The Pumpkin Farm

Before we completely say good by to fall and usher in Christmas and winter, I wanted to post our trip to the Pumpkin Farm.  Bishop's Pumpkin Farm is about 2 hours from our home and it is one of the highlights of our year.  Our visit is often our last chance to soak  up the warm sun rays before we put on our winter coats.

 The Hayride:

The Perfect Pumpkin:

A Train Ride:

Panning for Marbles:

Digging for Hours:

A Little Treat Before We Go:

Garbarino Going Ons

Merry Christmas to all of you. Here is a peek at how we have spent our fall. Yes, I know winter is upon us but life gets so busy that I have had very little time to blog many of the fun things we have been enjoying, I praise the Lord for his abundant blessing of an active and happy family.

Christmas started in October at our house, with music and decorations abounding. E and K were so excited when they finally got to wear their beloved Christmas dresses. It is so fun to have little ladies that love to wear pretty thing, have their hair curled and pose for pictures.

Squaw Creek Resort offered free ice skating on the first 3 Wednesdays in December, we made it for 2 of the 3 nights and the children had a wonderful time on the ice, climbing in the snow, eating Christmas cookies and drinking cup after cup of cocoa.

Our little town was hit early with heavy snow, making it a white Thanksgiving. Our home is very close to the neighborhood pond which has a great dam for winter sledding. After one trip we realized each child needed their own sled for there to be a little more fun a little less complaining.

K age 4

B age 2

Our "littles"

E age 8

A age 6

K turned four in October. We celebrated with a wind chilling trip to Reno's Animal Ark, lunch out, presents galore and a pink birthday cake.

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm is a yearly fall tradition. Our homeschool group gathered to pick pumpkins, pet animals and play the day away. So much fun and it is often our last opportunity to enjoy warm sunshine until spring.

Hayride to the pumpkin patch.

The "littles"

E got a wonderful opportunity to ride in a airplane. Our local Chapter of Young Eagles offered a free pancake breakfast and airplane rides to children over the age of 8 to introduce them to the world of flight. I was so impressed by E's excitement and courage to go flying all by her lonesome.

We also made a fall trip to Apple Hill . Apple Hill is a low mountain area dotted with apple and pear orchards. Our homeschool group participated in a morning visit and tour to the orchard at Grandpa's Cellar. The orchard owner gave an educational talk on how apples grow and what it takes to care for an orchard. It was another fun fall activity that also include apple picking. It took less than 5 minutes for the children to pick 10 pounds of apples, not the wonderfully romantic apple picking scene I had envisioned, but they loved it.

Our thumb sucker (K) has stopped sucking---her thumb anyway. We recently discovered that the thumb guards worked but she took to sucking her index finger as an alternative; so now we are wrapping her index and middle fingers together to lick that habit. Never the less, her attitude is great and she reminds us if we forget to wrap her before nap or bed. Yes, this may be a strange thing to include but I know many friends who have suckers at their houses and may enjoy seeing what the thumb guards look like. K wore them 24/7 for a month.

And finally, B turned 2 in September. We celebrated with cake, of course, and a beautiful family day at the beach.

B on his birthday at Speedboat Beach

We pray you are all doing well and enjoying this wonderful life given to us by our creator. God Bless you all!

Sunday Afternoon--Victorian Square Fountain

These pictures are from a few Sundays ago at the fountain infront of the movie theater at Victorian Square. We packed a picnic dinner and enjoyed an evening of warm weather and cool fountain spray.

Sunday Afternoon--Crystal Falls

We had a wonderful Sunday Afternoon hiking at crystal Falls. The Crystal Falls trailhead is located in the back of the Bay View campground just past Emerald Bay. I am not sure of the hike mileage but it is short enough for our 3 year old Kensley to hike both directions with very little complaining of "I'm tired." Beware that the trail is not a smooth meandering path but rather rockie with lots of up and down stepping.





E on top of the world.




K in a mini crawl threw/cave.


It is hard to see them but E and A did a little rock climbing, they are at the top of the photo.


E and A thinking of testing the waters so more--they both had fallen in already.



B cozy in the backpack.





B loves grapes.


J and B with Crystal Lake in the background.


The children in front of views of Crystal Lake and Tahoe in the back. Don't they look like hikers, backpacks, dirt and all.




E and A do a bit more rock climbing.


And to top it all off, Papa and Nana were along for the ride.