Pumpkin Patching

After the family photo session, we finally found time to go to the pumpkin patch.  We've been trying to go pretty much all month.  Little did I know, finding the time to carve these pumpkins would prove even more challenging.

But first, this is what I woke up to that morning after the hot chocolate party the night before.

And the crazy thing is, a lot of our friends brought their own mugs, so this isn't even all of them!

Back to the patch:

This is the whole reason we go to the pumpkin patch instead of the local grocery store.  You just can't bond with a pumpkin properly unless you ride behind a chuggin' tractor to get to pick it.  Mmm... diesel fumes!

But, oh, look at these cute faces!

We got some pumpkins with character!

And then they got to jump in the bouncy house.

They had the place to themselves.  That is the only way to really enjoy a bouncy house (at least if you're the mama--I worry way too much about them getting hurting in those!).

Getting crazy with the hoops!

Trey didn't get to go in, sadly.  So, he had to stay out and snuggle with me in our awesome Moby wrap. Love! that thing.

As I love the random warm days we've been having in between the freezing days.  But I can't complain that it's finally cool enough for me to break out my favorite boots again!

Finger Lickin' Good

Well, we would be... if we were a food.  But we're not really.  Unless you're a cannibal and that's just gross.

But aren't we cute?  My photographer friends stepped up to the plate and took a swing at some family photos for us on Saturday.  We don't have all of them yet, but I was too excited about them not to share.  These are all from one friend, I'm sure I'll be posting more when I get the pics from the other one.

I love the baby's face in this one.

She got shots of him smiling, but I think he looks super handsome in this shot.

Here's the smile.  Not even a Fire Truck Smile.  See that red thing in his hand?  It's a big ol' gum ball.  I took it from him with the promise he'd get it at the end of the photo session.

We'll come back to that...

Isn't she a beautiful little lady?  And only someone who knows her the way my friends do could get this pretty smile out of her.  Her school pictures were another story.  I'm pretty sure that if I told you what I thought of them, I'd be a bad mama.  Thank goodness for all the photos my friends took of this sweetie.

See the smile on Bryce?  No?  That's because we had a hard time finding it again after the gum ball was removed.  Sometimes he's a little bit of a punk.

Can you even handle how cute my boys look in these hats?  And I absolutely LOVE the background here.  But I'm not sure my head can sustain that bow.  One of my sweet friends made those bows for me and Kayli.  They are darling!

Oooooh, my!  I love my baby.

And I love his fluffy hair!  And you can kind of see my hair tinsel here (being blown every which way by the fabulous wind).  Also courtesy of my bow-making friend.

And I love love love this face.  Mmm... I just want to squeeze him and smooch him!

The Friends Your Friends Could Be Like

Hello, Men! 

Look at your friends

Now, look at my friends

Back to your friends

Now back to mine!

Sadly, they aren't mine

Or wait, they actually are mine.

Last weekend our friends all went and played Capture the Flag.  Sadly, we couldn't make it because of a babysitter falling through last minute and Treyton being kind of fussy.

But remember how awesome my friends are?  After the flag had been captured as much as it could, they brought the party to our house.  With some muy delicioso Abuelitas Hot Chocolate and some silky smooth hot chocolate.  And because my friends never do anything halfway, or simple (remember the face paint)--it became Salted Caramel Something-or-Other Hot Chocolate.

I'm not really sure what it was called.  But it involved chopped toffee bits, freshly ground salt, the hot chocolate, whipped topping, and caramel drizzled over the top.

And because it was at our house, the left overs were left over in our fridge.  And we quickly polished both kind of hot chocolate clean off.

I love my friends.

So, sadly your friends are not my friends.  But they could be like my friends.  Just add face paint, salt, caramel, a dash of craziness, and a whole lot of coolness and fun.

We've Got Ourselves An Author!

If Kayli is within reach of any sort of writing utensil, she has to use it.  It used to be just drawings, but shortly before school started words began popping up.

Now that she's in school, it's exploded into stories and even books.  Can you read this?

Can you be a little more better Bryce on reading

We do not like that you read but you are great but you do not like the snakes--Usually it makes a little more sense than this.

Memories from our trip to Disneyland are frequent features

This is the Thunder Mountain ride.  Her teacher's favorite picture is similar to this, but it says, "I did not like the train."

The swing ride

But nothing made a bigger impact than the Indiana Jones Ride

This is a picture of Indie getting chased by the giant rock (a.k.a. "Boll", a.k.a. ball)

And "Wow" seems to be one of her favorite words

At her parent/teacher conference her teacher told me to try not to correct her spelling all the time, but to focus on the positives.

Are you kidding?!  I LOVE her spelling.  Can you guess what an "apl" is?

The fact that a single "a" makes the "uh" sound has really confused her.

Anyone want to eat some blooberes under the clear blue sgi?

I am all in.

Get Your Taste Buds Ready!

Treyton's first solids!  Although, if you're familiar with Stage 1 baby food, it's hardly solid.

This guy has been eying my food quite a bit lately.  And stealing it right out of my hand.  And crying so sadly when I take it back.  So, we decided to break out those cute little glass jars and give it a go.  Since he's been dealing with the Milk Soy Protein Intolerance, he gets sweet potatoes for his first bites.

And because he's been dealing with being the 3rd child, he gets excellent records made of his milestones.  Blake was video taping, so Kayli was the photographer for this little shoot.  I appreciate her efforts, but I'm sad that you only get this profile of his very first bite.

Better stick the thumb in and think it over.

Mmmm...second bite!

He actually did really well and ate half of the jar.  And also took some bites from his big brother which absolutely delighted Big Brother.

Sweet Potatoes make me happy!

And this is how comfortably I sat while feeding him.  It was supposed to allow Kayli to get better pictures and Blake a better video.  I don't mind being awkwardly crammed into the corner so we can document my baby's life.

I'm such a good mom.

Garburator Man

I had a Canadian friend in college.  He told me that in Canada garbage disposals are called "garburators".  I kind of like that better.

And Blake seems to have become the Garburator Man at his office.  For some reason his co-workers always send him home with things.  Or he just brings home any and all sort of leftovers lying around.  So, when a woman had a bunch of leftover rolls from her daughter's wedding... well, there was only one logical thing to do.

Give them to Blake.

We wanted to feed the ducks, but notice how far away the ducks stayed?  See those ripples near the grass?  Those were created by catfish.  A billion catfish that thoroughly enjoyed the massive amounts of rolls we had.

Token Trey photo--happy as always.

Even though the night didn't go as planned (providing dinner for fish instead of ducks), we had a grand old time.

Hurray for Garburator Man and his generous coworkers!

About That Pumpkin

Bryce went on his first field trip last week.  To a pumpkin patch.

See how excited he was?

And I had to break out the stealth photography skills for this one again.  See that little cutie in the glasses?  That's the girl he dubbed his "gilfwend" on the first day of school.  She is darling!  But she kept turning around and getting her cute little face behind the seat belt, so this was the best I could do.

And this is the man that drove them around on their little tractor ride.

My awesome friend took all these shots for me.  Her daughter is also in the class and she accompanied them on the field trip.  I, unfortunately, did not.  Thanks for the photos, Heather!  Blake will be especially appreciative of this one as he has frequently requested a "from the back" shot of the 'hawk.

I believe they're heading into a spooky spooky haunted house.

Poking out of a cute shoe?

The whole class.  Aren't they adorable?

See Bryce patiently waiting for his pumpkin bag?  And that enthusiastic little munchkin at the front is the gilfwend again.

We are loving preschool!