Fall Tradition

We did our annual visit to a "pumpkin patch" this fall.  I put it in quotes because these places are no longer just pumpkin patches.  They are theme parks and mini state fairs with rides, gift shops, playgrounds, petting zoos, and delicious seasonal and traditional food.  This farm was very close to our new house and we braved a Sunday morning to experience the fun. 

Our First Home

In April of this year, Fabio received a job offer at a university in Tacoma to teach accounting.  He had been an adjunct professor there the previous fall and had loved the experience.  We decided that this was a good, long-term career move and decided it was time to invest in a house.  

We were lucky that we found a community about 25 minutes from his work that was building new, affordable homes, and we could build a house our way-meaning we could choose the facade and finishings inside the house.  Initially, I wasn't a fan of the community because the houses were so close together, but there was one corner lot left and we would only be neighboring one house.  It has turned out great!  We are surrounded by trees and paths and our house gets so much light.  We have a small, manageable yard, and we are so happy!  It's been fun to decorate it, but it's still a work in progress!  It takes time to have enough stuff to fill such a big space!

                                      

Exploring Our New Home

We live so close to this beautiful state park. We spent a lovely morning walking on the beach in low tide.  We loved the stunning views and Matteo loved the sand dollars, which slowly disintegrated in his busy little hands!

Do the Puyallup!

My friend, Amanda, and I decided it would be a very "good mother" thing for us to take the boys (Ronan is Matteo's best friend) to the Washington State Fair in Puyallup.  I haven't been to a county or state fair in years, like, since I was in high school, and to be truthful, I'm not so much a fan...except for the fair food.  Also, the Puyallup Fair is famous for their scones, and I'm all game for famous scones.  So we decided to "do the Puyallup!"

The boys had a good time checking out the animals and going on rides and fishing for toys.  We all enjoyed a monstrous funnel cake (that made the long drive and chasing two three-year-olds around all worth it)!  The boys lasted about three hours before we decided to head back home.

Oh, those scones were GOOD!

Matteo won a frog when he fished an octopus out of the pond.

The fair could wear anyone out!

Watching the roller-coaster is definitely better than riding it!

The boys would have been happy if all we had done is just gone and played with the bubbles.

 

This made it AAAALLLLL worth it.  Just as good as I remembered!

 

Cousins Week in Prosser

As soon as we arrived home from Italy, Matteo and I headed to Nanna and Grandpa's house for some cousin time.  Cousin Ella, Lynlee and Preston were there, and there was lots of swimming, sprinklers, story times, singing and dancing to the piano, cartoons and playing in the playroom.  It's so fun to see these guys together.

*The sisters had fun too!

Lucky for us, Aunt Abbie did some more formal pics with her professional camera.

The next two deserve explanation.  Abbie was trying to snap a photo of Lynlee and Ella and Matteo comes running up in front of the camera and yells, "Stop!" while holding up his hand.  Then, as we're laughing and Ella and Lynlee start to be silly and run off together, Matteo gives us his sheepish face.  It's so typical of his personality and I love that it was captured.