Bates Nut Farm

It's beginning to look a lot like ...Fall, in every way but the weather down here in So. Cal. I am yearning for the cooler weather -I am done with 90+ degrees. So to get into the spirit, we got down all of our Fall and Halloween decorations and took the kids on our annual outing to Bates Nut Farm. This is an authentic pumpkin patch/fall farm. It has a Hay Ride, a Corn Maze, vendors, and a "nut" and candy shop with homemade fudge and caramel apples. Lots of fun for all of us. We go here every year.

To start you out right and Wish YOU a Happy Halloween.


Look at those cute little smiles....


I had to add a cute pic of the hubby...


Where did our kiddos go?

Soccer Days

Gracie really loves Soccer! And as a result, guess what? cole wants to play when he is old enough. Big surprise. 1 more year and Cole can play next fall. So week after week and practice after practice and ultimately game after game, Cole tags along to yet another one of Gracie's activities. He just wants his own thing-and I can't blame him. So he at least makes friends along the way..and now this is what he does during the games....kicks up dirt, plays tags and imagine that, gets down to the nitty gritty and finds bugs, makes dirt piles, who knows what else. This was such a great shot!

Bowling Debut!!!

Friday night was our family night and we decided to take the kids bowling. They were very intrigued. They were curious. They were nervous in a good way, "what will we do, how do you throw the ball, how do you hold the ball, what does bowling look like?" The questions went on and on-they were EX-CI-TED!

So we got there, we got our lane, our shoes, our balls, and we were good to go. We have not been bowling in probably 8 years. The place looked the same, clean and organized, and very structured. We only had about 40 minutes to play before "the leagues" began, so we needed to give lessons to the kids, play fast and get out. The kids caught on very quickly. They even have what they call "bumpers" now for kids. When they play, these come up on the sides so the kids don't have gutter balls. That was very encouraging and I knew it would help their egos out.

We ended up having A LOT of fun that night, even if it was a short while. It was so great. AND you'll never guess who won: here is the order:
#4 -Me
#3 -Robert
#2 -Gracie
and the winner is.....COLE!

Were Robert and I embarrassed that our kids beat us on their first time bowling? Yes. And as Robert kept reminding me, " but remember Trina, they had bumpers." Oh yes, like that matters. Still our 4 and 7 year old beat us.

Kids so excited and eager to check it out.


Daddy showing of his skills.


Gracie getting the hang of it.


Cole is doing his "stance." Was this hilarious..he actually looked like a PRO bowler. We got video.


Daddy giving Cole a HI-5 for his spare, yes!


After we finished, you can see the very proud smiles on their faces.

Travels...

1st time the kids saw the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. They loved it..."big city!" they called it.




Recently, up on our trip to Northern California, we were part of our friend's wedding. This is at the rehearsal dinner. Me and the kiddos. Not the most kid friendly environment, being that it was in a BAR, but we made the best out of it. We laughed and colored in the back room and the kids had fun talking to the other 2 kids that were there. It was fun. Happy Marriage Daniela and Anthony!