Hunsader Farm Pumpkin Festival 2010

This year was our 2nd visit the Pumpkin Festival in Hunsader Farms. It is about an hour away and so much fun for the kids and this year, thankfully, it was not NEARLY as hot and miserable as last year was. It was still hot in the sun, and there is limited shade and the ground is sand and dirt so you get FILTHY dirty but it's still so much fun. The day started off a little rough and I seriously considered not taking Leeza at all but we were meeting freinds and I didn't want to leave them high and dry. Leeza, my every moody daughter, was "kicked out of ballet class" on Saturday morning. Granted, she was pretty exhaused as we had been NON STOP GO action all week long, and Friday was a late night trick or treating in Safety Harbor then a rec center, and Leeza was to bed late and up early. She just kept going in and out of class and they gave her one more chance, and she blew it.

The kids had a blast at the Pumpkin Festival anyway and I was glad we went. I think we'll call ballet quits for now until she can learn how to act. :)

Feeding the goats was a huge hit with the kids!

Halloween Festivities!

The Halloween fun has begun....Leeza missed her class Halloween parade on Wednesday because I have to pick her up 15 minutes early to make Kindermusik by 12:15, SO, we came back today, a non preschool day, just in time for the parade. She wanted to wear her Cinderella dress, that was not really for Halloween, but because her mommy is a sucker for a pretty princess dress in the Disney store. :) Actually, we got the dress because we are invited to a special birthday party AT THE CASTLE at Disney in December and one MUST wear a princess dress to dine with the princesses.

Anyway, Leeza was not acting very Cinderella right during her parade. She was more along the lines of Drizella or Anstasia, the bratty stepsisters. First she wouldn't pose for the class picture, then she wouldn't walk in the parade unless I held her hand. At the end of the parade, she got mad and kicked her shoes off and tried to run back into the school. Who knows why? She is soooo moody. But then 5 seconds latear, she's happy go lucky again. Weirdo!!













We took the kids to Main Street in Safety Harbor to trick or treat at the businesses, then to the rec center for games and fun. The kids had a blast! I am so lucky to have such good friends with kids the same age there-abouts as Leeza.
Ryan was the cop, and Karen was shooting a wedding, so Karen's mom took Ryan and Kari was ONE HOT COWGIRL with her Darth Vader son Mason, who just turned 4. We took the kids last year and it was SO stinkin hot , we were all drenched with sweat. Today was MUCH cooler and less humid, it was actually quite pleasant. After we hit all the businesses for candy (and Mommy got a Landshark), we headed to the rec center for more fun, slides, bouncy house things and games. It was really a lot of fun! These kids are so lucky...they never had all this stuff when we were little.
Leeza wore her "real" halloween costume...a Pink M&M. It was made by a dear friend that I met on Ebay last year and she makes precious clothing. She also made ME a pink M&M costume to run in a Halloween Half Marathon. I don't look nearly as cute as Leeza though. :)

Leeza meets her Great Grandma!!

My grandma turned 90 on October 16th and we all flew into Phoenix for the big celebration! I had not seen my Grandma since we left for Kazakhstan 2 years ago. She had never met Leeza. It was such a wonderful celebration. She looks AMAZING and her memory is still sharp as a tack. I am really praying that I got some of her genes. :) It was a wonderful celebration and my aunt did a great job coordinating it all. As little girls dressed up in fancy dresses do, Leeza "stole" the show...all the ladies in Royal Oaks retirement center were "oohing and ahhing" over the lil girl dressed up like a princess. However, I was MOST proud of Sean. He sat at a differnet table from us when we arrived Friday night and went to Olive Garden with everyone, and a different table at the birthday lunch the next day. Everyone that met him came and complimented us on how friendly, adult, and conversational he was with people he didn't know. I was really proud of him. Leeza has a ways to go in that department. :)








Since we flew all the way to Arizona, we decided we should stay a couple extra days and see the sights. We drove to Sedona on Sunday night and spent Monday at the Grand Canyon, then Tuesday out and about Sedona, then back to Phoenix for a visit with the Tennens, and their daughter Rylie, another Kaz cutie who was adopted from Astana.
Taking a 3 year old to Grand Canyon and Sedona was probably not the best idea I've ever had, but it was so breathtakingly beautiful and such a wonderful change of scenery for the Floridians it was still worth it, even though Sean and Joe say they will NEVER GO ON VACATION WITH LEEZA AGAIN UNTIL SHE'S 10!





Even though Leeza was kind of a PITA (Pain In the A$$), I did love having Sean away from his school, friends, xbox, and Leeza away from her princess movies, normal routine because they played so cute together. Sean is really a sweet boy..and really good with his sister. When she wanted carried and I was like "NO, YOU CAN WALK", her big brother would always carry her. She is a lucky lil girl. Of course, he also told her she was "challenged, had no friends, and is spiteful" when she acted like a diva, and wouldn't listen. She just loves to TAKE OFF, as in, open the hotel room door and go down the hall. Lordy, she keeps us on our toes. :)








As we've now been home for 4 days, I'm already forgetting what a pain Leeza was and just remembering what a special time we had as a family. :) I am sure this is why I don't remember Sean and all the antics he pulled at 3, but I do think he was much more chill than his wild and crazy sister. :)














Sedona was BEAUTIFUL! We took a pink jeep tour, and Leeza was actually really good, confined to car seat and just seemed to chill and take in the beautiful scenery! The lil town of Sedona is beautiful and quaint, but Leeza is not very adept at "looking ONLY with her eyes". :)






















The end of our trip was also a highlight--we got to visit with the Tennen family...the spunky Rylie, age 3 1/2 , born in Astana, and her mom Sara (pregnant with her brother or sister due May 1st) and her hubby Adam. The girls got a long immediately and they had a blast playing at the park, then we had a quick dinner. It was a perfect way to end our trip. :)