DiDi's Visit...

We loved having DiDi visit...the only thing that could have been better would have been if she had packed Doc, Bubba, and Gaby in her suitcase with her!

Riley and DiDi did LOTS of playing...

in the sandbox!

The also had fun with the play dough outside on Saturday morning after we had a yummy breakfast of pumpking waffles!

After Riley's nap we headed to Dixon to Impossible Acres pumpkin patch...we went here last year and Riley loved the petting zoo so we came back to see all the animals!

She was screaming at the top of her lungs when we pulled in the parking lot...

Checking out the goats...

Holding the bunnies!

She had seen a picture of Gaby holding her class bunny named Oreo a few weeks earlier so she was so excited to see "Oreo" which was her name for all of the bunies!

She loves her Daddy!

She was talking so sweetly to this little piggie that didn't want to wake up!

And of course she had to brush the pony!

We had to make one more round to see the bunnies again!

Our best attempt at a family pic...she will smile great for the camera but she has a hard time looking at the camera...it's a give and take thing!

With her parents behind the camera and some bribery for a piece of gum she did great taking a pic with DiDi!

We ended our time at the pumpkin patch with a good 'ol fashioned tractor ride!

After the pumpkin patch we headed into downtown Davis and ate at my favorite Thai restaurant...it was such a fun day!

Sunday was one of our first muggy, overcast, rainy days and we woke up so excited about it...it's amazing after so many days of sunshine how you actually welcome the clouds!

DiDi offered to babysit for us and we headed to Napa to meet Chris and Christina for lunch and a quick wine tasting!

We had a yummy lunch and headed to Mondavi for some wine...we managed to claim this great spot in the tasting room in some comfy chairs and couches right by a nice warm fire...it was hard to get up and leave!

The boys...and the girls!

After we got home we decided that it would be a perfect day for Jason's famous minestrone soup and it truly hit the spot!

We had a fun evening at home eating soup!

It is now officially the rainy season and this little girl had been begging for an umbrella!

We found this Hello Kitty one and in her world it has been raining since the moment we purchased it...she wants to take it everywhere!

I love this pic of her and her Daddy!

Thanks DiDi for coming to visit!

Catchin Up...

Well we had some fun things planned for this past Sunday after we dropped Grammie and JoePa off at the airport...we were going to take the jogging stroller and go running along the Embarcadero in San Francisco and then grab some food and then we were going to meet up with some friends to watch the Blue Angels perform at an air show by the Golden Gate Bridge...sounds like a fun day, right?

Well unfortunately none of that happened because on Saturday while my Dad was playing fetch with Hank he started limping and not bearing weight on one of his legs. He's tough and completely obsessed so even in this state he wanted to keep playing. We moved his leg all around trying to figure out what was bothering him and he wasn't flinching at anything. We figured he hit it and he would be fine in no time. Well Saturday night I heard him outside moaning and we knew something was up.

So me and Riles took Grammie and JoePa to the airport and Jason took Hank to the emergency vet. Turns out they think he tore a ligament in his knee...they put him on some pain pills and sedatives and we're going to see if he can heal on his own. Praise the Lord for sedatives...he's such a calm and sweet dog on those pills...can we give him one every day? When Riley and I got home from the airport he was just laying inside and he would nuzzle in my lap and pass out...sweet boy!

We have been keeping him inside and off his leg as much as possible and he's just now starting to put some weight on it which makes it even more important that we keep him off of it...hopefully he's on his way to recovery.

He is a good dog and lives to play fetch...even the emergency vet clinic wrote "Hank is a character" on his paperwork and none of them could believe he was 7...we have been waiting for years for him to calm down but so far only the sedatives produce that result!

Poor guy...we sure hope you feel better soon so you can run around with Riley in the backyard!

We were bummed that our plans got messed up but we were glad we got Hank some relief and we were exhausted after being up with him during the middle of the night so we took it easy, watched a movie while Riley was napping, and then we headed to the golf course with Jason for his first nine holes!

Jason has been playing more golf lately, especially since he got a new set of clubs!

I have never been out on this course even though it serves as our backyard so it was fun to see it...it's such a beautiful course!

Riley and I were in charge of the cart and boy was that fun!

Riley also had another very important job...holding the flag for Daddy while he putted...she took it very seriously!

Proud Daddy who loved having his girls out golfing with him!

We saw the turkeys...these guys live on the course and usually meander past our house in the mornings and evenings and Riley loves to see them...guess where we're getting our turkey for Thanksgiving...just kidding!

More pretty pics of the golf course!

The cart girls...need a ride?

What a fun Sunday...a change of plans..but still a great day as a family!

