Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch Trip - Bastiao Farms, Sacramento

First trip to Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch, Sacramento

Alina driving the John Deere tractor, this would have made
her Great Grandpa Crothers so proud during his farming days

Plenty of great selections in the pumpkin patch

Fun day at Bastiao Farms, they especially loved the seesaw

Little goblins at Goblin Gardens

Alina by the Haunted Barn, the paintings here are great!

Inside the haunted town of Goblin Gardens

We took our first trip to a new pumpkin patch for mommy's birthday this year. We visited Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch at Bastiao Farms in Sacramento. This pumpkin patch is the perfect place to go if you only want to spend an hour or two on activities and get some great photo opportunities along the way. With mama being hugely pregnant (38 weeks) and pretty uncomfortable walking long distances, I enjoyed our trip here as the pumpkin patch is relatively small, but there were still plenty of activities to entertain the kids. The admission here is pricier than other pumpkin patches we've visited, but the kids had the best time here despite the sweltering 90+ degree Sacramento Valley weather...is it fall yet, seriously!? 

Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch has a cool mini town area for the kids and they loved playing and exploring inside. Also, most of the buildings here are adorned with great paintings, which make for fantastic photos. They also have small hay and corn mazes, hay rides and a train ride through the corn field with costumed ghouls who jump out and surprise everyone on board. The hay pyramid here was one of the tallest we've seen yet. Dad, of course, helped the girls scale it...success! All in all, it was a fun/overly hot day. We went home with a few large pumpkins which will eventually be turned to jack-o-lanterns before Halloween. Mama had a fun birthday this year, though a part of me wished all my walking that day would have jump-started labor. I am over being pregnant and ready to meet our little man.

The fun kids town at Goblin Gardens Pumpkin Patch

Alina exiting the saloon 

Everyone ready for a very fun hay ride

Alina and Daddy, all smiles before the hay ride

They scaled their tallest hay maze yet

Smiles and waves from the top

Goodbye Goblin Gardens pumpkin patch!

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!

Pre-Halloween Fun & Festivities 2014

Elise's Kindergarten class Halloween party

Adorable Minnie Mouse at her preschool Halloween parade

Halloween fun + Olaf & Minnie Mouse Jack-O-Lanterns

Mama & Nana had lots of fun at Alina's Halloween party

Mom's sharpie owl pumpkin

Halloween decorations and the girls festive artwork

October Trip to Apple Hill

The four of us enjoying our day in Apple Hill

Fun with little friends at Bill's Apple Orchard

Little pumpkins

Beautiful views at Bill's Apple Orchard

Mom with her two little dolls; love them!

We visited Apple Hill this past weekend with some of our close friends and their kids. As we were driving up it quickly dawned on me that the last time we took a trip to Apple Hill was before Elise learned to walk, so this trip was long overdue! The weather was beautiful and sunny and the kids had a fantastic time frolicking around the flower fields, apple orchards and pumpkin patches. Our first stop was Bill's Apples Orchard. We were drawn in by the bright and beautiful yellow and orange flower fields; perfect for fall photos. The kids were excited to get a free freshly peeled apple when they arrived. They ran around exploring to their hearts content. We then made our way over to Apple Ridge Farms for a visit to the pumpkin patch, hay maze and petting zoo. The kids got to pick out pumpkins and feed the goats. The biggest highlight for the girls was getting their faces painted. We waited over a half hour in line for it, but they were thrilled to show off their freshly painted faces and pose for some cute fall photos. It was a fun little weekend adventure and we certainly plan to make Apple Hill a yearly excursion from here on out.

Exploring the pumpkin patch at Apple Ridge Farms

Sweet Alina posing with her Minnie Mouse face painting

Elise showing off her Halloween face paint plus missing tooth

Cuties having fun posing for photos

Love these two sweet pumpkins