Monday, November 7, 2011

October Fun

Cornell vs. Harvard Football Game! Go Big Red!Football is not quite the same here as it is in Provo. We parked in the parking garage right next to the stadium, and walked right in. Did not have to pay for parking or tickets or anything! There were not many people at the game either...I guess everyone was studying. Welcome to the Ivy League. Ha!Sunday Afternoon Walk.Nina and Friends snuggled up to watch a movie.Columbus Day Boat Float!!Say What?! You did not know about our little tradition? Well it is simple really. Make some paper boats, and float them in a body of water. (Bill really prefers running water like a river so the boats can race.) This year we had yummy cobbler after, but any FHE snack will do. We also read in the Book of Mormon where it talks about Columbus. And the best part? Columbus day is always on a Monday. Happy family night to you!The boat floating crowd. Bill had 3 classes in the first term, and has 3 completely different classes this term. So he already took some finals...at the end of term 1. Nina and I made him this little "Good job on your finals dad!" sign to celebrate him finishing, and we were also celebrating the start of Fall Break...that lasted about one day. Hooray!Playing in the leaves outside our apartment.Okay...this was the most beautiful fall tree I have ever seen! This picture does not even do it justice. The Northeast is known for its beautiful fall colors, and now I know why! It was gorgeous...but much too short lived!
For Bills day of Fall Break we went up to Syracuse to visit Grandma and Grandpa. The drive was beautiful with the colors. Somehow I always forget to get pictures with grandma and grandpa. Next time for sure!!We went to the Mall and they were having the anniversary of the Carousel, and so rides were free. Nina could have done this all day! When she saw the little carriage she got in and said, "Dad this is what Princesses ride in." I was getting a little dizzy after the second ride so we called it quits.Sitting like a princess on her princess ride. We went to a really fun little farm/pumpkin patch for a playgroup. Nina loved it!Nina feeding the goats. You put your goat food in the cans at the bottom and pulley them up top to the goats. It was pretty cute!Walking home from pre-school.Joint Ventures Halloween party!Flynn Ryder and Rapunzel all ready for the trunk or treat!Preschool Friends!Trick or Treating at PreschoolStory Time
Painting Pumpkins! I think my favorite thing from the last few weeks is that Nina can draw. She draws the cutest little people on paper all over the house, and had a blast painting our pumpkins.
Rapunzel and her Monkey. Nina was obsessed with pushing our little neighbor Chet around in his stroller for trick or treating. She hung her little bag of treats on the handle and then she was off. It was pretty funny.
The fire department drove up and down the street giving out candy, and the kids even got to go inside the truck. It was so fun.
Eating Dinner...I know Nina looks disgusted but she was so excited to put candy in her corn chowder...and I thought, "why not?" It was Halloween after all.
Last but not least Bill participated in Battle of the Brands last week at Sage Hall. Here he is manning the "Puffs" table. They did an awesome job, and totally should have won. Oh well, it was really fun!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

More Exploring...

Playgroup walk in the Cornell Bird Sanctuary...Nina is finding some great little friends to play with.
Just sitting at home.
Getting ready to walk to Preschool
Riding the bus to go and visit dad at school
Playing on the first day of Preschool
First day of Preschool
My goofy grown up girl!
This was our first experiment with quiet time. Nina had a few nights in a row where she would not go to sleep...and this has NEVER been a problem. So we decided to try quiet time instead of a nap. When I went in to get her out of quiet time...just about every toy was dumped on her floor, and she was all dressed up with nowhere to go...except dream land.
I love that she is wearing her fancy shoes. And notice the thumb in the mouth...this is another blog post all together. We are working on it, but the thumb is still a BIG part of our life. After a few "quiet times" like this, I decided Nina just still needs a little nap, but I only let her sleep for an hour to an hour and a half. It has been great...and I love still having a napper!
Playgroup at Cornell Orchards...this cute lady was telling the kids all about the apple trees.
Hay Maze...it took so long to get Nina out of here...she loved it!
Picking Apples
Eating Apples
Nina lines up her stuffed animals all over the house. This day they were all holding hands. Ha!
Hike to Taughannock Falls with some of our great new friends here in New York.
Beautiful!
Getting the kids packed and ready for the hike.
Over the past month there has been lots of rain here in upstate NY. One day all of the roads were closed in the morning and school was cancelled. Later that day, we decided to drive and see the damage. Here is the river that runs through the big gorge here. Usually the water just spills over the very center of this dam, but this day it went over the whole thing. Amazing. (sorry about the poor picture...we were driving.
Cornell Plantation...it was gorgeous!!
Swimming with more new friends.
Nina's new desk...remember we found this for free on the side of the road. After a little cleanup and paint...it is awesome. Seriously...I can hide all of Nina's coloring projects inside, and she just loves to sit there and work on things. Bill thought for sure he would regret putting that thing in our trunk...but we have proved him wrong!!
The before shot
My two goofballs! This was a day when we were unpacking boxes...and Bill found the Nurf gun. This is why kids need dads!!
That is all for now.