Fall COLORS

One of my favorite things about mid-Missouri in the fall. . .

Need I say more?

Pumpkin Carving!

Last night we carved pumpkins! Amy ("mimi") joined us and we had so much fun. Our approach was three tiered: first we drew our faces on the pumpkins w/markers (well, first Bryndyn sketched his out on paper--such the perfectionist), then we cleaned out the insides and finally we carved away (OK, well the adults carved away). . . The drawing phase:

The kids didn't quite get the drawing FACES part of the phase, but regardless they had fun!

Second, the cleaning out the insides phase:

Tia didn't like this phase so much, at least in the beginning. I think she thought daddy "broke" her pumpkin.

She is reluctantly trying to figure this whole pumpkin carving thing out!

It didn't take her long to get back to all smiles. Neither child would put their hand inside the pumpkin. Caelleb was very emphatic about this. In fact I had told him earlier in the day that we were going to be carving pumpkins that night and the first thing out of his mouth was, "I am NOT sticking my hand inside that pumpkin!" They had done this at preschool and apparently one time was enough! When I asked him why he said because it was "NASTY!" :) But w/the help of spoons the kids had fun cleaning out their pumpkins!

I think it was a "bonding" experience for Amy & the kids! :)

And finally, the carving phase:


By this time, Amy was talking about calling in sick the next day because pumpkin carving was so "HARD!" :)

After all was said and done we admired our creations & took lots of pictures. . .

Redbirds & Tiger Tails

So, in honor of the Cardinals win Caelleb & I decorated some baseball sugar cookies the next morning. As we were driving around town on Saturday we saw a TON of tiger tails hanging out people's cars as MU was playing OU that day. So, Friday we were rooting AGAINST the Tigers and Saturday we were rooting FOR the Tigers--this was a little confusing to Caelleb. . . BOTH Tigers LOST which was a bummer for the MIZZOU Tigers but ultimately after watching the Cards win the World Series, we weren't too sad about the Missouri loss.

World Series Aftermath

So, while all of Missouri was celebrating the Cardinals World Series Championship we were trying to get our 5 year old to bed. Granted, it was after 10pm and his bedtime is 8pm. . . We wanted him to be able to stay up and watch the excitement unfold, and he did. . . and we paid! So, apparently, here is what happens when you let a newly turned 5 year old who also hadn't taken a nap on this day stay up late to watch the World Series Finale. . . You would have thought Detroit won or something--no, he just didn't want to go to bed. It was actually pretty comical. The "tell-us-how-u-really-feel" meltdown. . . :)

Hit It To The Pitcher

Of all the signs that people were holding up in the crowd at Busch Stadium during the World Series final game, my favorite (by far) said: "HIT IT TO THE PITCHER." Too classic! Jeff Weaver-for the Cardinals, on the other hand, was AWESOME! He completely stepped up his game and made all of Simi Valley so proud (my brother actually played on the same little league team w/Jeff way back in the day)! How nerve racking was that final inning?

I love David Eckstein, by the way, what in the world were the Angels thinking trading him? Well, good for St. Louis!

Who Needs Busch Stadium?

I tried to get tickets. Not w/the same zeal that I might have tried in the past (maybe i really am getting old?), but they were all sold out. Every game of the World Series (played in St. Louis) was sold out--ok, i even checked out tickets in detroit--only 640 miles from Columbia, nothing on a day like this! ha! Well, and the cheapest ticket (in Detroit) was approx. $150. . . OIY! Even Friday day I was so tempted to just get Caelleb and Bryndyn in the car and go scalp tickets. . . Well, thanks to my technology savvy husband, we had our own "stadium" seats. . . Who needs Busch stadium when you can be in the comfort of your own home. It was a LOT warmer in our house. The food was a LOT cheaper. We didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for parking or fight the crowds. . . OK, who am I kidding, I SOOOOOO would have LOVED to have been in Busch Stadium on Friday to watch the Cardinals beat the Tigers. Big sigh. . . BUT I've got to say that the "set up" in our living room was pretty awesome!!!!! Bryn brought his projector home from his classroom and he projected the game onto the back wall of our living room! Yes, we are a little fanatical about baseball, but at least we can admit it! :)

Color Blind

A few nights ago we were all in the living room watching a baseball game. The kids were playing together on the couch right next to me and just out of the blue Caelleb says, "Mommy, Tia's hands are black." I said, "yes they are." A couple minutes go by and Caelleb says, "My hands are white." I again say, "yes they are."














A couple more minutes go by and Caelleb asks, "Mommy, why are Tia's hands black?" So, I asked him the same question, "why are your hands white?" He thought about it and said, "I no no" (translation: I don't know).














So, we had the whole "God makes every person one-of-a-kind, unique & special" conversation. But I just thought it was so awesome that after 15 months he just noticed that he and Tia had a different color of skin!














The above pictures are from our summer vacation. Tia went to her first baseball game at Dodger Stadium so my parents had to get the kids all decked out in dodger blue! We spent a day at Zuma Beach in Malibu. The last picture is from our family reunion cruise!

My Hottie :)

If you go to myheritage.com you can find your own celebrity look alikes! :) I know this is completely random--my daily dose of comic relief. . .

Celebrity Look Alike

Trash TV

Every Monday Night I host "Trash TV" at our house. Me and a few friends pick a reality show that we like to make fun of and watch it together. This time around it is Bachelor Rome and while yes it is very trashy it is also HILARIOUS! We especially get a kick out of "socialite" Erica who refers to the other girls as "commoners" and lamented that she had to ride "coach class" for the first time in her life on the way to Rome. The best time of the night is just getting a chance to hang out w/my girlfriends. We try to convince Bryndyn to watch it with us but he resists. Although he says he's watching Monday Night Football in the bedroom, I think he secretly wants to know which girl is going to get her "prince charming." :) The kids love trash tv as well. They get to see "MIMI," who always convinces me to let them to stay up a little past bedtime. . . How can I resist these faces?

You Had To Be There

After the fall festival we were headed home & stopped to get gas. While Bryndyn was outside filling up the van, the kids were just being silly and looked so cute--so since I had my camera handy I snapped this first one of Caelleb. It was dark in the van so my flash went off. This got both kids laughing and Tia kept saying "more, more, more." She was totally hamming it up! I just took picture after picture (gotta love digital) because everytime the flash went off the kids would start laughing so I'd start laughing even harder. Finally, Bryndyn opened the door and asked what in the world we were doing because all he could see was my flash going off over and over again. It was probably one of those "you had to be there moments" but the kids and I were laughing hysterically! Anyway, here's Tia posing for the camera. . .

Fall Festival

This last Sunday was our church's annual Fall Festival. It was a very fun evening of chili, pie, games for the kids, hayrides, singing, talent show, etc. The cutest part is that all the younger kids (I say younger because I asked one of the teens if she was going to dress up and got the basic, "i'm too cool for that" look back) wear their halloween costumes. So, meet Red Power Ranger Caelleb & Ladybug Tia. . .

Too Much Pink

The following pics are of Tia with what seems to be her favorite birthday present. Special thanks to Aunt Lori for blessing all of us with the wonderful frilly, girly, PINK phone. Payback is coming in December when your little girl enters this world--we are going to DECK her out in PINK FRILLS--might even splurge for a cheerleading outfit! :)