Ella's Fieldtrip to the Pumpkin Patch

I was so excited and thankful that I got to attend Ella's first fieldtrip with her! We got to go to the pumpkin patch with her pre-K class. Although it was a drizzly day, we had a BLAST!! Since it was so rainy, I opted to take pictures with my phone instead of lug my massive camera around in the rain. Enjoy our special time together:

All the little kiddos had to wear their "Blue Bears" t-shirts so they wouldn't get lost:

Big girl boarding the bus:

Once we arrived, we got to ride on the hayride:

We went on a nature hike with the "Native American Princess:"

We got to do a craft project:

It's a scarecrow!!!

We also got to mine for gems (Ella really enjoyed that....can you tell??)

We played on the playground with our friends....

We also got to "stuff" a real scarecrow!

The class got to bring the scarecrow back to school with them. They had a vote, and named the scarecrow "ELLA!" My Ella was super-excited about that!!

We also got to dig for fossils. Ella found a bear print:

Finally, we rode over to the pumpkin patch on a tractor....this was Ella's favorite part:

After feeding the animals (that STUNK to high heavens....shooo!)...

.....and taking one more hike back to the picnic tables.....

....we ate a yummy sack lunch, and headed back home to warm up from the drizzly (but awesome) day!!

I am so very happy I got to spend this day with my special girl. On days when the other kids just want to play and run around, Ella will often opt to just come snuggle up with me or her Daddy. She's a precious soul, and I beyond blessed to be her mama.

So glad to make this memory with my "E-Booby-T".....

.....my precious lil' pumpkin. :)

Chattanooga Choo-Choo!!

Chattanooga - Part 4

As you may have seen from our last three posts, we went on several excursions while we were in Chattanooga. But in all honesty, the most fun we had was staying right in our hotel!! We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo which has plenty of entertainment all on its own!

The girls were very excited about the pools and the waterfalls!!

 The indoor pool was one that I remember swimming in when I was a kid (ps - Josh's face is awesome here).

 Back in the day, we used to slide down that giant rock....they now have blocked it off....probably a good choice!!

 Josh and the girls getting in the hot tub!!

Of course, we had tons of fun on the trains!! The girls got free "engineer caps!"

 (note Ella's duck-face)

 My little engineers!!

We also played in the arcade...

 ,,,,,rode on the horsies.....

 ....and we walked down tons of little "train alleys."

Since Josh is a history-buff, we also had to stop at EVERY.LITTLE.MONUMENT so he could read all about the history of the city. I mean, come ON....

 The Choo-Choo restaurant was DELICIOUS, so we ate there about twice a day. Clairy kept giving her notorious "cheese-face" to the waiters....

 Here's the big girls trying to sneak into the bar to hear the Johnny Cash impersonator. (He was pretty fantastic.)

 We also just played outside and enjoyed the sights....

 Every time we run and play, someone generally gets a boo-boo (but the girls always know that Daddy can fix it) :)

We visited the Model Museum, which is basically a large model of the city of Chattanooga. I thought it was really neato!!

The girls also loved it....

 ....and Josh just found it THRILLING.... 

After we checked the boo-boo's one more time....

....we hopped aboard a trolly to travel downtown for a bit.

We winded up eating at a YUMMY bar-b-q place in the city. It was the perfect place for the girls to practice their dance moves:

When we returned, we headed straight for the candy shop...

 Ella felt MUCH better about her boo-boo's while enjoying her massive sucker (these giant pops stayed with us for HOURS). 

Even at nightfall (which was lovely....the pictures don't do it justice), the girls ate their suckers. It was really cool watching all the torches light!!

I love Ella's face here....I think she was having a major sugar-rush...

Needless to say, they were a little WIRED that night. But I guess that's our faults for providing the 1-lb. suckers....

I will leave you with my favorite picture from Chattanooga that was actually taken with my lame phone.

Such a sweet 3....little angels!!

Until next time, Chattanooga!!!

CHOO-CHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!