The evening progresses...

Our pumpkin pizza

Princess Lauren and Dr. Owen

Preschool party

Lucky me, my day to work at preschool!

Don't worry, this was only snack time, not party time.  There was much more sugar involved!

Genna and Lauren, partners forever!

The whole gang!

Ready, set, decorate!

Nothing like taking the no mess option when it comes to decorating pumpkins!  The past few years the kids have had ZERO interest in helping us carve pumpkins, so this year when I saw a set of pumpkin push-ins (similar to Mr. Potato Head pieces) I had to buy them.  The kids had fun picking out their pieces, and the prep and clean up was much easier then previous years - all Adam need was a turkey thermometer to give him a hand in punching holes.

Playtime with Papa

Why does she look so old in this picture?!

What a weekend!

We drove down south on Saturday for my cousin Danny's wedding, and then continued farther down on Sunday to go to Adam's grandma's house. His cousin Jon is shipping out for active duty in a couple weeks, so there was an early Thanksgiving dinner in his honor. We had such a good time all weekend, but one of the biggest highlights? Finding gas for $2.77!! It's the little things, right?

Saturday night after the wedding my family commandeered the hotel's breakfast bar and turned it into our own private party room.  We were all staying at the same hotel, so it was nice to have a couple extra hours to catch up with each other.

Sunday morning we woke up early and I took the kids swimming in the indoor pool at our hotel.  Lauren thought it was crazy that there was a pool inside a building - she kept commenting on how silly it was!

You can see the rest of the wedding pictures here, and the family dinner pictures here.

Danny and his beautiful bride, Natalie

Just the four of us

Lauren, fresh from the bath, and Papa - Owen took this picture!

A few of the great grandkids on Adam's side

Jessica, me, Abi, Michelle, and Jana

Full of hot air

My friend Trisha and I took our kids to a bounce house place last week.  This is one of our regular outings together, to wear the kids out!  The huge pumps they use to keep the play houses pumped up are quite loud, and when we first walk in Owen always claps his hands to his ears and refuses to go on anything.  He warms up pretty quick when he sees how much fun everyone else is having, though.

Endurance - updated

A couple days ago I told the kids we could pack a picnic lunch and head to the park to play. And something possessed me to tell them they could ride their bikes to the park - which we've never done before. They were so excited. I decided to bring the double stroller along, too, because I figured I'd end up pushing the kids AND the bikes when they got tired. It wasn't until I was loading lunch into the stroller that I remembered their bikes were at my parents' house. Argh! We decided to bring Lauren's scooter and Owen's, well, I don't know what it is, he calls it a truck. They ended up riding all the way to the park, played for an hour, and rode ALL THE WAY back. I was amazed! And they fell asleep SO fast that night!

I've been meaning to drive it to figure out how far it is. Headed out to Costco now - I'll let you know!

*Updated: 8/10th's of a mile total - not too bad for their first "bike" trip!

Cheers!

Saturday was my second anniversary of blogging.  Here's to many more years of embarrassing my children and telling random people about my life!

Wordless Wednesday: Hayride at the pumpkin patch

Celebrate good times

We had some family and friends over for dinner last night to celebrate a couple birthdays - my sister in law Talia's and mine.  It's so nice to finally have room to have people over for dinner!

Here's a picture of our chocolate cake - I added this picture for my sister in law Michelle!

Rickrolled!

There was an Internet phenomenon earlier this year where people would link you to a video with a title they thought you'd want to watch, but in actuality it would take you to a video of Rick Astley's 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up".  It was known as being Rickrolled.  I taught the kids the chorus of the song and we used to sing it all the time.  

I've just recently discovered the music channels on cable TV.  I've been listening to the 80's channel frequently and this morning our song came on.  Lauren and I were singing and dancing all over the living room and it was so funny watching her moves!

On guard!

The kids and I were at the park the other day and I noticed this squirrel in a tree.  It looked like he was mid-jump in air, but I watched him for a couple minutes and he never moved.  It was so bizarre I had to take a picture.

For Grandpa

Look at your little aeronautical engineer and her design!

