Day at the Fair

We went on our annual trip to the state fair today.  We had a great time!  

We always go on the day you can get in for free with free rides for the first hour.  This year was the first year Emily really enjoyed the rides, so after lunch we bought tickets so she could ride some more.  She rode every single kid ride that they offered and even rode the roller coaster twice!

Abigail rode the first ride with Emily and then that was it for her.  She had fun on the ride but only wanted to watch after that.

We met the Lydas there so Emily and Riley rode the rest of the rides together:

 

Emily rode a pony as well . . .

 

We went to the petting zoo and Abigail enjoyed petting the bunnies and the baby goats:

After the petting zoo the girls wanted some cotton candy:

Joe bought a fried brownie . . .

 . . . and it was good:

 

The Lydas left after our yummy snacks and we bought Emily some tickets to ride a few more rides.  She rode all the ones that went up in the air:

 You had to pull the lever on this one to go up so Emily was giving it a try:

 Getting her face painted . . .

 Emily riding a roller coaster for the first time!  She is in the 2nd to the last car:

 We walked around the fair a little and Joe showed me the ride he and Jason rode this morning.  I can't believe Joe got on this ride!!!

 

Before we left Emily could pick one more ride . . . and she chose the roller coaster again . . . way to go girl!!!!  This time she rode in the 2nd car and put her hands up:

Abigail had fun watching Emily go!

Sewing

I love deals like this one!  I bought these handmade pants at a consignment sale for $4.  I had this same fabric at home so I bought the brown shirt at the same sale for $3 and then put this butterfly on there today with my fabric:

I made this same outfit for Emily when I first got my embroidery machine so Abigail wore this outfit with the same butterfly:

Here is Emily wearing this outfit when she was 2!!!!

Wow . . . . time is already slipping by too fast for me!!!

Updates

Last Thursday the girls school had a Fall Family picnic.  I helped pull pork and make sandwiches for the lunch.  We had a good time. I have been really bad lately about forgetting my camera when we go do something fun.  So I had to snag these pictures from a friend of mine : ):

This weekend my parents came for a visit and we had an enjoyable time together.  Mom went to a Girls n Grace tea with us at our church on Sunday afternoon.   It's a doll line that emphasizes Christianity.  They had a fashion show where some of the older girls got to walk the runway with their dolls in matching outfits.  Emily enjoyed watching but kept asking me when she would be old enough to be in the show.  I forgot my camera again so I got these pictures from our minister:

 

 

  

Emily watching the fashion show:

 All the girls in the fashion show:

They also had door prizes.  Emily wanted to know what prize she was going to get.  I tried to explain to her that not everyone would get something.  She didn't understand . . . so thank you Lord for allowing my name to be called to win this cupcake . . . Emily was pleased with her prize:

 

 I also got around to a bit of sewing last week.  I haven't done anything in a long while.  I worked on baby gifts last week.  There are several people all of a sudden deciding to have babies : )

Abigail has been fixated with socks lately.  If she sees a pair lying around she puts them on.  Here are some play socks she found in Emily's room.  She HAD to have them on before getting dressed one morning:

 She also tried to put on Sam's old sweaty socks at my sister's house last weekend.  This weekend she found PawPaw's dirty socks by his suitcase and put them on:

 The girls requested to wear pigtails to school yesterday so here they are in all their cuteness:

 By the end of the day Abigail's hair was done.  I had already fixed it 3 different times but it kept falling out.  But goodness no I couldn't take them out . . . I just kept having to fix them for her:

Abigail also turned 23 months old on Friday!  I can't believe in a month she will be 2!!!!  Her terrible two's are already starting to show . . . she is getting a head start!

Brother's Wedding

Last Saturday my brother Robert and Mandy got married!!!!  They wanted a small wedding so just immediate family was invited.  It made it relaxing and fun:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mills:

 

Abigail had enough of picture taking:

During the ceremony Abigail and Mandy's niece entertained themselves coloring on the attendance cards:

We had lunch together in the fellowship hall after the ceremony.  When it was time to clean Michelle got to work!

I really think I want one of these for the house!

Congratulations to Robert and Mandy!!!

Apple Pie

I made my very first apple pie from some of the apples we got at the orchard.  It was in this month's S0uthern Living Magazine.  It's yummy and even a hit with Joe:

 

And just because these babies are so stinkin' cute, I had to share this photo.  Last night before bed they were having the best time sharing this color board and coloring together.  Emily drew a line down the middle and showed Abigail her side of the board.  Why is it that they play so well together right before bedtime and not necessarily during the day?  It's like they know that when I'm cooking supper they need to interrupt me a ton of times . . . but when I'm about to tell them to go to bed they suddenly become sweet angels that play together quietly in the hopes that you will forget that they are still awake : )

Picking Apples

On Saturday we went to our favorite apple orchard to pick apples. 

When the tractor dropped us off the guy explained all the apples that were ready for picking and what they are best used for.  He pointed to the red and delicious and said they were good for baking right now . . . so because I want to attempt my first apple pie . . . and we thought where he pointed was close, we went there first.  Turns out those apples were way up the hill so we headed up in the heat:

We finally got there and the girls picked some apples for us:

Off to find the apples we could eat.  We got Beni Shogun, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, and Empire apples:

The girls got too hot and I didn't bring water with me to the orchard, so we headed back in the tractor to the store so I could get the girls some water.  Joe headed back in the tractor to finish filling up our bags:

After the girls cooled off we went thru the store to buy some peaches, our favorite popcorn butter that we buy from here each year, chips and salsa that we sampled, popcorn kernels, and a couple of fried pies. 

We then headed into downtown Blue Ridge to walk around and get some ice cream:

Emily didn't want to wear her bow anymore so Joe put it in Abigail's hair:

Then Emily wanted to take a picture herself.  She did a good job:

We headed home to watch the football game we had recorded and guess what we ate for supper . . . apples, peaches, and popcorn . . . . yummy!

Pool Time

I thought pool time was over for the season but we went one more time with our friends to their neighborhood pool.  The girls had fun together.  Abigail is officially independent in the pool.  I discovered if I put arm floaties on her with her life vest that she could balance better and could play in the water without me holding her . . . this made her a much happier swim partner:

 

It also helped that this pool had a play area for children that was completely enclosed for safety.  So we were able to stay at the pool much longer than normal because Abigail played here for a while:

 

At the end of the day, Emily decided she wanted to jump off the diving board!!!!  She did 3 times!  She wanted me near her in the water and she got her goggles and her tube float and jumped in.  I forgot my camera so we never could get a shot of her actually jumping in since the camera on my phone had such a delay . . . but here she is right after she jumped in.  I was so proud of her!!!!