Ellms' Family Farm

The past couple years we have loved Ellms' Farm in the fall. In fact, last year I remember there still being snow on the ground when MiniM.E. started asking when Ellms' would be open again. We loved it so much last year that we bought season passes and were there almost every weekend the past couple fall seasons.

This year though, our deck building took up many worthwhile weekends and we had yet to visit Ellms' even once until today- Field Trip Friday!

MiniM.E. was bouncing off the walls with excitement over all the things she wanted to do and her excitement wore off on LittleL.G. who was convinced that she, too, wanted to do the jumping pumpkin and bouncing pillow and the Moo Moo Choo Choo.

Ellms' was busy, as always, but it's such a big place that it hardly felt crowded at all and we were able to avoid the school groups and have almost everything all to ourselves. 

MiniM.E.'s all-time favorite is the zip line. We were the only ones riding, so the girls ran back and forth at least seven times.

stopping to feed the goats

jumping

and jumping

and jumping

The MooMoo ChooChoo comes in at a close second. Again, we were the only ones riding at the time and we got special treatment with a long ride that went through the corn field twice.

swinging

and more jumping

and more jumping

LittleL.G. playing instead of jumping

It was a little tricky juggling a timid two year old and a brave five year old together, but it was a beautiful day to be at Ellms' and the girls had a great time- they were both exhausted when we left! Once might be enough for this year though...

Sunnyside Gardens

This week started with a sick mom. The girls had a cold last week, but nothing that slowed them down, just made them a little crankier. Over the weekend I caught it, but managed to muscle through... until Monday afternoon. Fortunately, Gram came to drive us to NH and back and I asked her to stay just in case I wasn't feeling well. So she stayed through Tuesday while I tried to get over the nasty bug.

Finally by Wednesday I was feeling myself again and we were able to meet up with our friends for our annual Sunnyside Gardens trip.

Thursday we took a nature walk to collect some leaves on the trails in our neighborhood.

Over the weekend we finally finished the deck! Which gave us a few hours in the late afternoon to take Gram and Grumpy up to the Great Escape.

And also... nothing is cuter than these new bunk mates.

A Weekend In NH

Since Labor Day weekend, our weeks have been full of school and our weekends full of working on the deck. Not that both activities aren't extremely rewarding, but they are both exhausting!

This weekend MiniM.E.'s friend H. was having his 5th birthday so we decided to take a weekend off and drive to NH to celebrate.

We drove Friday night and since the party wasn't until Sunday, we decided to visit my favorite apple orchard Saturday. The weather was beautiful and it couldn't have been a nicer day.

MiniM.E.'s favorite part of the day was the wagon ride to the orchard.

Everyone enjoyed the actual picking of apples- so much that we picked two bushels!

LittleL.G. could have played in the pumpkin patch all day.

There were also old tractors to play on, and my favorite, cider donuts.

In between apples and party we played outside and went out for make your own pizza.

Sunday, we enjoyed running around at the party, chasing giant bubbles, playing in the bounce house and of course, eating cake. Then it was time to drive home.

Low Key Week Three

We had a pretty low key week this week because both the girls came down with a pretty nasty cold. I introduced a more relaxed schedule for school and we just took it easy.

lots of play when the girls were up for it

immunity boosting smoothie mustaches

Mid-week MiniM.E,'s cold was fading and LittleL.G. hadn't gotten the worst of it yet, so we visited MiniM.E.'s old school playground for a picnic with a friend. The girls were really excited to be back.

dual kazooing

Thursday was hot and MiniM.E. thought it was warm enough for some hose play

Friday we took our first "field trip" to the state park where we searched the creek for bugs and small animals. It was a perfect day for animal finding and we caught crayfish, a lizard, a fish, and a bunch of crazy bugs. LittleL.G. wasn't sure about the whole thing, but MiniM.E. had a blast.