Summer posts to brighten your day

Did I tell you about that time I bought a giant pool on clearance at Target in September?

Eliana asked me all summer long when we could get a big pool.  The bigger one we had had an issue with the side collapsing.  So I had my eye on this pool, just waiting for it to go on sale.  Finally, in September, it did!  And wouldn't you know, after I bought it, we had a week in September of 90 degree days.  So I blew up the pool and the kids had a blast!

Eliana diving for rings

This crazy kid climbed on top of the kids' picnic table and laughed at my concern.

And a bonus picture - Laney really loves climbing.  This is a pretty common place to find her - sitting on something she's not supposed to be on.

Secret Garden

On a beautiful fall day, we took a trip to Inniswood Metro Gardens. I was hoping to take some photos of the kids for our Christmas card.  Apparently everyone else also had the same idea.  I have never seen the gardens so full of people so dressed up!  All being followed by professional photographers.  Three kids aged 5 and under do not make for easy photo subjects.  I could never get all three of them to look/smile at the camera at the same time.  Will obliged for the first few photos, but then thought this whole photo session thing was a joke and made faces for the rest of the photos.  Once he gets in a mood like that, it is hard to convince him to act otherwise (case in point - check out my parent's Christmas card this year).  So I quickly gave up on that idea and instead enjoyed a day of frolicking in gorgeous weather in a beautiful garden.

Classic Will.  He is dancing and farting in this picture.  Perfect for the Christmas card.

We played for a long time in this water table.

Laney kept trying to drink the water.

The Secret Garden. I have a picture very similar to this one from two years ago. But there is a new baby in this picture.

My sweet babes

Running through the tunnel - over and over again.

Fall Fun

 In October, I took the kids to Leed's Pumpkin Farm again.  We had been there a couple years ago when Will was a baby, and I had always wanted to go back.  This year, we had an absolute blast!  The kids were big enough to do almost all of the attractions and we spent the entire day there (probably 6 hours).  Eliana would sometimes run ahead and want to move on to the next activity before Will was done, but for the most part, we stayed together well.  Laney couldn't do too much, but she did enjoy riding down the big slides with me, and seeing the animals in the barn.  A big favorite for everyone was the corn box (like a sandbox but with corn).

Riding the hayride.  We came on the only weekend that had horse drawn wagons for the hay ride.  We had to wait in line a little longer to get a wagon pulled by a horse, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

The Mini Zip Line.  This was a huge favorite for Will and Ana.  They did this over and over again, and we came back later in the day to do it some more.

Corn box with lots of toys in it.

I had to pull her out of the box early because unsurprisingly, she started eating the corn.

Laney refused to participate in this picture.

Feeding the goats.  I was surprised Laney liked this part a lot.  She wasn't afraid of the goats at all.

Someone had too much fun and not enough napping.

Hay bale climbing.

 These are pictures from my mom's family farm.  Laney is actually wearing overalls that belonged to her father or perhaps his sister. So cute!

Eliana playing with her second cousins.

Another hay ride! This time pulled by a tractor, and actually with no hay.  But still fun!

Laney in the Mary Garden.