Pumpkins and hayrides and bounce house backflips, oh my!

We finally did it! We pretended it's autumn (we're in Texas). And we took a trip to the pumpkin patch with our playgroup friends. It was great! Being from New England I was a bit bummed that it was like nearly 90 degrees and MUGGY (no sweaters or fall foliage) but we tolerated it and everyone had a blast.

There were pumpkins galore, and all sorts of festive decorations, but really the best part of this trip was that I learned I have a secret knack for gymnastics! At the bottom of this bouncy slide thing I went to sit down and somehow my butt connected with nothing but air, and I did a total back flip, completely by accident...and landed on my feet on the ground four feet below! I absolutely thought I was going to die the whole way down (it's amazing how many things can pass through your mind in 3 seconds). Once my friends determined I was ok we all cracked up. Of course the woman in charge came over and reprimanded me for fooling around and I'm like, "Oh no, I really don't have that kind of talent! That was a total accident." I don't think she believed me! Oh how I wish it had been caught on camera. I'm sure it was worthy of a win on Funniest Home Videos!!!

Celebrities...

Ok, so this is totally random...and I'm not a big celebrities person or anything, but I love, love, love the new Macy's ads! (Not really a Macy's girl either, I kinda like to get the Maxx for the minimum price if you know what I mean). But whenever these ads come on I smile. I even call my husband into the room to watch. I think it's so intriguing to see celebrities outside their "element." Marketing genius. My favorite ones are with Martha Stewart. Something about this somewhat serious lady being kinda silly really gets to me. Anyway, if you haven't seen them, you can check one out here.

A little Halloween help please!

I'm at a loss for what I want The Snack to be for Halloween this year. Last year I made him this Leprechaun costume - I did it completely from my head...no pattern, just made it up as I went along. Needless to say, it was quite a challenge, and took a bit of time....so I don't think I'll go that route this year...unless I can think really fast!

So I need ideas! I'm just not getting any inspiration. I'm sure if he were old enough to choose, he'd want to be Spiderman or something, but I'm going to avoid that route a long as I'm still making the choices!

Anyone got any fun ideas?

Poop.

Ok...so NOT a picture worthy post. We visited friends this past weekend, and they have a boy about the same age as The Snack, who is potty training. Well...it got a little quiet so I sent Dad-n to check it out. He came back looking green. "Poop" was all he could say. The other boy had let one slide right onto the floor and was playing in it! Fortunately The Snack only had a little tiny bit on his foot. Oh boy. But of course we didn't learn our lesson! Yes...it happened again! This time we weren't so fortunate. The Snack comes to me with what looks like chocolate on his hands (and I soon noticed everywhere else). My friend and I both go "oh that isn't..." Yeah, it was. I should have just asked for a hose this time! I just hope and pray that The Snack doesn't get any ideas!!!!!!

a gift for myself...

Ok....so I know at least laina knows this about me...I can't resist red and orange. I bought this funky chunky watch from the museum gift shop for myself...for my b-day. How could I not? So, it's super hard to match, but it's worth it to me!

So....tell me, what's your funky treasure?

Inevitable...

Some people call it Murphy's law, and it doesn't matter what you call it...it happens! So one day my mom is commenting to me about always keeping a change of clothing in the car for my son. I think to myself, "yeah, that's smart, but I've never ended up needing it sooo..."

Ok, so then THE VERY NEXT DAY we're down at the art museum, and it has this incredible reflecting pool almost surrounding the whole building (like a magnet for The Snack). We've been there several times before, and Snack likes to look at the water and be close to the water...but this time was different...


He goes around the corner and my mom is following him and suddenly....SPLASH! So...did she push him in to prove her point or what!? ;) (LOL) Moms...go figure...are they always right? I like to think I am!

The Snack attempts to dry off after his little dip

A visit from Mom...

A little lovin' for Gramma from The Snack (what else can bring out sweetness like a promise of candy?!)

So, nothing will pull you away from the real world better than a visit from family. Yes, that's where this slacker blogger has been...cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, and then playing, playing, playing (why is it that we think even the crack between the fridge and the counter needs to be cleaned before your mom spends the week?)

It was a great visit. One of my sisters came too (one of four...yes four...where are the rest of you?!) We hardly had a days rest I'd planned so many things (go figure, Texas can be fun)! But next time I'll be sure to plan some down time...everyone needs a nap occasionally...not just cranky two year olds!

A few pics of our adventures...we saw the crazy-awesome long horn cattle at the Fort Worth Stockyards, caught the rodeo too (uhhmm...insane!). We visited the Zoo, and the Train Museum, and for the Dad-n's sake we caught the Ron Mueck show at The Modern (wayyyyyy cool, and totally freaky real).

Zions Canyon

Ok...so I've been a little busy, and I know you're all totally over my trip to Utah by now, but I still gotta share one of my favorite parts of the trip!

The one BIG thing the Dad-n really wanted to do while we were in Utah is visit Zions National Park. Now...I didn't really care one way or another if we did this or not, except that I did want him to have his fun (despite the hassle I thought it would be with hours of driving and finding a place to stay etc.) Well, the last weekend we were there we worked it into our schedule and boy I'm glad that we did! I loved it! We took auntie Jessica with us, and my friend Mary (not pictured...she's like SUPER hiker woman...every pic with her in it she's like 100yards away just waiting for us to get movin'!)

There were many spectacular views, but the best part was the River walk. It's like 2 miles up river and you walk through the water the whole time. It's all sand or smooth rocks, so I went it barefoot, but many people wore shoes. It was crazy but fun, and we even took a break to take a dip...fully clothed! Such a fun adventure and The Snack thought it was totally wild too!

The Family

Here we are picnicking and enjoying some kickball and Frisbee in Provo canyon.

It was great to have siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, Great Gramma etc. all together. It's quite to feat gathering everyone from New York, Connecticut, Utah and California... but we were all there to celebrate with The Dad-n's mom who turned the big 50! It was the party of a lifetime. A fun-filled 10 days, starting with the BIG party, and moving on to hiking, canoeing, playing games etc.

The Snack especially enjoyed all the exploring and hanging out with the "big" kids he got to do. Some of his favorite adventures were longboarding with cousin Harley...

Climbing on rocks with Auntie Chrissy, and playing in the waterfall at the Grotto with Gramma.

Share, Dad-n, SHARE

We (and everyone on the plane) learned that The Snack knows all about sharing! Dad-n was opening some food and Snack decided he wanted some too, so he calmly at first, then rather loudly let us all know!

So I think I'll take The Snacks advice and do some sharing of my own. Here are some pics from our GREAT trip! It's hard to be back to real life, but at least the pictures will help us hold on to the memories .


The House

Talk about fabulous. The Dad-n's family just moved to Utah last summer, and they bought this great old house with all sorts of outdoor sitting area's, and beautiful trees and flower gardens. It's like being at a quaint Bed & Breakfast.



The Snack's favorite part of the house was this small apple tree in the backyard. If you ever couldn't find Snack...you knew exactly where to look! He eats these little apples core and all!!! Wow...but he still won't eat regular apples like that at home. Go figure. Well at least we know he could survive on his own outside.

(Auntie Jessica demonstrating how to eat an apple)