Yesteryear Acres - Doodle Days

Thankful for a PAWfect Autumn Day

2026-11-12T15:09:35.962-05:00

With November officially underway, we like to take this month to take a pause and reflect on the things we are thankful for.

Today I am thankful for a PAWfect Autumn Day

With a backyard full of giggles

"BOO! Erneee"

*Toddler run*

*Doodle run*

BIG PUPPY DOG KISS

More intense toddler giggles

"Mama! Ruff ruff MUUAHH"

PURE happiness

With a yard full of Tail-Wagging Devotion AND imagination

Sweet Phoebe listening to story 9887503 of Barbie by Hazel

We are always surrounded by love

Today I am thankful for our PAWfect Autumn day spent together

Always,

Amelia

Bubble Magic

2026-11-11T17:10:21.794-05:00

With the clocks falling back an hour, our walks to GG's Place through the woods is now QUITE dark both there AND back. Thatcher has gone back into the backpack as he would only stand there and go "Uh oh Mama" "Oh Nooooo" "Mama?" and not walk in the dark. I can't say I blame him, I'd prefer a chauffeured ride as well! BUT with the crazy price of gas, I just cannot justify driving next door unless it is POURING down rain. So how to make walking in the pitch black through the woods more fun with two toddlers?

Well bubbles of course!!!

Guess who was the COOLEST Mom in town when I presented my children with a set of Mickey and Minnie Light Up bubble wands!?!

That's right Me!!

Pure JOY and happiness

And at only $10 for the set....

A Major Parenting win in all categories!

Time to take our light up bubble walk!

Doggie Approval 100%

To the gate!

And if you are looking for us... Just follow the trail of bubbles!

Everything is better with a little Mama Bubble Magic ;)

Always,

Amelia

Time for Fall Trims!

2026-11-10T16:08:21.575-05:00

Sometimes I try and think what it must be like for a toddler...

You have your meals prepared, you get your dishes done for you

You get to play, take a nap

Wake back up to go outside for recess and

WOAH! You have a new doggie

"Hello??"

Wait a second.. I know you!

"Keeeeeyprrr!"

Your doggie got a haircut!

The only thing that is going to be falling faster than the leaves are the doggies hair!

Grooming season is here!

Who will Thatcher's next nap doggie reveal be??

OHHH Phoebe!!!

Always,

Amelia

Birthday Boy!

2026-11-09T16:08:30.731-05:00

It's a Birthday PAWty Celebration!!!!! Clarence is ONE year old!!!

This floofy teddy bear boy is ONE whole year old! That just doesn't seem possible! We just got to love on you in May Clarence!! Now you are ONE!

My goodness does time FLY!

Happy Birthday to such a good boy!

Always,

Amelia

We Struck Gold!

2026-11-08T17:29:34.667-05:00

It was finally time to closeout the Yesteryear Acres garden and pick our last harvest of the season

Let's go digging for treasure Grandpa!

Ready Hazel?

X marks the spot

And

DIG!

Keep going!

AHA!!!

We struck gold!!

Grandpa and Thatcher's turn

Buried treasure!

Sibling teamwork!

Papaaaaaa!

Papaaaaaaaa!

*EVERY time Thatcher found a potato*

Look at this haul! By two kids who will dominate the Easter egg hunt next year HAHAHA

With the last of the beets and some kale, the harvest was complete!

Farmer Thatcher completed his first season

My little farmers.... Just like Grandpa!

We struck gold!!

Always,

Amelia

How About Me Caturday?!

2026-11-07T15:06:15.825-05:00

The Devon Rex Kittens were very excited to take their Caturday pictures this morning

I want to be first!

And pose!

Wait wait wait! How about me?!!!

Wait.....I think we can get even CLOSER for the photo session

Ta Da!

Now that's how you do a Caturday pose!!!!

Happy Caturday!

New Girl on the Block

2026-11-06T13:58:31.604-05:00

We have exciting news!!!

Everyone meet Coco Chanel!!!!

