Carving the Pumpkin

Elia got to select the face for our pumkin. After convincing her that daddy was NOT going to carve the spider web (it would have taken HOURS), she chose a happy face.

It was hard at first to be patient while daddy began carving...

but literally 1 second later, she's laughing! Oh the life of a toddler.

This is very serious business.

Elia thought she needed to add scotch tape, for special effects!

We turned his frown, upside down and now he's a happy pumpkin!
And here's the collection of pumpkins in our home!

Happy Fall!

Trip to NW Arkansas!

Girl's Weekend in Bella Vista

We didn't hit nearly the amount of shows we wanted to (next year, no 3 year olds allowed during Girls Weekend!), but had fun walking around Spanker Farms!

(Ironically, I almost had to "spank her" several times while at the Farm!!!) JK, LOL!

"E" for Elia, get it?

All of life is a stage for Elia. Is she jousting with that stick?

A bat, really? I'm not sure where that idea even came from!

Ethan sacked the quarterback! This was there first win of the season!

It seems every picture of these three always turn out just like this!!!

Elia was cheerleading in between her conversations with Sarah!

Sarah's always ready for her photo op! Elia...well she's pretty burned out at this point!

Ethan was all business after the game.

That's his "game face" he had on while listening to the coach!

Ye Ole Fall Festival

We took Elia to the much anticipated Fall Festival that benefits Cumberland's Presbyterian Children's Home. She'd received a flyer in her backpack from school a few weeks ago and said we HAD to go. Although it was SO HOT we managed to have a swell time.

Elia appears to be holding on for dear life but was destined to get a picture with that

Scare Crow!

Old McElia had a farm, EIEIO!

First Pony Ride Ever!

You must have a tractor-pulled-hay-ride to take you to just the right pumpkin!

Elia found her perfect pumpkin all on her own.

Face painting is a must. This time, she wanted to be a cat!

Look at my cupcake-covered face along with my fake smile

so mom will leave me alone already!

I decorated a beautiful pumpkin to take home

And I LOVED the obstacle course!
We took one good nap after this long day but it was well worth it!

Fall is the greatest season of all!

Nana and I took Elia to the local nursery this past Saturday for a little Fall celebration. Elia painted a pumpkin (it has a face only a mother could love as you will see below), planted Chi Chi Chi Chia Grass in a one-of-a-kind planter, and of course what day would be complete without a bouncy house! She was not really "feeling" the posed picture on this day, but I managed to get a few shots worthy of the blog!

This is the best I shot I could get of my 3 year old in the pumpkins! She was more interested in that cup o' popcorn she's showing off in the photo!

This is the beloved planter that we worked very hard on together! (Who's old hands are those?!)

We worked very hard on this little guy. Of course Elia ran off to the bouncy house just as we wanted a group photo to show off our little man.

By the way, Elia does have a mommy, and now we have the picture to prove it. She's just normally on the other side of the lense.

These are the forced fun shots I tried to get Elia to sit through toward the end of our adventure. She so didn't want to do this, but as all good mothers do, I made her take the pictures!



This is classic Elia. I said, "Honey, look at mommy" and she repied, "I AM!" as she looked as far away as she possibly could! This girl just won't do! Oh how I love her so.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

This is becoming a tradition, only we tend to be festival "hoppers"! This year we went to the one in Plano. Elia is fascinated with hot air balloons, but who isn't!!?? Of course we ate like fools what with the kettle corn, pizza, and cotton candy. But we walked it off on the way to and from the car!

The crowd would count down and all of a sudden the night lit up with a rainbow of colors!

Elia was in awe each time, as if she were seeing the balloons light up for the very first time.
There is no greater joy in my life than time with my family.

Poppy and the Park!

Elia loves Poppy, and Elia loves the Park! On this day, we played on the slide, the swings, and fed the ducks! Ok, ok. Elia chased the ducks, scared the ducks, and caused the ducks to swim clear across the other side of the pond! Oh well, we just moved on to throwing rocks at the minnows. I love my little tom boy.