happy autumn!

even though the weather feels more like summer than autumn at the moment, today is officially the first day of fall!  i love this season and all of the colors, smells, and tastes that come with it!

we're keeping our fingers crossed for nice weather this weekend because we are hoping to do an outside fall activity.  happy fall!

have a wonderful weekend!

love, laurie

snapshots of life lately . . .

a few photos of . . . a pile of pumpkins for sale at a garden shop, a friday night around a camp fire with friends, guard kitten watching his grandparents outside, fall mums for sale, a long line and awesome food at a local lebanese food festival, leko watching the premier of dance with the stars with me, fresh tomatoes and parsley from our garden, and beautiful hydrangeas in our yard. 

love, laurie

a birthday card for leko

i mentioned on friday that leko turns six years old this month.  our parents helped to celebrate leko's birthday this weekend by bringing him his favorite thing ever (tuna!) when they came up to our house on saturday.

i came home from work on monday night and checked the mailbox to find an envelope addressed to leko!  i was so excited and showed him right away.  he was pretty intrigued.  i opened it and found the cutest birthday card ever from miss kitty (and ryan's aunt sandy and uncle ed)!  it was so cute, i just couldn't believe it.

we loved that the kitten on the outside of the card looks just like leko!  the picture of miss kitty inside with the orange paw print and tuna fish sticker was adorable!  the pink sticker on the top inside of the card changes as you move it back and forth to say "hugs and fishes" . . . too cute!

thank you, miss kitty, aunt sandy, and uncle ed!  that card made our day!  we have it displayed by leko's food dish so that he can see it when he eats (which is basically all the time)!

love, laurie

fall fun at roba family farms

after we went apple picking on saturday, we headed over to roba family farms.  it's a tradition of ours to visit roba's farm each year in the fall and we absolutely love it there!  we're glad that ryan's parents got to join us this year for the first time.  there were a lot of new attractions this year too, including a slide and tractor ride.

it was teacher appreciate day which meant we got in for free and didn't have to pay admission which was awesome!  we had a great time and were thrilled that the weather held out for us and that we missed the rain!

love, laurie

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previous trips to roba's: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

apple picking!

every fall we look forward to apple picking!  it is one of our favorite fall activities, and there is a beautiful apple orchard near us which is nothing short of picture perfect.  on saturday morning, we went apple picking with our families.  there is just something about walking up and down the rows and rows of apple trees that puts you in the mood for fall!

we picked (and ate) several different varieties of apples.  even though it was a bit humid, the sun was out and shining, and it was a gorgeous fall day!  so far we made a baked apple pancake for sunday morning breakfast with our apples, and we've been enjoying eating them too.  i'll have to get my favorite apple recipes out for all of those apple that we picked!

love, laurie

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previous apple picking adventures: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

six years old!

this month, leko turns six years old!  boy oh boy, we sure do love our sweet fur baby!  it's so hard to believe that he is going to be six already!  he has grown so much since we first brought him home in january 2012.  i snapped this picture the other day when his was taking a much-needed nap.  what a cutie!  we'll be celebrating this guy's birthday all week long (with plenty of tuna of course)!

have a wonderful weekend!
love, laurie

snapshots of life lately . . .

love, laurie