Coco is our brand new Labradoodle sweetheart and future mama for Yesteryear Acres <3

She was GOING to live with us at Camp Always Amelia, but ONE look at her photo and my Grandma said, "NO! That's my dog!!!".

If you can't tell, we are going on a LONG generational history of humans that LOVE their furry FURever buddies.

So with a fancy name for a fancy lady and her dog, Miss Coco Chanel is now 'Department Head of all high chair and booster seat cleanings' and...

"Chief Cuddle Coordinator" at GG's place!

Coco comes from a wonderful friend and trusted breeder and has excellent genetics, lineage, and surpasses all testings! We are so so very in love with Miss Coco and over the moon to have her a part of our Yesteryear Acres Doodles program!

And who wouldn't be with a face like this!?!?

Plus I know someone who gets to snuggle her extra when her human Mama goes on work/travel trips ;)

SCORE!

Welcome to the Family Coco!!!

Three Cheers for the new girl on the block!

Always,

Amelia

Last Orchard Trip of the Season

2026-11-05T17:11:30.915-05:00

Once again, we found ourselves out of apples so it was time to make our final trip to the orchard for the year. All the apples had been picked for the season except for Granny Smith Apples. Being a red apple gal myself I am not the biggest fan of the tart green apples WITH the exception of the last Granny Smiths that cling to the tree and get a nice red blush. *Chef's Kiss* perfection.

With lofty goals of perfect blushing granny smith apples, I enlisted the very best of helpers

Ready for a hard days work at the orchard

Hazel's first apple up for review....

Like this Mama?

Yes! Just like that Hazel!!!

CHOMP

I spy the perfect apple!

And it was just the right height for a family photo and pick!

How we feel about family outings that revolve around food <3

Our last trip to the orchard was perfect

Right down to the last bite!

Until next year orchard!!

Thank you for your wonderful tasty treats!

Always,

Amelia

Couch Fetch PAWt 2

2026-11-04T15:21:31.264-05:00

Lulu has been cracking us up lately! She is really blossoming into the sweetest of goofballs and her antics keep the house going.

Hi Mom! Going to go play Couch Fetch!

C'mere ball

Would be a shame if you'd just... BOOP

GOTCHA again!!! WOW I am fast!

Ope! Get ready for the Lulu Pounce!

HAHAH I think we could laugh at Lulu fetching all day!

Thank you for the laughs Lulu

Happy Couch Fetch PAWt Two!

Always,

Amelia

Spooky Cute PUPdate

2026-11-03T17:22:39.301-05:00

We had a blast celebrating the end of Spooky Season and are getting some PAWsitively cute costume PUPdates!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!! Send us your favorite puppy dog costumes!! I want to see them all <3

Spooky Cute Bindi Sue!!

Georgie is a super soccer star!

Buddy the Elf... What's your favorite color?

Happy HOWL-oWeen Tater Tot!

Send us your adorable doggie costume pictures!

I can't wait to see them all!!

Always,

Amelia

HILL-O-Ween

2026-11-02T12:10:07.548-05:00

We hope everyone had a fun and tasty Halloween weekend!! We celebrated another fun spooky season celebration at Auntie Abigail's house for her annual HILLoween Trick or Trees party!

Hazel picked our family costume this year

Olaf, Anna, and of course Queen Elsa <3

Abigail, William, and Pepper were the cutest family of bats

Here come Colton and Caleb!

Colton was a bulldozer and Caleb was a dalmatian puppy

Time for Auntie Abigail's spell!

Who can howl like a wolf and make the candy appear at the trees?

After all the candy and fun goodies were found at the trees the whole cousin crew piled onto William's swing and just wanted to keep being with each other

Bags full of thoughtful candy and treats and hearts full of love and kindness

What another wonderful spooky season celebration!!

Thank you Auntie Abigail!

Happy HILLoWeen!

Always,

Amelia

Pumpkin Painting for the Win

2026-11-01T15:49:45.020-05:00

I was talking to my Mom and saying how much I missed pumpkin carving, but the kids are still too little to partake in the activity, and being the super Grandma she is... My Mom says,... "Why don't we use paint markers on pumpkins?"

GENIUS!!

