Fall Family Photos 2014

Thankful for our sweet family of four

Fall family photoshoot 2014, so many favorites

Mommy & Alina - say cheese...how cute is she!?

Alina posing with her parasol by the pretty fall trees

Such a fun day. The girls loved posing it up

My favorite of our two little beauties; our world!

Last week we had the pleasure of taking some new fall family photos. The picturesque trees and fall leaves, at the nearby park by our house, made for a resplendent backdrop. Thanks so much to my amazingly generous and talented friend/photographer, Christy Leopold, for capturing these beautiful family photos for us. She's taken some of my favorite and most cherished photos of the girls over the years and really outdoes herself with each new session. The girls love being around Christy and it shows in the photos. They were so happy and playful and really just embracing each moment as it unfolded. It took me by surprise how much Alina was into posing this time. I think she's finally reached the age where she is embracing the camera. Elise looks like such a young lady now, especially with her fashionable little outfit choices and poses. It's hard to keep up with how quick these two grow, which makes me even more thankful to have these beautiful memories.

So many smiles and giggles, the kind of photo shoot we love

Alina with her parasol, she's such a sweetheart always

Playing in the fall leaves makes for fun photos

Sometimes the perfect moment is captured summing
up the happiness, joy and energy of two little girls

Love is a beautiful feeling, thankful for all he has given us

Cute Little Thanksgiving Pilgrim

Cute little Pilgrim Elise at her Thanksgiving Feast 2014

Elise had her Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast and short musical performance last week. It was super cute. The kids dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans and sat down at shared tables to eat a feast of popcorn, apple slices and other goodies. Her class dressed as Pilgrims and since I volunteer two Fridays a month to work in her class, I had the pleasure of helping the kids make their hats and woven paper placemats. I will tell you that teaching kids how to weave is no small feat whatsoever. It was a lot of work, but fun all at the same time. I was definitely sweating by the end of the day, but it was 100% worth it to see all these cuties dressed up and celebrating before the holiday break. Elise basically made the perfect little Pilgrim. She looked the part with her blonde hair and braids, and as for that serious expression, well, she was just counting down the time until Thanksgiving break began. Yep, it starts this early!

Play Time & Sunsets

Scooter fun out in our court, love those smiles

Play time with their best neighborhood buddies

Elise's chalk art Olaf

She also did this adorable Elsa chalk drawing

She posed by her art, but I zoomed in on that sweet smile!

Beautiful pink and purple sunset

So lovely, all four of us just sat back and watched the sky

Perfect end to a relaxing weekend

Happy Halloween 2014!

Halloween cuties ready for a night of fun!

Trick-or-Treat fun with their neighborhood friends

Pretty princess Elsa and sweet little Minnie Mouse

Elsa, Olaf and Minnie Mouse Jack-O-Lanterns

We had a very Happy Halloween 2014! It should come as no surprise that the girls choose their absolute favorite Disney characters to dress up as this Halloween; Princess Elsa and Minnie Mouse. They were so excited to wear their costumes to school on Halloween morning, then dress up in them once again for trick-or-treating later that evening. Elsa had already worn her Elsa costume once for her summer birthday party, so this was her second time rockin' the very pretty ice princess look. The best part is that her hair is so platinum blond she didn't even need a wig to complete the costume. Alina made the cutest little Minnie Mouse! She picked out the prettiest red Minnie Mouse dress and it fit her perfectly. Her sweet little personality complimented her costume choice even further. 

The girls had lots of fun trick-or-treating with their little neighborhood friends. This was actually the first Halloween that we stayed in our own neighborhood to trick-or-treat. After a few hours of trick-or-treat fun, their feet were tired and they were ready to head home with their bounty of candy. 2014 was certainly the year of Frozen costumes! I saw so many kids dressed as Elsa, Anna and Olaf this year that I lost count. In the spirit of Frozen & Disney, we carved Elsa, Olaf and Minnie Mouse jack-o-lanterns this year. The girls loved how they turned out. They are even more excited for our December Disneyland trip now and I'm sure will be rockin' those Disney costumes again very soon. Happy Halloween 2014!

The interior setting for a frightfully fun Halloween night

The girls made sure Mr. Skeleton got in on the fun

Trick-or-treat adventures around the neighborhood

She hung up her halo for the night!