A couple weeks ago Anna Kate, Rose and I went to Fossil Rim with my friend Donnette, and her son, Luke!  We went together a couple of years ago as well, and laughed all day about the memories we made back then… and how I’ve made progress because I didn’t scream at most of the animals this time!

Donnette has a friend who is a zoologist at Fossil Rim, so we got to ride in the back of his truck, Jurassic Park-style to see the rhinos up close and personal.  They were just as nervous as we were because he said they don’t ever get that close to humans.

I love this sweet picture of Luke!

Wow!

Rose had fun in the driver’s seat (of course) as we went on the first part of the tour!

This is how close they get… most of the animals will eat out of your hands if you let them… I always end up throwing it at them at the last minute because I panic!

 

Giraffe time!  When I saw this giraffe stick out his tongue at us like a banana, I was like, “Oh no!”  I stayed back and took pics from the other side of the car!

After Anna Kate saw Luke feed the giraffe, she totally bailed!  Here she is diving back into the car… I love their heads right next to each other in this picture though… so natural and pretty to see my girl this close to a giraffe!

 

So as Anna Kate chickened out, just like her Momma, Rose was all about feeding the giraffe!  She was so excited to see the head coming down into the car through the sunroof!

 

Here she is asking to feed the giraffe, and then holding out the food.  She was a little skeptical but still going for it!

 

Donnette held her little fingers flat (thank God) and she did it!  He licked the food right off of my baby’s hand.  I was so proud of her!  She was willing to do something none of the other Pond girls were willing to do today!

Yeah.  This is what you call the stink eye.  Although he looks a little scary, they are very very gentle and back away if you freak out (like I did last time).  The zebras, on the other hand, are very aggressive and come after the food in your car no matter what.

Half-way through the tour, we stopped at the park restaurant for lunch.  I love this picture of Luke kissing on Rose…

 

And then trying to give Anna Kate a kiss, but she would only let him kiss her on the back of the head… sweet girl!

This is a little too close for comfort for me, but Donnette really helps me come out of my shell.  I don’t know if I’d do this tour without her… we make a great team!

We had an awesome day at Fossil Rim… one we will most surely talk and laugh about in a couple of years when we’re ready to brave the trail together again!

 

These are pictures of Noelle (left) and Anna Kate (right) having a blast flying through the pumpkin patch in our butterfly costume, both age 3 1/2… enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these outings are two of my favorite fall memories of all time!  The girls were so happy and free!  They both zoomed through the pumpkins with a mission to fly!  In my heart, they were flying high and always will!  Love you girls!!!

  

  

  

All of the above pictures are in this order: Noelle, Anna Kate, and Rose all 1 1/2 years old enjoying the fall with Mommy and Daddy!

Noelle and Daddy five years ago!

  

Noelle, Anna Kate, and Rose… I love comparing their hair at the same age!

I just had to show you guys this one… Rose is a hot mess sometimes!!!

We are so blessed by the awesome friends in our neighborhood!

The PondFam5 Halloween 2012!

Noelle picked this pumpkin from the pumpkin patch and decorated it for us this year… She’s always thinking of ways to make everything fun and festive!

Noelle wanted fake eyelashes this Halloween, and they turned out super cute!

I love this picture of Anna Kate!!!

Rose was focused on the candy we were holding above the camera in this picture, but at least we got a shot (finally) of her beautiful blue eyes!

 

Malia and Anna Kate and Noelle and Georgia will all (fingers crossed) grow up across the street from each other and in the same grades in school.  We are so blessed to have such sweet friends!

Kitty Kate (me), Cinderella Malia (Susie), and TCU Cheerleader Julia (Riann) are all hangin with their mommas!

We got the cutest pictures last year of Rose and Jameson, but this year they were too busy playing!

 

 

Whew!  Getting three girls all dressed up is a lot.  When they all want fake eyelashes, I don’t know what I’m going to do!?!

 

Here’s my sweet Anna Kate posing with me, and Rose and Berkeley saying “Hi!”

 

Noelle and Anna Kate made decorations for the front door.  They were so proud of them!  Noelle’s said, “To:  All People Love: Noelle”  I never want to forget that!

 

Happy girls!  One of the most fun things about Halloween is just playing around in your costume with your friends… and it was fun to watch!

This is as good as it gets for 20 month olds, ha!

Anna Kate wanted her whiskers off… she’s so pretty!

Grandpapa and Kay Kay came to watch the girls play with their friends and pass out candy while we trick or treated.  Thank you so much!

 

Love this picture of Mike with his girls, and this is Dr. Fikkert with her little buddies!

  

Malia is such a princess!  Anna Kate had fun getting candy out of this man’s book… what a clever idea!

She is already having a blast eating candy along the way!

   

And then the girls ran into their hero, Mrs. Arnold, who was passing out treats on the go… we have such fun people in our neighborhood! 

 

Rose had so much fun getting to trick or treat this year!