So after some quick prep with our tiny pumpkins we selected at the pumpkin patch, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for some pumpkin painting fun!

Pumpkin Picasso picking out the perfect (ahem washable ahem) marker

Masterpiece on the way

Or a perfect pumpkin drum

Gathering supplies for finishing touches...

Ta-Da! Thatcher's Fall Pumpkin 2026!

Time for Hazel and Grandma's creation!

Teamwork makes

The dream work!

Time to draw the face

Hazel showing Grandma what she wants her pumpkin face to look like

Finishing touches...

TA-DA! Hazel's pumpkin 2026!

Pumpkin Painting Perfection!!

10/10 Adorable pumpkins AND no sharp objects needed around a three year old and one year old toddler. Because if you need to pick between paint stains and poked fingers... Paint wins every time!!!

Happy Sunday!

Always,

Amelia

Happy MEOWoleen!

2026-10-31T11:08:18.683-04:00

Happy Halloween from our Devon Rex Kittens!

Guess what we are going to be for Halloween?

I bet you can't guess

Ready?

It's a really good one!

We are going to be three really cute KITTENS!

Best costume ever!

Happy MEOWoleen!!!!

Playtime at the Pumpkin Patch

2026-10-30T16:29:09.865-04:00

Well October has come and almost gone faster than I could blink! When Hazel turned to me at breakfast and said, "Mama when are we going to the Pumpkin Patch?" my panicked mom brain quickly calculated that TODAY would be the day that we needed to go to the Pumpkin patch before our cute local spot was closed for the year! So we changed into festive gear, did our "boo bun ghosties", picked up Grandma, and headed to the pumpkin patch for some festive playtime.

Whew! Down to the wire but we made it!! Pumpkin Patch 2026 here we come!

My little pumpkins!!!

We had a BLAST this year and made sure we did EVERY activity

We raced rubber duckies on the waterway

Go Hazel go!!!

Traversed the spiderweb

EEK! I see two big spiders!!!

Wheeled our way like hamsters

Dig diggy dig like machines

Followed our fearless leader Hazel through the corn maze

She has an uncanny sense of direction. 10/10 following Hazel instead of myself if we ever actually get lost somewhere

And we did every

Single

Slide

Over

And over

And over again

With smiles from everyone the whole way down

And you can't forget about the pumpkins!

"Mama This!" *makes heavy noises to try and pick up his pumpkin*

Another year of pumpkin happiness in our memories and hearts forever!

Yay for Playtime at the Pumpkin Patch!

Always,

Amelia

A Sleepy Woolly Bear

2026-10-29T15:58:13.877-04:00

My nature enthusiasts are loving our fall adventures

On their exploration Hazel and Ernie made a new friend

"It's a Woolly Bear"

Ernie meet our new friend

Good find Hazel!

A sleepy woolly bear that mommy scooped up carefully with a leaf so that they could rest without the thunderous stampeding of toddler and doggie feet all around

Excellent caterpillar identification buddies!

Who will we find (rescue) next!

Sweet (SAFE(R)) Dreams Woolly Bear!

Always,

Amelia

Happiness Restored!

2026-10-28T15:29:56.591-04:00

What is this beautiful landscape picture I am showing you??

OH just the site where I accidentally lobbed Hazel and Thatcher's BRAND NEW kick ball that I just bought them down into the canopy of vines that traverse down into a cliff that dumps you off into the road... AKA the 'other' side of the fenced in yard

The face of regret of asking Mommy to kick a 'popflies skies'

"Oh no my ball! Mommy! is it gone???"

So when days pass and you once again find yourself standing in the yard wanting to play (in same dinosaur dress for memories obviously) There was only one thing a parent could do

Go on the other side of the fence

I had Hazel stand where we estimated the 'great mommy mistake 2026' took place and I had her periodically shout out to me as I scaled the cliffside towards her voice/general direction until I made it to the top and could see her through our double fence

If I slip and fall... At least there is lots of bramble top to catch me!

After grabbing many vines and roots (also hoping beyond all hopes none were poison ivy...) and sliding my way across our fence. I could not believe my eyes when I found our ball!!

