Glimpses of Fall.

Fall is my favorite. Fall in Virginia is my ABSOLUTE favorite! It is unbelievably gorgeous! The trees are breathtaking and the weather is mostly perfect. We've been going on lots of walks lately...no more bugs!

We enjoyed the visit from our good friend, Michele at the end of September. (She is my friend Gonzalo's cousin). We have known her since she was 7 years old, now she is about to graduate from BYU. It is crazy how time passes by! Her visit was short but it was so fun to see her!

She really is such a cute girl and so much fun to be around...she bought a Jet Blue special deal that was going last month, she paid $600 and she was able to fly anywhere for that amount in one month! She came here, went to the Bahamas, Colombia, Florida...Pretty good deal if ask me!

We are making fun of the cute Asian tourists you see making the peace sign when they take pictures!!! ha ha!!!:) (It was Michele's idea, since she is half Vietnamese!):)

At the end of September, we also celebrated my brother's birthday. We went to a Thai Restaurant in D.C. my brother's favorite food. We had a great time! Now, we are the same age for a few more days...Here is Kem, his "friend" Holly and Brielle.

We were so full after eating all that yummy food! Thai food is delicious!

I've been feeling domestic lately...I had some bananas that had gone way too ripe for anyone's taste in this household...I didn't want to throw them away so I made this yummy banana bread! Man! oh man! I LOVE banana bread with chocolate chips!

I also made this...It's to store my grocery store bags that have been driving me CRAZY under my kitchen sink! It wasn't hard at all to make and I love the fabric!

Craigslist has been very good to me lately! I've been looking for a double stroller for centuries now...and I finally have found something I LOVE. This sit and stand is AWESOME!!! You usually pay about $130 for it brand new but I found it on craigslist for $75 and then I bargained with the lady and she gave it to me for $65!!! It's pretty much brand new and I CANNOT believe that I've gone this long without a double stroller! The kids LOVE it because they can sit or stand...they take turns sitting in the back...and now I can take long walks and go places by myself without having to stress out!

Very random picture...but Braden LOVES to drink his milk when he is having cereal in the morning! He drinks it 'til the last drop!

Braden has been fascinated with acorns! One time we were coming back from a walk and he had gathered a bunch of them with his two little hands. As we were coming up the stairs to our house he couldn't hold on to the railing and hold the acorns at the same time. He asked me if I could hold them so I did. His next request was one of the cutest things I've ever heard: "Mommy, keep them safe okay, keep them safe."

Oh the little things that children think are treasures...acorns...and ladybugs...

On another walk the kids found a few dead lady bugs. They both have these cute little tin boxes where they store their "treasures". They each put a lady bug in their boxes and came home. Later that day, Brielle was going through her box and was playing with the lady bug...(yeah, I know....that's why I bathe them every day!) Anyway, next thing...I hear her say as she is closely looking at the dead ladybug, "WAKE UP LADYBUG, WAKE UP!!!"

This little guy still has to wear the patch everyday, indefinitely. Now that Scott is in school all day, I've been slacking a little bit...mainly because he HATES wearing it and I LITERALLY have to wrestle with him to put it on...the other day I was talking to one of the ladies that takes her girls to Brielle's ballet class and she was telling me that one of her daughters has a similar condition. She told me about a website where they sell fun patches. But since we still have a couple of boxes left of the plain ones, I decided to decorate them myself! I am not an artist by any means...you can be the judge since Braden requested the Superman logo and that DOES NOT look anything like it! BUT. Since I've been decorating his "sticker" he has been more willing to wear the patch!!! whooo hooo!!!

Lastly...

(This picture was taken last December at the National Museum of American History)

Since Brielle started preschool, we have gotten such great feedback from her teacher. She has told me twice already that she is convinced that Brielle is going to be the President of the United States someday...she went on to tell me that Brielle is a little leader and is the kindest, most caring student in her class and is always worried about other people's feelings. If she sees anyone without a playmate she hurries and tells them to come play with her!

This last Friday, during their time in the the playground, her teacher was preoccupied with something and couldn't push some kids that were asking to be pushed in the swings. According to Brielle's teacher, I guess, Brielle noticed this and she organized a line with all the kids that wanted to be pushed in the swings and had them take turns while SHE, (Brielle) pushed them!!! I wish I would have been able to record her teacher telling me the story! She just LOVES Brielle! It makes me so incredibly happy and grateful that she goes to a place where she is loved and praised!

On Friday, my heart was full.