 

The decorations were so fun and over the top!!!  I wish I could have bottled up the atmosphere… the weather was perfect, everyone was smiling and happy, it was great!

 

The Cobb’s house won top decorations in our book!  They had a spooky fog machine and were handing out glow sticks and candy to the kids!

My three silly ghosts!

Susie and I were being so silly at this point!  It was so much fun being goofy with the kids… we were having the time of our lives!

What a fun night!!!

Gotta love ‘em!!!

Noelle had some of her friends over this weekend for a costume party.  It was a fun happy day!  From left to right, we have Hanna, Brianna, Carson (50s girl), Chloe, Landry (Beetlejuice, lol), Noelle, Emily, and Ava!

 

Noelle made a sign for the front door that said, “Monster Party!”

 

These Halloween parties just came together, seriously.  I’ve had this mousse idea for years, and I finally said, “I’m doing it!”  It wasn’t that hard and was super tasty!

First, we made fruit loop bracelets and played Halloween Bingo until everyone arrived.

Then we took lots of pictures!  I asked all of the girls to act out what they were wearing.  They did a great job!

We had a fun little field trip down the street to check out our neighbor’s Halloween blow-ups… a high-light for our girls each fall!  I wanted to get a picture of Anna Kate with the blow-up kitty, but it’s head moves and she wouldn’t get near her.  Maybe next year!

This is a picture of Noelle scaring Dracula while the headless horseman rides on in the background, lol!

Love this happy picture!

 

Emily’s and Ava’s moms brought cupcakes and cake pops!  They were awesome!  The girls actually each took home a dessert platter for later, which I thought turned out to be a fun idea!

Last on the agenda (save the best for last), was a dance party!  Noelle and Brianna taught the girls a dance to “Witch Doctor” they learned at theater camp this summer. 

I think this was the activity that held their interest the longest.  They kept giving Mike song requests, and making up new dances… they are so cute!

Noelle asked all of her friends to get in a circle, and then she threw rose petals in the middle for them to play with… I love this picture because you can see the petals in the air! 

Everyone started playing with rose petals which was a sweet way to end the party!  I always let the girls pick the roses.  I’ve taught them which ones are on their way out, and they respect that boundary… plus, I need to dead head them soon anyway!  I want them to remember a childhood full of roses, so to speak! 

Just fyi, Anna Kate had so much fun playing with the big girls, and we’ll have a party just for her when she’s 6!  No seriously, 3 year olds are a hard age for me if there are lots of them in one place together (just being honest)!  I know my limits and respect them!  Don’t worry, Anna Kate felt like such a big kid, especially because Rose was asleep upstairs through this party, and Anna Kate got to skip her nap!  It was a very special day, and I’m glad these sweet girls could come celebrate their imaginations together!!!

My favorite memory from Rose’s costume party was how much she enjoyed the mousse!  At one point, she filled her spoon with a bite, and held it down as Katie was walking by and said, “Wanna bite!?!”  I’ll never forget it!  Stasia and I were cracking up!  This was definitely the first time I’ve seen Rose interact with her friends.  I can’t believe she will be two in three short months! 

This is the zone out stage…

Then it was time to take the fun outside…

She got a flower petal stuck on her sticky fingers, lol!

Love this kid!

           

This is Rose saying, “All done!” 

It’s the neatest thing… there are 6 little one year olds in our neighborhood that will all be in the same grade in school (Berkeley was out of town).  I thought it would be so much fun to get everyone together to meet and let the kids play.  Rose had a blast!  Her friends are (from left to right) Jameson, Rose, Ella, Elizabeth, and Katie!

Since we don’t have any birthdays in the fall, it was fun doing a little party planning!

Rose was trying to figure it all out… she didn’t know what was about to happen, but she was excited!

I’ve been wanting to try this mousse idea for years… and I finally did it (with Mike’s help)… they were a big hit… with our one year old anyway!

Noelle and Anna Kate had SO much fun planning baby goody bags!  Rose was so happy and kept saying “Hi!” to Katie!

We had several run-aways during the pictures, which kept us laughing!

I love these pictures of Rose cuddling with her friends!  This is what it’s all about!

 

We love hanging out with you… thanks for making us smile!

Emily, Noelle and Payton

Oops!  I asked Colbey and Noelle to smile and not Anna Kate… I thought she was too busy coloring her pumpkin.  My bad. 

  

I asked Anna Kate what she was making and she said she was turning her pumpkin into a tomato… Clever Kitty Kate!  The next picture is of Noelle and Georgia.  Her parents just built the most beautiful house across the street… Noelle is beyond excited!!!  The last picture is Ava and Noelle.  They made friends on the play ground last year…  They are sweet friends!

 

Noelle, Hanna (sweet friend in Noelle’s class) and Landry!  We miss Landry since we aren’t playing soccer anymore.  We used to see her twice a week… Rose was trying to figure her out, but Noelle was just loving on her friend!