Five years old! Hard to believe it of our baby girl. She is old enough to ask that we not call her our baby anymore, but that she will always be. Julia is our happy, smiley, fun loving girl who still shakes when expressing her joy. We love how well you play with your sister and by yourself. This year with your true voice has been a delight even if you found quite a lot of volume. We hope your birthday is a wonderful one!

Fall is here, but we are still having warm weather to enjoy it. We took a hike with our grandparents at the local arboretum. Emily kept asking to walk father and loved the day. Julia liked exploring and finding fun sticks to use as walking sticks.

Who doesn’t love crossing a bridge and watching the water flow beneath it.

Fall sunshine is the best for bringing out smiles.

Big sisters are always good for giving kisses!

We took our grandparents out for pumpkin hunting at a local pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying fall.

Happy pumpkin grins!

Hiding among the cornstalks

We didn’t get lost in the maze and we had a great time.

No summer trip to Florida can be complete without a stop in Orlando to play. We spent a little less time this year because of the kids being sick. The sickness gave us only one pool day with all the kids so they made the most of it. On one of the play days we went to Downtown Disney to explore a little. All the kids had a blast checking out the Lego store and riding the train along with the carousel. After lunch we went back to play at the house. They had the most fun just being silly with each other and playing! Good memories!

We wanted to see the Everglades during the summer when it is the rainy season, so we took the shuttle ride in Shark Valley. Because of the extra water in the Everglades the alligators were more spread out and were not easy to see, although we saw a young one by the road and one large one by the observation tower. The biggest difference from our previous visit was that it rained while we were on our tour. The large open spaces allowed us to see several rain clouds around us while we were riding which gave the day its own unusual beauty.

It was a bit breezy for the ride. Sitting with the grandparents made it lots of fun. Grandma shared her camera with the girls to take some photos. Who knows what photographic masterpieces she ended up with.

At the half way point of the tram ride there is an observation tower that we climbed to take a good look at the scenery. Emily decided to have a one-girl race to the top. She won.

The girls took a minute and stopped moving to check out the view.

This is the alligator who greeted us at the observation tower stop. He had found his lunch of a turtle. We watched him for a few minutes from a safe distance and then went to look at other views. After we got to the other side of the road the alligator threw the turtle into the air and grabbed it back as it fell. It is almost like he was showing off for the visitors. We were glad the girls missed the excitement.

While visiting Miami each year we try to make a trip out to the beach to take photos along with enjoying the sun and sand. The weather during this year’s trip was not helpful for this activity. It was cool, windy, and more rainy than usual, so instead, we took some photos of the kids in the backyard while they were having playtime.

Ty was visiting his grandma for the afternoon and Lizzy came over for cousin time. There was lots of flower picking, ball kicking, running, and laughing. There is enough room on the swing set for everyone to have a great time.