After tossing the ball back to Hazel and fighting for my life through the thickets on the cliff I am VERY pleased to report that

Happiness has been Restored!!!!

WHEW!

Now Mommy is only allowed to kick the ball in the back half of the yard.

Reunited once again.

All is right with the Toddler World

Always,

Amelia

MOM Can We Go to Bed!?

2026-10-27T14:52:35.175-04:00

OHH the poor Havanese... They always think it's OUR time to go to bed after I tuck the kids in for the night.

"I AM kind of tired now that Hazel mentioned it? Is it Snuggle O'Clock yet?"

Oh Lulu my friend... Our night has just begun!

I HAVE TWO HANDS AGAIN

Let the projects commence!!

We have the dishes, and the clean up/sanitizing, the meal prep, the sourdough, the cats, the emails, the other admin work, the laundry, the mopping, walking for 30 minutes, procrastinating my own shower (they had to get it from somewhere), learning something new and taking a deep dive that was unnecessary at this hour, the last dog out, absolutely a late night snack, and then that snack will need a sweet treat to follow it, brushing our teeth, flossing our teeth, contemplating tomorrow's schedule, accidently get stuck looking at baby pictures of Hazel and Thatcher (I thought they were so BIG back then!) when I meant to check the calendar... go back to getting ready for bed and finally pile EVERYONE into my bed for a very short nap before the day starts over...

(And that's reason 79029 why I can't sleep at night HAHAHA)

Always,

Amelia

P.S. Thank goodness there is coffee and a lap full of happy Havanese!

PUPdate with Hype

2026-10-26T16:45:11.974-04:00

We have an adorable PUPdate from Kirby!!!

Kirby's family have the most wonderful things to say about their 2.5 year old FURever best buddy!

Kirby loves long sniffy walks

Playing fetch

A LOT of fetch <3

Knows all his good boy manners and doggie tricks too! Like sit, stay, down, paw, other paw, focus, and touch!

He can even locate which hand is holding the treat!!!

Kirby says blueberries are still his favorite snickty snack of all!

His life motto is 'Play Hard. Nap Hard'

Kirby loves to go to the doggie daycare to play with his friends and the dog park. His humans have done the most awesome thing I have ever heard.... They have hype music for Kirby for each destination they are going to!! So when they get ready for the park they put on his special park song or start singing it and he gets so excited to get ready and go! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! When it's time for doggie daycare... Special daycare song! Is that not the coolest thing ever!! Ah to be a dog with their own hype music!!

Kirby LOVES his FURever family and they love love love him right back!!

Thank you for the epic PUPdate on Kirby!!

Enjoy your blueberries, ball, and music buddy!

Always,

Amelia

Okay, Hear Me Out...Apples

2026-10-25T15:54:33.911-04:00

I know people go crazy for pumpkin spice during the fall, BUT hear me out... Apple everything in the fall is better.

I know, I know, I know it is controversial but there is just something about apples with brown sugar and cinnamon that just makes my heart leap with joy.

Since I made an apple pie the other week and Colton is a boy after my own heart and doesn't like pie crust either... I decided to make a non-pie apple treat

Ready set bake!

Time for an apple streusel coffee cake!

An apple cake is an excellent choice, but add...

A streusel topping and you have autumn magic

Baked and ready for transport

Once we reached our destination, it was time to take off the cake ring and get to our vanilla glaze

AHHH. Falltastic!

And the best part? It can be breakfast too!

I know everyone loves pumpkins... But let's hear it for the apple lovers!

Hey Colton... How about those apples!

Always,

Amelia

Forest Caturday

2026-10-24T12:59:13.148-04:00

Just look how brave our little Devon Rex kittens are

traipsing through the forest.....

Look at this huge forest ahead of us

How can we ever traverse this thick wilderness?

I am going to try to make my way through

Oh... I need a rest

I don't think we will make it through this Caturday

Let's just hang out in this nice meadow

Happy Caturday!!!!

Happy Half Birthday Hazel

2026-10-23T17:01:58.074-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Hazel's half birthday!!!

