giant rounded trampoline thing:



Maddie loved the bounce thing too. She started out all wild and free...




but felt the need to put up her hood at some point. She was going gansta or something.





Next up is the KinderCare field trip to the apple farm! Here is a preview:

One of the Ladies McGurr is Not so Sure About the Tooth Fairy

Maddie lost her first tooth yesterday morning! Maddie has been upset and cranky for the last few weeks, but we are not sure this had anything to do with it. She does seem a little more cheery now that it is out.






She does not want to talk about it at all. We think she thought it might mean a trip to the dentist, so that may be why she does not want to talk about it. Anyway, it is out and the Tooth Fairy came regardless. Maddie spent her earnings on a bag of Apple Dippers.




Friday is picture day at day care, so now she will have a missing tooth and too-short bangs. She is all ready to be shamed later in life by a goofy picture.

We have a new digital camera (yeah!) and took lots of pictures at the Pumpkin farm and the apple farm that I will share soon.

The Ladies McGurr Love to Hit the Beach!

Although August is but a memory, we still have great pictures and memories of our trip to Uncle Mike & Auntie Em's cottage. Great fun was had by all. The girls, Sean, and I got to hang out with Auntie Em and Aunt 'Lissa (as Bettie calls her). We don't often all get to hang out together, so it was a special treat.

Bettie is excited, as you can tell:



We went to the beach one day. Maddie and Bettie talked about going to the beach incessantly for weeks before, so they were way excited when we actually got there. There were a few problems, mostly Maddie related. She literally wanted to run into the lake constantly. Even worse than last year. She also had a mysterious bug bites all over. The worst was on her eye. Then she insisted on eating cheese curls on the beach. This is the result:







She is not squinting. Her eyes are that swollen! She still had a grand time, though.



Sean spent most of his time trying to contain her. We built sand castles (that the girls stomped on), played in the waves, and played with sand toys.




To be honest, the beach may not have been Maddie's favorite activity. She discovered the beautiful world of Billy Bass. She loved listening and dancing to his two songs..."Don't Worry Be Happy" and "Take Me To The River." She now has them downloaded and wants them played all the time. Here she and Bettie pose with her new best friend.




She still talks about him all the time (she calls him "Fishy"). She'll ask what the fishy sings and then sing the songs for you. Next time you see her, start singing "Don't Worry Be Happy," and watch Maddie dance!

We had lots of good food to eat and the girls stayed with the Aunties while Sean and I ran away for a bit. The girls also got some free rides.



One of my favorite things was walking on the beach. You can find all sorts of cool beach glass and drift wood. Bettie was especially into this. She collected all sorts of cool stuff (with Auntie Em's help). She also used all the stuff she collected to make a special sand art project (she carefully put all of it in a water bottle with sand--a lot of sand. You can barely see the nice pieces of glass and wood she put in).




Auntie Em is really good at finding beautiful things. She also does all sorts of creative stuff with them too. The sisters Stahlman made some really cool beach glass wind chimes. I have mine hanging over the kitchen sink to catch the light and so we can see it all the time.




I think Maddie enjoyed the view more than looking for anything in particular. Here are a few pictures of the girls looking wistful the morning we left to go back to Columbus. Thank you Auntie Em and Aunt 'Lissa for a wonderful time!

Happy Gotcha Ya Day, Madeline!

We love you!

The Ladies McGurr Love the Indiana McGurrs (and Their Super Awesome Slide!!!!)

I started this post weeks ago, but Blogger has not been cooperating with uploading the pictures. So, here is our fun weekend in Indiana finally!

It was Ella's big 2nd birthday party this weekend and a fun time was had by all. We loved seeing the Indiana McGurrs, chatting, hanging out, and doing all the fun things we usually do. I have to say, though, that the girls loved the super mega slide the best though.







I liked the slide too--it was hot and the kids splashed me a lot coming down. You can see my arm in a lot of the photos. I think my favorite thing was seeing Jeremy, Courtney, Aedan, and Ella and Mrs. Corbin's potato salad.

Bettie did not actually want to get wet. I'm not sure how that is supposed to work, but someone had to hold the one water shooter down while she came down the slide. I think she was ok with getting her body wet, but not her head.





Maddie, of course, could care less. She looks like she had a pretty wild ride here.





Maddie could also chill when she needed to come down from the slide high.




It was a really fun party and great to see everyone. Somehow I have no pictures of Ella, but she looked beautiful in a special birthday dress. Bettie loved the Mickey Mouse cake when she was not whining about being wet and Maddie loved the Indiana sweet corn!

