PUMPKIN PATCH!!!

Just a little warning--there are A LOT of pictures coming up :)

If you know me at all you know I love fall and I LOVE going to a pumpkin patch every year. One of the first things I did when I knew we were moving to Vancouver was make sure there was a pumpkin patch somewhere close enough to drive. We found a GREAT one this year. Each pumpkin patch holds a special place in my heart because each one has so many memories that we've created at it, and I know this one will hold many more memories in the years to come. This year we went with the Robinson's and our friends Amy and Ashra. The kids played in bouncy houses, rode horses, pet bunnies, went on a hayride, picked pumpkins, tasted REAL apple cider (really its fresh squeezed apple juice with no preservatives--it was AMAZING!!!), jumped on a jumping pillow, went down slides and through a small maze. It was FUN!!! We can't wait to go back next year!!

Ashra, Emma, and Ty.

Ty riding the horse.

Emma riding the horse.

Emma petting the bunnies.

Ty in the bunny houses.

Seriously, I took about 15 pics and not ONE turned out with everyone looking at the camera!!

On the hayride!

Ty and Daddy!!

Amy and Ashra.

Ty's pumpkin pick of 2010!!

Emma's pumpkin pick of 2010!!

This year she was even big enough to pick it up!!! I don't like how old she's getting !!!

Emma and Ty on the jumping pillow.

Carson on the jumping pillow.

Emma decorating her pumpkin.

The finished product!!

Ty painting his pumpkin (to look like it was bloody, gore is a new thing at our house) :)

Ty's finished product!!

Happy Thanksgiving - Canada Style

Thanksgiving in Canada is earlier than the U.S., it's the 2nd Monday in October. We had 2 Canadian Thanksgivings this year. The Korean Church that we pray for on Sundays at noon wanted to have their Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday after church. They asked us to bring some Canadian/American food, and they brought some food too. So our team brought turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin and pecan pies, rolls, etc. Alot of the Koreans had never had turkey, but they obviously liked it, b/c it was GONE!! They seemed to like everything else too, although the mashed potatoes, and the cool whip for the pies, were hard to eat with chopsticks. For our 2nd Canadian Thanksgiving, we invited people we knew in our community that didn't have family plans. So we ended up with around 29 people in our apt. It was crowded, but FUN!! 5 of those people were here from Mississippi for a missions trip. They helped us make all of those people feel hospitable and cleaned up--they were a ton of help!!

Victor with the kids at the Korean church.

The Mississippi team praying during the service.

Korean Thanksgiving.

Our Korean friends eating :)

More friends eating!

Our friends at our apt. before we ate the 2nd Thanksgiving dinner.

The food!! there was tons!!

Some of the ladies in our solarium.

Our friends Amy and Carl, and 1/2 of Victor :)

Patsy and Ann. (and Jeff peeking through!! LOL)

Fall day at the Park

Since we have been here Vancouver has been beautiful in every way!! The summer was gorgeous and the fall has been INCREDIBLE!! I love fall, so to see all of the leaves changing and the cooler weather (although summer wasn't near as hot as anywhere else we've lived) has been wonderful. On this particular Saturday we rode our bikes to Stanley Park and then played on one of the playgrounds there. Just to let you know, the leaves are changing and even more beautiful now than they were in September.

Our sidewalk.

One of the crazy things about Stanley Park is the very friendly wildlife. The raccoons will practically pat you down for food. So when we got to the park, we weren't entirely surprised to see raccoons there, although we were surprised that we saw 6 of them!

One of the 6.

Pretty trees.

Ty digging.

Emma playing with her puppy.

Emma and Ty by the rose garden.

Trip to the Beach with Ty's Class

I know I've said this before, but I LOVE that our school is so close to the beach!!! One of the Fridays in September Ty's class headed down to the beach for some playing. They all spalshed in the water and made different creative things in the sand. They had so much fun.

Eyeing the water!

In the water!!

Ty with his friend Mark, pointing something out.

Ty, Joseph, Jake and Mark were building a way for the water to come down the side of a small sand wall.

2nd First Day of School

For our 2nd "First" day of school we had cinnamon rolls!! For every grade but Kindergarten they had a full day, however, the kindergarteners went for 2 hours on this day and met all of the kindergarten teachers and were able to be in their rooms for a while to see what each teacher was like.
The yummy cinnamon rolls!

Emma with a big bite :)

Emma and Ty all dressed up!!

Ty, the big Kindergartener!!

Emma, our big 3rd grader!!

Emma in her new class at her new desk.

This is Ty in one of the Kindergarten rooms. This was Mr. Coomb's room and his room was the "play"room. It was definitely Ty's favorite!!

This is Ty in Mrs. Foisy's class. This is the teacher who Ty ended up getting for this year. I could not have put him in a better class. Mrs. Foisy is so kind to the students and she is an INCREDIBLE teacher!! Inspite of my humanly plans, God always puts Ty and Emma in the perfect classes, that suit them perfectly. I'm so thankful that God knows everything and knows what's best for my children, that He loves even more than I do.

First Day of School- 30 min. long day :)

In Vancouver the first day of school is only 30 minutes long. So this year, we had 2 "first" days of school, a 30 min. one, and a full day one. These pics were from our 30 min. day. On this day they go back to their previous year's class and their previous teacher takes roll, then it's time to go. They didn't find out what class they were in until 3 days later!! Different system, but it worked :)

Emma with her "3rd" pancakes.

Ty with his "K" pancake.

Ty with his faux hawk, cool jeans, and monster truck shirt. This boy is just like his daddy in wanting to be stylish :)

Emma went with new jeans, an embellished tank top with matching cropped cardigan, and "runners" (that's what they call tennis shoes here). Emma wants to look good, but be comfortable, like her momma :)

2 GREAT looking kiddos!!