Enjoying the Weather!!!

A few weeks ago, I thought we were for sure beginning our prisoner days of being stuck inside. Then just when I think the cold has set in, we are blessed with a beautiful day in the 60s. We have definitely been taking full advantage of this. We spend so much of our time outside whether it's a day trip somewhere or just a simple playdate with our yard. I've been feeling kind of bummed thinking about the weather getting cold. And now since we are in an early flu season, I really need to find alternatives to indoor activities. Therefore, we have a new rule around here: if it's in the 40s, we're outside. Hence, we've been to the zoo four times in 10 days. Here's a photo recap of some of the fall activities we've been enjoying.

This was a trip to the riverfront to walk aboard Nina and Pinta replica ships. They were really neat and the history teacher in me was very excited to see them. (Anna loved it. The face you see in the pictures is actually her "camera smile".)

We love that we have such a great park we can walk to. We like to go play all times of the day (this particular time is on a Friday evening after dinner. It was such a crazy night, we closed the park down) and we love to feed the duck. Yes, I said duck. Lots of geese but only one duck.

We went to Findlay Market one morning and got a sunflower. Anna thought it was the greatest thing to put on her gardening gloves and help mommy plant the pretty yellow flower. She was so proud of her work.

I take the girls to the zoo by myself quite often. It's sometimes easier that way because then we can work on our own schedule. When someone else is with me (like Great Grandma Joyce -G.G.J.- in these pictures), then it's not too difficult to watch walking Anna. When I'm by myself...yes, I'm the mom who puts the harness on my child. P.S. I included the gorilla picture because it's just too darn cute! Look at the mommy holding her baby.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures
What parent doesn't look forward to these pictures every year? And this year was extra fun for the Zumbiel household since we now have TWO little pumpkins to pose. I literally mean "pumpkins". This year, Anna and Megan will both sport their orange and green for Halloween. We thought we'd try out the costumes at the patch. It went okay, but the girls were so interested in discovering all the sights that it was a bit difficult getting a good shot of them in their costumes. We managed some great ones pre-costume though. Enjoy the slideshow!

Disney on Ice - 100 Years of Magic

Amazing. Tremendous fun. Memories. Watching your two year old's eyes light up while she claps over and over and says hi to Mickey who she thinks is there just for her. Definitely one of the many priceless moments we just experienced as parents.

Not too much else to say. Imagine what it would be like to take your child to see Disney on Ice and that's exactly what it was. I'm sure it was only second to walking down Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom....yes, we're already thinking about that trip for our two little princesses....

I love this picture because it prefectly captures the innocence of a child. Here's Anna playing with her puzzles just minutes before we left for the show. She had no idea what kind of excitement was waiting for her later that night. Oh, if we could all just live in the moment.

Dancing in the aisle. Anna did a great job sitting on our laps. She finally figured out we were right next to the aisle at the end. We let her hang out there and dance for a little bit.

Anna brought this Minnie doll from home and held her the entire show. We actually got out of there without having to buy anything. Lucky us!

The Typo
I would like to take this opportunity to redeem myself for the typo in my previous post. The teacher in me is going crazy knowing that I inappropriately used a possessive "s". That specific misuse of the written word is probably one of my greatest pet peeves. Yes, I know that Halloween doesn't own anything in my sentence. My sincere apologies to all of you who read it and cringed. I know I did when I finally proofed it.

First day of Fall: If you ask me what my favorite season is, I will say summer. It's because I love warm weather, but it's really probably because of the nostalgia it brings....summer family vacations, playing outside until the street lights turn on, going to amusement parks, celebrating my birthday, summer festivals...Then every year when spring and fall come around, I end up longing for them too. (Sorry Winter, I don't really like you.) Fall is college football and the Bengals. It's the fall Keeneland run and grabbing some Joe B's while in Lextown for the ponies. It's jeans and jackets. It's now celebrating fun Halloweens with my sweet babies. It's pumpkin patch pictures....thanks Fall. I'm glad you came this week.

Okay, that's better.