Bzzzzzz

Onto the typical Halloween post!

First, we carve pumpkins.







Next, we got trick or treating with a little bumblebee! How else are we supposed to score a bunch of candy?! We had a fun time with some friends at the Mill Creek Town Center.

Trying to stay dry

Learning the trade

Beeeeeeeeing cute! (Sorry....)



Breaking into the candy while still in the car seat!

Fun Halloween with a little bumblebee :)

Surviving Zee Swine (And Road Trips)

That's right. I caught the swine flu. We went on our huge long road trip, just for me to get sick the day we got back! I think I know where it all began....*cue the wavy memory fade out...* We were walking down the street in San Fran and there was a big guy walking towards me. As he went past he turned right towards me and coughed! On me! I even said 'Oh he better not have the swine, so help me!' Low and behold, the very next day on the long drive home to WA my throat started to hurt. And then we all know it turned into over a week of near death fun. And poor little Darby caught it from me. BUT she got Tamiflu within the first 24 hours of symptoms, so she was golden. Apparently her immune system is amazing compared to her old mother's. ANYWAYS, now that I have climbed back from the abyss, I can finally blog about our little family car trip to Colorado! (And Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, California, and Oregon)!


With Darby navigating, we drove straight through all night and all day to CO. Or Dave did. I slept. And when I took a turn for like one hour at 5am I had to quickly switch back for fear of killing us all from falling asleep at the wheel. Ok, so I stink at all night drive-alongs, so what!? Dave had around 6 Red Bulls and I refuse to drink those things. So there.
But it was all sunshine and blue skies and happiness when we arrived at the cabin!

Some of us became one with nature and our 'Ranger Joe' selves.

All so we could enjoy some of these


And these!


It was just lovely having the cabin all to ourselves! Last time we were here we (happily) shared it with close to 20 people. Not that we ran around naked or anything this time, it was just roomier.
Some ever so exciting family activities included -
puzzles

picnics


and nature walks



We also checked out the river.


Or got INTO the (freezing cold) river !??!

Struck poses in Vail

And had warm fuzzy moments with Daddy


So fast forward through Utah and Nevada - and end up in California! Since we loved San Francisco so much, we showed little Darby a day o' fun and visited the Wharf and such. Here is some photo proof.




Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge

And that was the day I got coughed on. We all know the rest ;) But I digress, you CAN miraculously heal from zee Swine. I am living proof. I eventually crawled out of my dungeon and saw the sunlight once again. It can happen.
Til our next road trip!

Pumpkin Hunting

Has it really been a year?! Time has flown by since the last time we visited Carleton Farm! We love it because it's close enough that you don't feel like you're traveling cross country to get some pumpkins...and it just really is the place of little kid dreams!

Here is Darby last year at Carleton Farm -


Is this the same kiddo? Now she is just too hip hop to even be held by her Mom and Dad and opted for traversing the pumpkin vines herself.


Hay ride



We are always being told how humongous Darby is...so we had to measure her ;)


The search is on!




Darby's choice


She was saying 'ewwwwww' to this pumpkin. So rude.


Checking out the (small) animal selection




Pumpkin hunting is over for another year!