Day care orchard trip

It was a rainy monday -  but the kids didn't have school, so Eski arranged for all the daycare kids and their families to come to the orchard and go on a tour! We got there a little early and had fun posing in the pumpkin patch.

Then all the other families arrived and we went to the top of the barn. They had hay bails set up like a classroom and they talked about all the things on the farm. Grayson found his buddy Rya. They were born only a day apart and were inseparable at Eski's. Rya quickly grabbed his hand and they never let go the entire time they were at the orchard. It was the most adorable thing ever!

Then we walked around the animals and into the old time school house where the tour guide talked about the difference between school now and then. The little ones got a little rambunctious.

Finale of the day was the corn pool...McKenna is known for her crazy faces....

We brought our lunch so took our time and ate it in the new expanded main entrance area. Then each kiddo picked a snack to buy - the boys apple cider doughnuts and Kenna and apple cider slushy. Feel so fortunate that I didn't have to run back to work like I had in years past! We got to take our time and enjoy the day!

BOO!

The kids and I had a fun time putting together our BOO plates this year! Cupcakes, candy corn, pretzel treats and reeses pieces this year!

Nolan/Reagan Party

The tradition continued this year with a combined Nolan/Reagan birthday! The kids played with nerf guns for hours in the front yard, and then took their shot at the sponge bob pinata. Nice this year being able to leave them fairly unattended to just play with the kids and toys! Also nice to be able to ride our bikes there and play outside at the end of October! It seems every year that their birthday falls on the nicest fall weekend!

Beautiful fall shoot at Ledges

I put a little pressure on myself - but wanted to try and save money this year by shooting the kids pictures myself! I have a wall that has 16x20 frames (three of them.) I love to swap pictures out every year with the kid's pictures. I chose the following three to print:

They were quite the little models - really did a great job of following directions! And I couldn't be more pleased with the results!! Really loving my new hobby :)

More Camera Fun

McKenna Jumps

I've been dabbling in photography a bit, trying to really get the best images out of my camera...loved these at Em's house the other day! We were there celebrating Niki's bday.

Landscaping - Never ending!

We FINALLY had the final grading and hydroseeding done in the backyard. And, with our luck we have had just nothing but crazy amounts of rain since....I am hoping that the seed had enough time to stick before it all got washed away! I guess we will see in a few weeks. On the bright side I don't have to rotate a sprinkler every 15 minutes over 10,000 sq feet of grass!!!

SO APPRECIATIVE of my family! I spent last week going through every square inch of our house as we had an accumulation problem! Kathy was kind enough to take my little "helper" away for a fun Grayson overnight. He did not understand why some of his toys and clothes were out on display for my garage sale setup! He loves going to Gona's house and riding the tractor, feeding the horses, playing outside....like a little adventure with some of his favorite people!

My mom and sister brought over a few things and helped me to borrow tables from their church. It was a ton of work, but we made about $350...no complaints here!

Random Thoughts

I often post things to facebook then forget to add them here....a few fun pictures and stories below!

Grayson and I try to do "preschool" a few times a week. He is so stinking smart....the only 3 year old I know that can count to 100 and he is even starting to know sounds of his letters...just love that little dude! We were doing a worksheet on "above and below." It involved a petshop and circling the pets. He stared at the page for a while, and I said - "What are looking at?" He asked me "Why does this petshop have a beaver?" I guess he has never seen a guinea pig!

Love this quote by the Dalai Lama....going to try and live it everyday.

Terrible lighting...but I had to snap this picture. We have started a "family jar." In it are activities that we will do as a family every Friday. Weekly we draw from it. Some of the things are like bowling, mini golf, lego night, movie night, go to the dollar store and buy one thing...whatever...just something fun. We have a HUGE living room with tons of things to sit on. For movie night we started spread out, and by the end of the movie the kids were all sitting on/around me....can't say I was complaining :)

Love watching my sister as a mom. She is so good with Lily! Cannot believe she is 6 weeks old already! She is just a sweety!!

Fall Party Planning

This year I am home room mom for BOTH Kenna and Zachey....I have been in many meetings and unfortunately had to play the nagging parent to get others to help me plan...but we have some fun lined up for the kids!

In Ankeny, parents plan 3 parties a year....great fun to be a part of them!!

Real Estate

I haven't blogged too much about real estate on here. For the most part we keep it rather quiet, as we don't want to talk too much about business dealings. But a few years ago we started dabbling in real estate and taking on the title of "landlord." We purchase townhomes in the $110-125k pricerange, ensure the HOA fees are low, and then rent them out with a pretty good cash income each month. So far, it has been a great success! I have been lucky using the interwebs to attract awesome tenants (yay digital marketing!) And aside from typical landlord things like appliances failing, replacing carpet, etc....it has been rather fun!

Meet our 5th property. I guess we will call this one twin gates 2. The only downside is that a smoker lived there and I am crossing my fingers that the professional cleaning company can rid the home of the smoke smell. It is our first 3 bedroom...so hoping it is worthwhile!