Zoolights

Last year I opted out of taking Everly to Zoolights because she was so little and it was cold. So naturally, I was really excited to take her this year. We are zoo members and so we went on the day before Zoolights opened up to the public. It was great because it was the night before Thanksgiving and it really was not too busy. The babies loved it and Grandma spoiled them with glow rings. We will definitely be going once more before the season is over.

Desert Botanical Gardens Pumpkin Patch

Last year while I was on Maternity Leave, my sister invited me and Everly to join her and Cameron at the Desert Botanical Gardens for a Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival free for Special Needs Day. My sister found out about this through the Sharing Down Syndrome Organization and was reminded about it again this year. She was unable to take time off this year due to her current pregnancy, so Justin and I took the day off and took Cameron and Everly. We go there early so that we wouldn't have to wait to get on the hay ride. Thankfully we did, because as we got back the line was very long! Before we got on the hayride Cameron got his first tattoo (a puppy)! The hayride took us over to an area where we went through a hay maze, visited a petting zoo, took pictures on a tractor, and picked out EXTREMELY large pumpkins for FREE! If you know me, you know I love free. So we took advantage and found some very big pumpkins! The volunteers had to help us get them back on the hayride because our hands were full with babies, but we did it. After the hayride we were able to walk around the gardens and also got free entrance into the butterfly exhibit. We went to this last year also and it was really cool. It was still a fairly warm day, but the babies did great and I am glad we were able to take them! Can't wait to go again next year with my nephew Teddy, too!

Oh hey!

Double babying it!

Me and my nephew

getting dirty!

Seriously! The sweetness of this kid kills me!

cousins

the tattoo!

this is how you get out with two massive pumpkins

Rooster!

Seriously?

Had to end this post with the most inappropriate cactus I have ever seen. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Both Justin and I are off today and spending the day with Evie. We carved pumpkins last night and will be going trick or treating tonight with Cameron and the rest of my family. Everly will be Minnie Mouse and I will post pictures later. Should be much more fun this year considering Everly was only a few weeks old last year! Hope you have a safe Halloween! 

Cameron and Everly
Pumpkin Butt Picture idea via Pinterest

Justin made Evie a Hello Kitty Pumpkin :)

Anthem Train Park

We have been wanting to take the babies to a train park for awhile now. Growing up, my parents used to take my siblings and I to the McCormick Ranch Train Park. We often went after church on Sundays or when my Grandparents were in town visiting. I haven't been there since I have grown up, but we loved it. Eventually we will take them to that park, however, two weekends ago we took them to the Anthem train park. The park where this is located at in Anthem is beautiful! It is huge and there is so much to do. Also, when you are done, you can hit up the Anthem Outlets...bonus! Cameron and Everly had a good time. After the ride we were hanging out in the grass and Everly took a bunch of steps on her own. It was awesome! Here are some photos from the morning! Also, there is a video at the end of her walking...don't mind my sister's excitement! Haha!

Race for the Cure 2012

Sunday we got up early and headed to downtown Phoenix for the 2012 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Justin and I have been doing this race since 2007. His mother passed away from breast cancer so it is very important to us. You can see pics from the run last year when Everly was only a few days old here.  I did not run it last year for obvious reasons, but was glad to be back at it this year. I ran with a good friend of mine who pushed me to drop almost 30 seconds off my per mile pace. It was hot though! The run did not start until 8:20 this year. I feel like that is much later than in previous years! I normally run at 5:00 A.M. so having the hot AZ sun beating down on me was rough. But I finished, and so did my sister who was running at 31 weeks pregnant with a 15 month old in a jogging stroller. Crazy, I know! Here are a few pictures!

Professional Pictures

We had some professional pictures taken of Cameron and Everly again, but this time on her birthday. They came in yesterday and I love them. Everly was much more happy this time and smiled a lot. She was not super interested in the cake smash, but I think we got a couple of pictures. The next time we take these pictures there will be a new baby included! (Not mine, my sister's!) Here are a few of my favorites:

Tolmachoff Farms Pumpkin Patch

On Monday both Justin and I were off! Columbus day is a state holiday for me and Justin took the day off. My sister is also on fall break from school so we decided to take the kids to a pumpkin patch. We went to Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale, which is actually right next to the school my sister teaches at and we have been there before. They have corn mazes, a petting zoo, pumkin patch, and lots of little fun activities for kids. We got there at 10 AM and although it felt nice in the shade, it was pretty toasty in the direct sunlight. The babies had a lot of fun and got to pick out their own pumpkins at the end of the day. We will also be taking them to the Pumpkin Patch and Hayride at the Desert Botanical Gardens in two weeks. They hold a Special Needs day the day before their Pumpkin Festival begins and we get to go free through the Sharing Down Syndrome Organization. Here is my post from when we went last year. The babies were so tiny! Can't wait to see how much fun they have this year. Here are some pics from Tolmachoff Farms: