The Zillmans and I took the girls to the Arboretum on Monday, and we had a blast!

Susie and I taking a Mommy pic by the pumpkins stands and sweet potato vines!

This is the only picture I got of Anna Kate and Malia… they were so fast!

It took Anna Kate some warming up, but she loved the petting zoo! 

Love that little tongue that comes out when Anna Kate is concentrating!

You girls melt our hearts!

“Get me out of here!” 

Noelle’s reward for letting me take her picture was to take mine as well.  I was just going to delete them when we got home, but when I saw them, I was thankful to have some pictures of me and the baby!

The very last thing we did was play in the frog fountains.  Noelle did not want to leave.  On our way out, she asked, “Do they have any more activities for us?”

Mission accomplished on a great day!

Last weekend we went to the best pumpkin patch ever with our friends, the Sheffields!  The breeze, the smells (hay and kettle corn), the night lights, the happiest kids on earth… it was a little piece of fall heaven!

When we first got there, we had a family picnic to start out the night!

Noelle and Zane remember coming here two years ago!  Their little brains are amazing!  This is the second time in Noelley’s life she agreed to wear blue jeans.  Aren’t they cute?  When she and Zane were riding in the wagon, Zane needed a blanket because his legs were cold.  She said to him, “That’s why you should’ve worn blue jeans, Zane!”  Too funny!

They have so many activities for the kids, including this hay maze.  Behind that, they have a corn maze.  All of the teenagers were lined up for that!

I thought this was a cute Daddy/daughter photo-op.  I guess it was in its own way!  🙂

Riding tractors of many kinds!

Aren’t they cute!?! 

Man, Anna Kate, you look so much like me and your Aunt Michele!

They even have a little farm for the kids to pet goats, rabbits, and watch cranky roosters!

Walking under the lights made me want to sing, “I LOVE FALL!”  It was the most festive night of the year so far!  Can you tell we had a blast?

Sweet little friends!

To end the night, we took a family hayride topped off with yummy kettle corn.  The hayride takes you out into their farm land where they shine a flashlight out into the fields for the kids to spot animals, spider webs, blow-ups and all sorts of cool stuff!

They will dress you up!  Dylan had so much fun playing dress-up with Noelle… sweet boy!

He really got into putting spells on Noelle with the Cinderella wand.  He kept turning her into a frog, and she was eating up all of the attention.  His birthday is this weekend and all Noelle wanted to get him was “boy” dress-up clothes.  She fell in love with the slice of pizza costume at Old Navy, so that’s what we have so far! 

3 of the 12 Bunco girls are pregnant right now!  Riann, myself, and Mary Elyn.

We had a little baby shower before the game for Mary Elyn since this is her last Bunco before her baby boy arrives!

Before the table snacks were dispersed!  I never thought I would ever have time to play Bunco, but I love it to pieces.  From start to finish, it’s a riot and a huge dose of laughter and silliness to get recharged.    

The three preggos ended up on the same couch for present time.  Everyone was laughing that there were six people sitting on one couch! 

It all started with a little girl’s prayer and some devoted fans who battled the July heat!

The Rangers finally won their first playoff series, being the last team in the majors to do so!!!

Tonight, they slaughtered the Yankees in the ALCS 8-0 to put them ahead in the second series 2-1.  If we win this series, we go to the World Series for the first time in Rangers baseball history!  Mike and I have been waiting our whole lives for this, as we have been Rangers fans way before we even knew each other.  A little Pond fam trivia, we even put two and two together that we attended some of the same games as children, of course before we met!

GO RANGERS!  As Noelle screams during the games, “YOU CAN DO IT!!!”

We planted a pumpkin seed in the spring in our side yard, and it has grown and grown.  We’ve watched for almost half a year now, so I just couldn’t find it in my heart to disappoint our little gardener.  In these pictures, Noelle had just found this pumpkin in the vines… our first pumpkin!  🙂

Several of the blooms look to be forming tiny pumpkins!  We’ll see! 

I love fall!  These are the gourds Noelle and Bailey picked out for me last week.  Anna Kate is constantly climbing on the table.  I don’t know what I’m going to do with our little stinker! 

Anna Kate had a blast at the park spending time with her Daddy!  She’s one cool kid! 

*This cute shirt is one of my favorite hang out shirts of Noelle’s.  I’m sure you’ll see it again down the road! 

Noelle and Aiden are sweet little buddies!  🙂

Stacy did so great on the amazing decorations for Aiden’s pirate party!

The kids followed a map and went on a treasure hunt and had fun hitting a piñata.  

Noelle is being such a good helper for me these days.  I am so proud of our girls!  They are both getting so big in their own ways.  We are so in love with our kids!!!

Susie and I took the girls to Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch last weekend.  They had so much fun together, and of course, I won them both teddy bears from the crane game!  🙂