This week we had our first parent/teacher conference at Riley's school...I realize she's only two but once a year they just want to meet with the parents and discuss their development and share their observations. This was our first one and it was fun! We went during Riley's nap time and she was all snuggled up and her hands were folded like she was praying..so sweet!

They have this one part of their file that they call observations and it's little stories of things they do or say that the teachers feel are noteworthy so they write them down and file them away...we loved reading them and mostly cracked up at them. Things like "Riley was in the dramatic play area with an apron and a fireman hat on and she said 'I am making butter'" or "One of Riley's friends told Miss April 'No' and Riley said 'You need to obey the teachers. You don't say no to the teachers. You hear me?'" Gosh how we love this girl!

And today DiDi arrived...everyone has been in need of a Riley fix in our family and she is loving all of the attention!!! We picked DiDi up and then met up with Jason for dinner...she was kissing, hugging, and being her fun self all evening.

When we got home DiDi had some surprises for Riley...I believe we have officially entered the dress up stage and I have to admit I'm pretty excited about it!

Meet Princess Riley!

Riley and her DiDi

We are looking forward to a weekend of fun...hope you all are too!

Grammie and JoePa Come to Town!

Last weekend Grammie and JoePa came in for a visit and we had so much fun with them!!!

Riley and I went to pick them up Thursday afternoon and we came back to the house where Riley had fun showing them her new toy!!!

The Welch family was so kind to let Riley have this toy that Ellie and Easton used to play with...she is in love...thanks guys!!

She calls it her climber and she loves to play in it!

She had to get Grammie inside with her so they could cook enchiladas!

She also likes to go inside to escape the dogs and their craziness!
Sliding...woohoo!
Hank and Kadie made some good attempts to get inside with Riley...it made her crack up and yell at them all at the same time!

Grammie is sooooo funny!

Great pic!

We went and had dinner at BJ's afterwards and called it a night!

On Friday Grammie and JoePa took Riley to the Jelly Belly factory and they all had a blast...and many jelly beans were eaten by all over the entire weekend!

After all the fun Riley wanted to pretend she was napping on the couch with Grammie!

Friday afternoon the guys headed to the golf course and us girls headed to Larry's Produce to get some food!

They had all their pumpkins out and there were so man different kinds!

Riley and Grammie!

Me and my girl!

We got some great pumpkins and Riley played on the hay bales for a while too!

After Larry's we headed to the Disney store to do some halloween costume shopping...I was a total sucker!!! Riley was in princess heaven and she was in love with the Tinkerbell costume so we had to get the whole costume with all of the accessories...she's the cutest Tinkerbell!!!

As soon as we got home she wanted to wear her costume and poor girl thought she could fly...she went over to JoePa and sadly stated "I can't fly JoePa"

We fixed a fabulous dinner that may or may not have included some Pioneer Woman recipes with loads of cream and butter!!!

Jason put a fire in our fire pit and we ate outside..it was great!

My mom and dad

Me and Jason

After dinner Jason turned on the Aggie Band and we started teaching Riley how to sing to the Aggie War Hymn!

She loved every bit of it!

We were getting her ready for the Arkansas game and for our trip in a few weeks to Aggieland...she's got some great skills and is well on her way to being an Aggie!

Saturday we headed back to BJ's to watch the A&M vs Arkansas game...due to regional programming the game wasn't showing for us on tv...boo!

We had a good time despite the loss!

And this little girl was so cute it helped take the sting off the loss!

Gig 'Em Aggies!

We had a pretty low key evening and grabbed some dinner at a local italian restaurant...the next morning Grammie and JoePa were on their way back home...a short but sweet visit!

We can't wait to see them in a few weeks in Aggieland!

Biking in Davis

We have definitely put our bikes to good use lately and it's been lots of fun!

Jason had to take his truck in for an oil change and scheduled maintenance and the closest Ford dealership is in Davis so we decided to throw our bikes in the back and go ride to the downtown area to eat and play while the truck was being worked on!

Now I've ridden in our neighborhood plenty and on bike trails but this was my first experience actually using my bike as a means of transportation...good thing we picked Davis to do this because it's coined as the most bike friendly city in the nation! The bike lanes were huge and they are all over the place so the 3.5 mile ride to the downtown area was great!

We stopped on our way at this great little park we found!

Riley had lots of fun playing!
We finished our ride and ended up at the Farmer's Market in Davis...just in time to grab some food and enjoy a good lunch!!

Jason surprised me and Riley with some popsicles...yummy!

Love her face in this pic!
We chuckled at how she was sitting with her legs crossed..such a lady!

We spent LOTS of time playing and she loved riding on her Daddy's shoulders!

We rode back to the dealership only to find out we would have to wait over an hour longer...uugghh!!!

We had such a fun time together!!