Apple Orchard Time!

This weekend we went on our fall trip to our favorite apple orchard. In addition to having great apples and pumpkins, they have rides, mazes, playgrounds, slides, you name it! We had a fantastic time!


First up, a pony ride!



Of course, Jia had to wear proper attire (pony clothes and boots):

Then, some jumping in hay:


We spent a lot of time making music:


We laughed so much at this picture because they look so gloomy! This was actually one of their favorite things to do so we must have caught them at a serious moment.

Caramel apples! Jia kept saying, "This is the best thing I've ever tasted!"


We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Autumn Moon Festival!

Our local Families with Children from Asia group put on an Autumn Moon Festival dance. The girls had a great time! It included games, food, a presentation on the meaning of the festival, a hair salon, face painting, calligraphy, a lantern parade and more! Now for a slew of pictures!

Excited to go:




Even though it's blurry, I love this one.

Willa playing a dice game:

The very fancy result of Jia's hair session:

Some face painting glamour:


The lantern parade!



Some pictures before driving home:


What a fun time!

School, crafts and pictures

This post is a random assortment of stuff. We have a new, cheapy camera that is more complicated to me than our big, spendy one. Anyway, we recently found some old photos that were somehow saved in another area of the camera, so here they are!

A few from our trip up north:

Within 10 minutes of our arrival, Jia caught the first fish!


Can you spot it?


Willa received her own rod this year. It lights up!

She was also excited to try a new floatie. This picture was taken seconds before a very dramatic and unfortunate splash into the water.


Other good times:




I also found photos of a craft project we did. The girls had fun making these papier-mâché bowls.


Finally, a little update about school.

For Willa, she enjoys it (although one can't tell this at drop-off, but that is her usual m.o.). She is always happy at pick-up.

As for Jia, she still loves it! This is despite an incident with an older, overly rambunctious kid on the playground, and a separate trip to the nurse's office after a spill. She is engaged and happy, and we are so thankful!

Little Girls Love Ponies

At least our little girls do. We went to a fall festival this morning. I told the girls they could go on a pony ride. They shrieked and then got all decked out for the occasion.

Jia had asked for clothes for her birthday. My parents gave her this outfit. She thought this was the PERFECT time to wear it. Notice the matching boots?


And the matching hairbands?

Willa also wore a pony dress from my sister. They were truly prepared to ride!

They were so excited!


Willa was put on the largest horse, and spent the whole time saying, "Don't hold on to me, Mama!" After a while, I let go. At the end she said, "I did it all by myself!" (That's a very popular sentiment these days.)

Jia had a great time too.

We had a good laugh yesterday about the season. Willa has attended two days of preschool and now has a cold (which Joe and I managed to catch as well). Then Jia came home yesterday with a notice that a kid in her class has head lice. I checked her head and thankfully, all I found was glitter! Welcome to school!

Willa's a Preschooler!

Willa started preschool this week! Her day started with a little drama. There had been a big storm the night before. When we woke, we saw that part of our tree had fallen on our new neighbors' car! It wasn't the best start to a day, but Willa thought it was exciting.

She took a long time to choose her outfit. She's getting to be as picky as Jia! Finally, she was ready to go to school.



At drop off, I realized it was Willa, five boys and two teachers! Apparently two twin girls will be starting at some point as well.

She had a great time! At pick up, she chattered on and on about the toys, the music, the gym and the food! I'm so glad she's happy there!

A Busy Weekend and a School Update

We started off the weekend by driving to a special park, Teddy Bear Park. It is about 45 minutes away in the picturesque town of Stillwater. As the girls ran into the park, they both squealed with glee. It was a pretty delightful place with all sorts of playground items and natural beauty of bluffs surrounding it. My pictures don't do it justice, and Willa was simply too busy to be still for many photos, but we all had a blast.








The following day Jia went to a baseball game at our fantastic new stadium with Joe and my parents. She loved it and according to them, ate nonstop (seven different things!) while there.

This morning we went apple picking. I forgot to bring my camera and it didn't matter. It was a disaster! The mosquitoes were horrendous. Within minutes of getting out of the car, Willa had four swollen red bites on her face. We packed up and sat in the car while Joe hurriedly picked some apples and then we drove home. Next time I'll bring some bug spray!

Here's an update on Jia's first days of school:
On her first day at pick-up, Jia and another little girl from her class raced up to me. They said, "We want to have a playdate!" Jia later said, "I'm a kindergartner, Mama! Finally!" And then, "I had a wonderful day!"

The following day, Jia said, "My day was even better than yesterday!"

The last day she said, "My day was great!"

I'm SO happy that she loves school! Willa starts preschool tomorrow and I hope she likes it as well!!

We have a Kindergartner!!!

Jia started Kindergarten today!!! I can't even believe it.

To get her ready, we had an "Off to School!" party. We had her friend Anna (who will be in the same class) and her family over for dinner. Willa and Anna's little sister are starting preschool this year too. I made a pencil-shaped brownie cake to celebrate. It was a fun celebration because all the girls were really excited to start school.


Today was the big day. Jia could not wait! She was the first kid in her classroom. It made for a calm start. Her teacher was able to show her around for a couple of minutes before it got busy. Jia signed in for the day, and then I got her started in on a coloring project while the other kids filtered in. She had only the slightest bit of trepidation when I said it was time to go. Then I introduced her to the girl sitting next to her, gave Jia a big hug and kiss and was off!

When I was at the door, she shouted, "Bye, Mama!" and waved and smiled.

Oh, I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it!










We are SO proud of her!