I love fall time in Utah. There is so much more you can do now than when I was a kid. Sure, I remember getting pumpkins and carving them and of course dressing up and going trick or treating around the neighborhood. We took the kids tho Hee Haw Farms last week. It was so much fun and there was so much for the kids to see and do. Since they are 2 and under they were free and me and Antione each paid just $5. They had a little petting zoo where you could go right up to the baby animals and pet them. They had sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens running around. They also had a baby cow with her momma cow but they were behind the fence. They had a little pony ride, just like at the state fair but this time Ava did not want to have anything to do with it. Her favorite thing was the animal train. It was pulled by a tractor. It had all these hollow barrels that were painted and cut to look like different animals. Of course Ava wanted to ride in the piggy and Jada and Antione rode in the chicken. It was a very bouncy ride, especially in the back. Jada also thought it was so much fun. You can't help but smile when your squeezed inside a hollowed out barrel piggy bouncing around a farm with your daughter sitting on your lap laughing. Then we went a trick or treat hay ride. Again, a tractor pulled us but we went a lot farther. We rode through a corn maze and throughout it they had people dressed in costumes. There was a witch, tigger, winnie the pooh, a turtle, shrek, and many more. Everytime the kids would see a character they would all yell "hee haw, hee haw" and they they would throw candy at the kids. We got a lot of candy. They we went and shot corn husks out of a cannon type thing and see how far they would go. (that was more for me and Antione) And of course, before we left we stopped at the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin for me and Ava to later carve. What a fun time we all had! Next year, I am thinking of having the girl's birthday parties there.
I asked Ava, "Do you want to go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin and bring it home so we can carve it." She had no idea what I was talking about but she sure was excited about it and always said "yeah." And ,for some reason, she should would say "the pumpkin has a big nose" whenever I would talk about pumpkins. She is obsessed with big noses and everything from pumpkins to sharks, to elephants have big noses. So the next day while Antione was at school we carved our pumpkin. I bought a cheap $4 carving kit at Walmart and it worked great. The scooper scraper thing really helps to get all the guts out inside. I scooped out all the guts and seeds and Ava scooped them out of the garbage sack and put them right back in the pumpkin. Oh well, at least she was having fun. I cut out the face and she colored all over it. It turned out pretty good. We had it sitting on our table the past few days and above that hanging from the light was a big black spider. Ava would walk into the room and see them and say, "hello pumpkin, hello spiderman" (that's what she called the spider) Silly girl. Today we took down the Halloween decorations and through away the pumpkin. Ava was sooooo sad. She cried and cried for the pumpkin. Just like she did last year when I took down the Christmas decorations and she had to say goodbye to the snowman, santa, and the tree. Change is not easy for kids. So I told her that we had to say goodbye to the spider, the pumpkin, so we can bring back the snowman, santa and the tree. She said, ''okay" and that was that. For the past month or so, I would ask Ava what she wanted to be for Halloween. Again, I don't think she had any idea what I was talking about but she would always say "a elephant." I finally thought, an elephant, why not. So I got on KSL and started looking. I found one from the Disney and it was way cheaper. When we went to pick it up at the ladies house, she had several other costumes. We found an Old Navy mouse for Jada. Both of the costumes were very warm and had padding on the tummies. I couldn't stop laughing when I tried there costumes on that night. Ava's has the biggest ears and a cute little tail in back. And Jada is the cutest little mouse I've ever seen. Not surprising, Jada hated it and couldn't wait to take it off and Ava, well she would have slept in it if we would have let her. We took the girls on Friday night to the ward Halloween party. We had chili, cornbread, and donuts. Then after dinner they had several games for the kids to play and win candy. I'm not sure what Ava thought about everything but whe had fun wearing her costume. I was able to go out with Antione and the girl's last night for about an hour before I had to work. We started at 4:30 and the weather was so nice. Within a half hours time it started to cool off. Ava loved going door to door to get candy. Sometimes she would say "trick or treat" but she would whisper it and usually said it before they opened the door. All in all it was a fun holiday!
Jada still does not have even one tooth but you would never know it the way she eats. She is getting closer and closer to walking. She has taken a few steps and continues to stand up in the middle of the room. They are both growing up so fast. Life is never dull with the two of them around! Love you Ava and Jada!!! :)