A few random things about me...

1. I find laundry soothing, it's my favorite household chore, by far.  There's just something about sorting and dividing and folding (well, not so much folding, I try to hang everything!) that makes me feel at peace.

2. I will rearrange the items in the dishwasher until I can get every last sippy cup in.  And I don't like it when other people load my dishwasher.  If we have friends over for dinner and they try to help, I will always rearrange it after they leave.

3. I love to watch my children sleep.  To lean in and inhale their scent, a mix of bubble bath, baby lotion, and sweat.  They take after Adam in that respect, they are so hot blooded. 

4. I hate unpacking after a trip.  The suitcases will stay at the foot of the bed until we eventually wear the clean clothes straight out of them.  Then they'll sit there some more.

5. It wasn't until this summer that I learned to love tomatoes and cucumbers.  Thanks to all my new gardening neighbors for making my taste buds grow up!  Toss with some feta cheese and Greek dressing, yum!

6. I'm not at all worried about my age.  I feel like I've been thirty for years.  In fact, my lovely friend Cass used to tease me that we should swap birthdates because, at almost exactly a decade older than me, she would go out and party more than me.  Love you, baby, you're only as old as you feel!

7. My mom is my best friend.

8. My love for A1 sauce runs deep.

9. I can't get myself to abbreviate addresses.  For example, I have to type/write out Avenue and Drive instead of Ave. and Dr.

10. Adam thinks I'm nuts for remembering people from elementary school, but how can you go to school with someone for 9 years (K-8) and NOT remember them?

11. I've watched every season of Big Brother and only missed a handful of episodes.  Terrible, I know.

12. I do not have a green thumb.  One exception: I bought a houseplant at the Dollar Store when Lauren was an infant and it is still alive, sitting on my kitchen counter.  Maybe because it was so cheap.  Why do I always overwater the expensive ones?

13. I can't stand the taste of coffee, but I LOVE the smell of it.

14. I hate to be late.  I get that from my dad's dad! 

15. My desk is a mess of "important" papers I have yet to read/file.

Coincidence? I think not!

The Platinum Edition of Sleeping Beauty is being released today - my birthday!  I used to sing Once Upon A Dream to both kids when I would rock them to sleep.  Right before I got pregnant with Lauren, I had a dream that she came to me and said she was ready, waiting to join us.  So this song is especially meaningful for me!

I think it's a sign I should go take a nap and wait for my prince to wake me up!

Yet another art project

When I asked Lauren to tell me about this one she said she was winking!

Emerald City recap

I spent a long weekend in Seattle with my mom and our good friends Robin and Elaine. Mom and Elaine have been friends for years and years. Robin and I were born six weeks apart and we used to have the same car seat covers and people would always ask if we were twins. Every few years we do a girls weekend with our moms for our birthdays.

We didn't get a rental car, so Friday alone we road in a limo, a taxi, the monorail, and the "free" trolley. We went shopping and filled up on yummy food all weekend.  Thanks to my fabulous hubby for staying home with the kids!

At the top of the Space Needle:

I saw this at the airport and figured the kids would get a kick out of it:

After... (a post by Daddy)

- after Mommy has left town for a girls weekend...

- after 9:30 PM...

- after second dinner...

- after pull-ups and teeth brushing...

- after two wardrobe cycles to identify jammies they find acceptable...

- after having been relocated to daddy's bed...

- after two stories from the big book...(the kind where young girls always marry the guys with penchants for kissing strangers while they sleep...)

- after daddy threatens offspring for failing to heed instructions...

- after Wrestlemania '08...

Daddy:  "I really don't want to come back in here again!"

Spawn:  "I know... cuz we're gonna beat you up if you do."

- after police respond to calls from neighbors who heard the screams...

- after the judge was lenient...

... Daddy finally begins a project he's been trying to start for hours.

Knock yourself out, kid!

Lauren was just perusing one of the bookshelves in our office and pulled out a dictionary about as big as she is.  When I told her she could look at it she was so excited, you'd have thought it was Christmas!