This sweet, thoughtful, creative, smart, girl is now THREE and a HALF!!

And what do we do for half birthdays?

Make half a birthday cake of course!!!

With lots of sprinkles *obviously*

And we mean LOTS

Of sprinkles. Don't forget to add in toddler giggling. That is required for the recipe!

Half birthday sprinkle fantastic!

Time to add the frosting and decorations

UH OH! Baby monster is awake and ready to "help"

Guess who signed 'more' and said Mooooooooooe the whole rest of the time we finished the cake.

Luckily we finished without too many casualties by the smallest toddler

Happy Half Birthday Hazel!

May you stay as colorfully YOU as ever!

I cannot believe you will be FOUR in just six months time!

I love you oh so Much!

Always,

Amelia

Charlie and Biscuit go for a Swing

2026-10-22T16:39:59.905-04:00

Kipper the dog the stuffed animal (who was once Grandma's lovie and now belongs to Colton who lovingly renamed him Biscuit) invited Charlie puppy lovie and Hazel to come over to Yesteryear Acres to try out the new swings Grandpa installed.

First Biscuit and Charlie tried the bucket swing that goes really really high!

Biscuit was SO brave and tried the swing first

Good job Biscuit!!

Now for double the puppy loves in a swing

Go Charlie!

Go Biscuit

Everything is better

When you can share together!

Oh cousin crew.... Do you know what else could be fun?!

Taking the puppies for a swing on your lap!

Let's go puppies!

"Weeeee!"

Mid-Swing *SMOOOCH*

Best

Puppy Lovie

Playdate

Ever!

May the adventures of Biscuit and Charlie continue!!!

Always,

Amelia

Is He Awake YET MOM??!

2026-10-21T13:11:57.583-04:00

Well it seems like Thatcher has become the Doodle doggies favorite human... Endless fetch, smells like snacks, drops said snacks, not fast enough to catch them and demand hugs ... A big 10/10 in their book!

Thatcher had the NERVE to take a long nap in the afternoon and the Doodles kept staring at me...

Chews ball intensely...

Is he awake yet??

No, sorry not yet Mav

SIGH, guess I will play by myself...

I have my ball

The really good throwing one....

Is he awake yet Mom?!!?

Oh silly boys!

You will be the first to know when he's up!

OHHH Thatcher... The doggies are ready to play!!!

Always,

Amelia

Has Anyone Seen

2026-10-20T18:23:46.340-04:00

I don't know if it is just our weird subgenre of family... but if you were to go up to *most* of us and say, "Has anyone seen..." and pause. I can say with 97.5% confidence we would respond "A dog dyed dark green??? She's about two inches tall with a strawberry blonde paw!" And if that doesn't ring a bell in your head you can be glad you don't have that lingering song lyric game in your head 24/7 and then go check out 'Quiche Lorraine' by the B-52's (*disclaimer, I have always hated the ending of that song, but it still gives a chuckle). So when I was putting Hazel to bed and saw Alice hiding in the lovie pile on her bed, I just could NOT help myself and had to have a good ole giggle fest!

Has anyone seen...

A doggie hiding in this scene?

Oh ALICEEEE Where are you!?!

Always,

Amelia

Junior Fetch Wrangler

2026-10-19T13:57:29.232-04:00

We got a real live Junior Fetch Wrangler here at Always Amelia!

Thatcher has been doing a LOT of copying lately, from words to routines, he's trying it all

But my FAVORITE one -although him putting dishes into the sink and helping with the dishwasher are a close second-

Is trying to work our fetch throwing stick to play with Ernie!

Ernie is sooo patient

"Errrneeeee Draaaaaa"

Aka- Ernie Drop

I never have to say "keep your eye on the ball to Thatcher, he's after it!

With a little bit of teamwork

To make the dream work

Thatcher is ready for his next toss

Come on Ernie!

"RUFF RUFFFFF!!! RUUUUUFFF RUUUUF!!"

Extra points for enthusiasm with the throwing stick to cheer Ernie on home!

My little Junior Fetch Wrangler!

The best days are spent like this <3

Always,

Amelia