Balsam Street Festival

This past Saturday, Balsam Street had a fall festival. We went to a pumpkin patch, walked along the street and saw the many vendors, and Riley and Isabelle walked in the parade as well as going in a bounce house (where Riley lost his first tooth--it had been loose for many days--it fell out of his mouth while he was bouncing and he thankfully saw it and picked it up).

We are having very, very warm weather. It was about 90 and hot!

Can you guess who Isabelle is?
Alijah, Isabelle, Yasmin, and Melina
Melina and Jasper at the pumpkin patch
Melina wanted to go to each pumpkin, pick it up, and throw it. She wasn't very happy when I told her no.


Riley and Isabelle walking in the parade.

Melina is 15 months old!!

On Saturday, October 25, Melina turned 15 months old!



Is Melina's hair strawberry blond? A lot of people think so, especially when she is in the sun; here is a good picture of her hair:

Mid-October Fishing Trip

On a beautiful fall Saturday we went to Lone Pine and fished our favorite creek. Melina went in the back carrier and did great (she usually prefers to be on my front--not the back)--so it was great that this time I didn't have to keep wrestling the fishing pole from her.
Melina was very captivated by the creek behind us, and we couldn't get her to look at the camera for anything. Maybe she sees a big fish she wants to catch?
We then went to a favorite catchpond in Lone Pine where the weather was so warm that the girls actually played in the water. Then we went into town, grabbed some McDonalds, a pizza from The Pizza Factory, and went to our favorite picnic spot along a different creek a little north of Lone Pine, ate our early dinner, and relaxed and enjoyed our time together.

Volcano

For Isabelle's preschool year (last year), we received a monthly workbook that usually had some type of craft accompanying it. One month's shipment included a volcano that she paper-mached and painted. Here she is making her volcano explode:

Fruit Harvest Part 2

After our delicious lunch at The Apple Shed, we headed over to Knaus Ranch where we picked Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples. Melina seems to have a fondness for tasting non-palatable items (that's a story in itself that you'll just have to ask me in person because she'd probably hate me for life if I posted it on our family blog), and she seemed to very much enjoy tasting the rotting apples off the ground. Oh well, what can you do? She was happy and content! After that we went to another orchard where we enjoyed some fresh apple cider and took some pictures. By that time it was late afternoon, the kids were tired and had had enough of fruit picking, so we headed home. A tiring but great day!
I love this picture--great job, Ginger!!!

Fruit Harvest Part 1

At the beginning of October we went apple and peach picking with Ginger, Alijah, and Yasmin. Our first stop was outside of Lancaster at a peach farm. The weather was very warm but delightful nonetheless. We got some yummy peaches and then headed to Tehachapi where we had lunch at The Apple Shed where they were very accommodating of our 4 small children.

Isabelle's "Official" Kindergarten Picture

Something Funny About Melina!

When I put away my laundry, I empty the laundry basket on our bed. Melina likes to be up there at the same time, and for quite awhile now, she dances around the bed while I'm hanging and folding, with my panties and bras draped around her neck! I finally got a picture:

Butterflies

For the second time, we have had the wonderful opportunity to watch the exciting metamorphosis of caterpillars to butterflies in our very own house. The company, Insect Lore, sends caterpillars in a jar that you then transfer to the butterfly habitat you see in the pictures after they form their chrysalides, and 10 days or so later you can watch new butterflies emerge. Today was a beautiful fall day and Isabelle decided to let her butterflies go.

Can you see the butterfly on Isabelle's hand?
The last butterfly was eating from a pear core and wouldn't fly away. Isabelle was able to hold the pear core and observe the butterfly up close for quite a long time before she gently placed it on a rose. Thank you, Miss (or Mr.) Butterfly.

Sweet Sisters!!!

Melina isn't the world's best sleeper. While some may disapprove and shake their heads, we have done what is best for our family, and Melina has slept with me since she was 5 weeks old. This worked out well, as it let me get my much needed sleep and made for a much happier Mama! The co-sleeping proves to be quite difficult, however, when I need to NOT be in bed (like getting up early in the morning to exercise or do my transcription work late at night, etc.). We tried putting Melina to sleep in Isabelle's bed a few weeks ago and it just didn't work out. I couldn't get her to sleep and I just gave up. Tonight I decided to try again (I've been procrastinating because I'm really lazy and didn't want to deal with the initial onset of rough nights associated with night weaning). She fell asleep easily at 7:30 p.m. and has stayed asleep since then (it is now 10:10 p.m.). Isabelle was so excited to go to sleep tonight and sleep with her sister! I checked on them awhile ago and got these pictures. And Melina has rolled at least 3 times since she started out on the other side of the bed. Yay!!! Is it really that easy? I am so excited about this I can't sleep! We'll see what the night brings...Of course, we can't forget good ol' Rodney--he always goes to bed with Isabelle and sleeps on her bed and he was right there with us when I tucked Isabelle into bed. Good boy, Rod!