Fall is Here!

Fall is finally here, at least for a couple of days.  :)

A friend brought me a white chocolate mocha yesterday (I was freezing!!), we wore coats today, and the kids are all snuggly in their blanket sleepers.  I am learning to love this time of year again.

Abma's Farm

There are some places that we get to visit every time we are in New Jersey (weather permitting), and Abma's Farm is one of them.  Peter's first visit was right before he turned two.  It's so close that it would be silly not to visit.  They sell eggs, meat, vegetables, fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, pastries, and so much more. 

The kids had a great time.  First we bought some crackers from the store to feed to the animals.

A very nice lady buying some vegetables at the same time gave us the tops off of her carrots to feed the bunnies. 

The bunnies weren't too hungry so Peter tried to feed the chickens and turkeys. 

Then we enjoyed visiting all of the other animals - goats, pigs, ponies, sheep, and donkeys.  Daddy even joined in the fun and fed the goats. 

We ended our visit with the most delicious cake donuts I have ever tasted baked fresh right at the farm.

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane...

My kids are seasoned fliers.  Peter flew for the first time when he was 12 weeks old, and Danielle's first time on a plane was right at 6 months.  This flight was different for both of them, though, for a few reasons.  This was the first flight where Danielle got her own seat.  This was also the first flight where we didn't take a stroller.  Both kids got to carry their own backpacks that consisted of things they chose to go inside of them as well as some traveling activities Nana had gotten for them.  We didn't check bags so everything we took was in carry-ons.  This flight was also the first time we flew into JFK instead of Newark.  Lots of things were different, but the kids did a GREAT job!! 

Daddy flew with us which was a huge blessing.  We enjoyed having him on the trip to take Peter to the bathroom a few times and just help entertain the kids on the almost 4 hour flight.  It was also nice to have him carry all the luggage on the plane while I got the kids on. 

Danielle freaked out a bit when she walked onto the plane and was greeted by the flight attendant.  She saw all the people and tried to back out, but we coerced her down the long aisle to our seats.  Once there she was fine, and at the end of the flight, she walked off the plane like an old pro.  The flight was pretty uneventful.  A few trips to the potty, an in-flight diaper change (thank you Delta for having a changing table in the airplane bathroom!!), some drawing/coloring, snacks, Pez & lollipops, and some games on Mommy and Daddy's new phones. 

The kids did a great job and before we knew it, we were landing.  Grandma, Aunt Kim, and Aunt Amy met us at the airport and the summer trip to New Jersey began!

Annual Summer Trip to New Jersey

We've waiting all summer and it's finally here!!!  We leave in the morning for our trip to New Jersey.  We've come every summer since Peter was born and we always have so much fun!  We are very lucky this time to have Andrew coming with us for part of the trip.  He'll fly up there with us, stay a week, and then come home to go back to work while we stay for another week.  The kids are excited to be able to go to the beach and NYC with Daddy, and I'm excited to have help on the plane.  :)

Homer will be staying at the vet's office while we are gone.  We took him up there tonight. 

                                                                                                                                  
Peter was very proud to be able to walk Homer in all by himself.  Once they took him back, though, Danielle wasn't so sure.  She almost started crying because I don't think she understood that Homer would come home when we got home.  Peter was ok with the whole thing, though, because he said he would get to see Daisy (Aunt Kim's dog) in New Jersey.  To cheer Danielle up after dropping Homer off, we went to have snowcones. 

The crazy thing is that it's 10pm and I'm all packed.  Laundry is done, everything is packed, and we're all ready to go.  I'm normally up super late on nights before we leave trying to get everything washed and packed.  Not this year.  I took care of a little each day all this week and we're ready!!  Goodbye Texas - Hello New Jersey!!!

Beauty and the Beast

So today I introduced the kids to Beauty and the Beast.  They've only seen a handful of "long" movies.  They mostly watch 20-30 minute shows on PBS or Netflix.  After 4.5 hours of swimming today, I thought they might just enjoy a long movie while I was making dinner.  I searched through the movies and found Beauty and the Beast on VHS.  Luckily we have a VHS/DVD combo player.  I popped it in and the previews started.  I told Peter that they would play some sample movies first because I was pretty sure he wouldn't have a clue what the previews were.

I don't think he heard me because after the first preview, his comment was, "That's it?  That was a short movie!".  I tried to explain to him that they were showing samples of other movies, and after seeing Cinderella on the screen, he kind of got it.

Finally the movie started.  Peter was completely entranced!!!  Danielle quickly pointed out the princess (Belle) on the screen and then watched it off and on while playing with other things.  Peter, on the other hand, was glued to the screen.  He loved every minute of it.  He laughed like crazy during "Be our Guest" and asked very nonchalantly, "Are they going to fall in love?" when "Beauty and the Beast" came on.  At one point he asked me what was going to happen next.  I told him that I didn't know.  He asked me if I had only watched the movie up until that part.  He knew that I had seen it because I told him that it was one of my favorite movies.  Busted - I had to tell him that yes, I did know what was going to happen next, but no, I wasn't going to tell him.

He kept talking to the screen when Gaston came to kill the Beast and was very worried when the Beast was shot at the end.  Once the Beast turned back into a man and kissed Belle, he proclaimed, "They love each other a lot!". 

I loved watching Peter enjoy one of my all-time favorite Disney movies.  Now the question is - which one to introduce to him next?

God Bless the USA

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I'd worked for all my life.

And I had to start again,

with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my Heavenly Father,

to be livin' here today.

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,

and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,

to the hills of Tennessee.

Across the plains of Texas,

From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,

and New York to L.A.

Well there's pride in every American heart,

and its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American,

where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died,

who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.