We are trying to be more aware of good places to stop with the girls--picnic spots, playgrounds, or playlands. We've been meaning to write down places on our different regular trips to Cleveland, PA, and Indiana. For example, Lodi Outlet Mall has a really nice playground, but you might not think that would be a good place to stop.

Anyway, we have not written any of this down of course. We found a new place to stop this trip---the Warm Glow candle outlet. If you have spent some time with Bettie lately, you will know she has a candle problem. When we go to the dollar store, she wants a candle. When she can buy a special treat for doing something good, she wants a candle.

She has quite a collection now spread all over her room. It REALLY smells like Yankee Candle Co. in there. My favorite is a square candle that Aunt Sarah gave her (with no scent!) She has one that is so strong that it makes me want to faint just smelling it. We don't light any, of course, but she likes to just have them around.

We have joked that we should stop at the giant candle before, but we actually did this time on the way back. You can get a drink, some ice cream or a little something to eat, and walk carefully through the store (lots of breakables). There were tons of candles for Bettie and pumpkins for Maddie to look at.

It takes her forever to pick out a candle. She wants to smell every possible one. I've spent more time in Wal*Mart and the dollar store sniffing and discussing candles that I care to admit.

Maddie thought the place was pretty fun, but it was not a pumpkin outlet.



Here is a pic of Bettie in her element. I think she thinks she is going to be on America's Next Top Model or something. She got a candle (of course!) and a butterfly lollipop. That is a big score for her. Maddie does not look as pleased with her choice.

The Ladies Love Their New House (but Might Love the Splash Zone More)!

We have been very busy lately, moving, visiting, being visited, and being obsessed with Peter Pan (Bettie) and Veggie Tales Jonah (Maddie). We finally have everything moved, out of storage, and are now home owners again (well, kind of--I guess we are mortgage holders again).

We were not sure how the girls would react to having their own rooms, but they have done really well. The only time Bettie wanted someone to sleep in her room with her (she wanted the dog to), was when she was not so sure about the live action Peter Pan movie she saw.

We have attempted to take some change of address type pics for weeks. We finally have them printed and ready to go, but not sent out yet of course. Here are some of the pics we rejected. None of them were that great--don't even get me started on Bettie's attire. One girl or the other always looked away from the camera.....

Or my bright idea to take a picture under a big tree in our back yard.....




We eventually settled on one inside. Here are a few of the rejects....

Bettie actually wore this outfit to Wal-Mart when we took the pics to get printed. I am just hoping everyone thought it was some sort of Christmas in July prank. Maddie was fine with wearing the nice outfit I picked out for her.

We also got a small pool so we could have some back yard fun before the summer is over. They have water day at day care every Tuesday, also known as the easiest day to get them to go to day care. They don't have a pool there, but seem to have an intricate succession of sprinklers and hoses. Regardless, it is the highlight of Maddie's week. But, she likes swimming in the back yard too, as you can see.

Well, swimming in the back yard was fun until Sean made the Splash Zone discovery. We live near a quaint downtown area that has all sorts of cute shops, restaurants...you know the drill. Most of the other part of the neighborhood is "quaint" McMansions, but whatever. They do have a very cool Splash Zone that is free to residents. So, even the people from the other side of the tracks (this means us) can come have fun. When Sarah and Chris came to visit us we thought it would be a great time to try it out.




As you can tell, the girls loved it! It was really nice and not that crowded since the day was overcast. Bettie was not into getting wet, but she loved spraying people with the water gun. Luckily, some clever engineer rigged it so it would not spray people behind you (in other words, you can't spray your parents or uncles and aunts).



Maddie spent the whole time running around or just standing and staring. It blew her mind!



I think after a bit it was all too much for her, so it was not as hard to get her to come home as we feared it would be.



Maddie has been having problems in day care, but she is still doing really well with communication. She has started making random observations, which makes us very happy and also makes us laugh. On our way home from day care today, we passed a teenager riding his bike. It was humid out, so he had his shirt off. Maddie sees him and says "There is a naked guy riding his bike!" I know, he was not really naked, but it was really funny. When Bettie wanted to play outside with Dad this evening, and Maddie wanted him to stay inside, Sean asked her who was going to watch Bettie if Daddy stayed inside. Maddie told him "Peter Pan."

We have all sorts of fun things to do. We are not that far from our old apartment, so we have all that fun stuff, plus new fun stuff. So, do the in thing and come and visit! You will only have to watch Peter Pan and Veggie Tales 5 times a piece.

The Ladies Love Their Grandpa

This picture is from this past Christmas when Grandpa and Grandma came to visit. One of the very few occasions when both girls are smiling and looking at the camera.



Grandpa and Grandma also came to visit this summer at our new house. Those should be posted soon.