Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival

I realize I have been neglecting the blog lately. No real reason other than I've just been enjoying my kids (no really!), and trying to go to bed at night rather than stay up on the internet! I've finally got some pictures uploaded off my camera too, so I hope to post a few different things this week... so be sure and check back!

Well, the leaves are changing, a chill is in the air, pumpkins and mums are on every grocery corner, and I'm in the mood for some Fall festivities! Yesterday we went to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival - it's an outdoor fall festival in a small river town about a half hour from here. It took us TWO hours to make it through the traffic jam in the little town and get a parking place, but it was fun once we got there. It has been raining a lot so it was muddy and FREEZING, but at least we remembered jackets for the boys. As for Brad and I, we had to be tough. The first highlight was Eli's first pony ride. The kid is a lover of animals, and he was thrilled to ride a real horse! He wanted the BIG horse, not the little mini pony! I was surprised that he was so brave, and nervous that he was up so high, but he loved it. He didn't want to get off, and I had to bribe him with starburst to get him to move along to the next activity.




The little family farm out there was selling a gazillion pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, so we had fun playing around with them for over an hour. The boys climbed all over the big ones, and dug around in the crates of little ones.










We didn't do much else other than finally taste the famous "funnel cake" that shows up at every festival out here (basically fried sweet dough with powdered sugar on it), and we played with some puppies that someone was trying to sell. There were a ton of craft booths, but we weren't there to spend money. When all was said and done, it was a good time and it totally wore the kids out. Eli ate some kettlecorn on the walk back to the car, and that ended up being his dinner because he passed out on the ride home (about 6pm) and was out for the night!

Soybean (I think!) Field

Mr. Mom

Don't you love when your little ones try to imitate something GOOD that you? I've been "wearing" Owen in the wrap a lot lately in the afternoons - he tends to get pretty fussy that time of day and he's been a resistant napper lately, so this way he is at least relaxed and sometimes will fall asleep for me. One day when I had him in there, Eli got an idea and started begging to "hold mine baby in mine wrap!" So I adjusted one of my ring slings for him and he carried that baby all afternoon! He sang to it, kissed it, and walked around the house hand in hand with me as we rocked our babies together. I don't think any of us could have been more pleased....



PS - it took at least ten tries with the self timer to get this shot. This is as centered as it gets!

Close Call

I had a close call the other day, which I'm sure many of you can relate to. I was using the potty in our master bathroom when I realized the toilet paper roll was empty. Don't you hate that? Just as I was contemplating running down the hall to the other bathroom, I heard Eli walk into my room looking for me. Great! I asked him to go get mommy a BIG piece of toilet paper. He was very excited to help and was quick as a flash. The piece he brought was little on the small side, so I asked him to go and get me a BIGGER one. He giggled and ran off, returning with a slightly longer piece. He was so proud of himself for helping. Here is the visual evidence:



Thankfully, it was Saturday and Brad was home - so I hollered at him to bring me a new roll. WHEW! That was close.

Free

I love a good freebie now and then - and thankfully we have been blessed with some great finds recently! Out here, people put stuff out by the curb before garbage pickup, so I've come across a few things that way. There's also freecycle.org - it's a race to snag things from there but it's worth a try! And I can't say enough of my craigslist addiction. Here are a few recent finds.

FREE:

Sandbox and Clean Sand

Mower and Leaf Blower

Trike

Adjustable Hoop

CHEAP:
Pirate Ship Playhouse

Bubble Mower - 25 centsSwingset with Slide $40
Baby Pool with Slide was FREE

Bittersweet

Heading home after a long visit with family is always bitter sweet. On the one hand, it's nice to get back to our routine, but being together is so wonderful that parting always brings tears. It brings me joy to see how much my boys love my parents, and how much they love them. Eli thinks anything that Grandma or Grandpa does is cool, and it didn't take long for Owen to buddy up with them either. We sure miss you guys and wish we could visit more often!

I felt like we got a little gypped on our last week there, because Owen ended up getting sick with a runny nose and fever of 103 - 104 for three days straight! I did nothing but rock him and watch movies during that time (Knowing, Becoming Jane, and Mozart and the Whale were my favs). At least Eli got some good one on one time in with Grandma. She sewed up some much needed PJ's and soft shoes for the boys - Eli "helped."

Now we are back in MO, enjoying the perfect nearly-fall weather. It was a LONG travel day back home, but the boys flipped with excitement to see Daddy again. They haven't been able to get enough of him since we got back. And I have to say, my flight from AZ to Denver (layover) had the NICEST people on it. I got more help from the flight crew and fellow passengers than I have ever known to be offered to a mom traveling alone. I can't say the same for other legs of the journey.

Here are a "few" (come on, we all know by now I have a photo addiction, lol) pics of the end of our trip.

The "Owen Walking Harness"

Eli was feeling a lack of attention and insisted "I want to wrap!"

Catching Goldfish

Owen and Great Grandma Maxine

Grandpa's Boat!

ALL Shopping Carts Need Twin Slots

Owen Loving Lemon Wedges at Red Lobster

At the Airport With Our Pile

2nd Leg of the Flight with "Gueewana" (iguana)

Better Together

I love my two boys more than life. Together, they seem to have the power to drive me absolutely batty at times, and to melt my heart completely at others. Spending a day with them is like a wild roller coaster ride of emotions: joy, exhaustion, laughter, and frustration. If you have kids, and especially more than one kid, you know the insanity of which I speak. They are getting into the stage of enjoying each other's company one minute, and fighting over something the next. I never feel like I have enough "me" to give either of them the complete attention that they deserve. And yet somehow I realize that the time is ticking and they are growing up all too quickly!

Here are a few more recent photo worthy moments:

Swimming in Horse Trough

Sleeping in the YMCA Pool

Early Morning

Morning Walk

Tangled

The boys and I have all been sharing a king sized bed here at my parents' house. It really is a comfortable bed with plenty of room for the three of us. I sleep on one edge with Owen tucked next to me towards the middle, and Eli on the opposite edge with a giant body pillow wedged against him so he doesn't roll out. So far it's been a decent arrangement. A few mornings Eli has woken up and asked to "cuddle mommy too" so I have to hoist him over Owen's slumbering body and cuddle him over on the edge.

I usually just lay down with the boys to get them asleep (since we've been here) and then just go to sleep myself. I've been itching for some quiet alone time though, so last night I snuck out of bed after they were asleep and stayed up to watch a movie (Nights in Rodanthe - I hated it!). I had the monitor on and heard Owen squawk a couple of times, but he quieted back down so I just stayed where I was. When I finally came to bed, this is what I saw:

Eli must have been looking for me to cuddle up to as he's laying in my spot. At first I just had to giggle and take a picture. Then as I moved Eli over, I realized how dangerous it probably is for a sleeping baby to have a leg draped over his neck. "Like a boa constrictor!" my mom pointed out to me. So, I guess I won't be leaving them alone in the bed together to sneak in alone time anymore....

Desert Museum

My parents and I took the kids to the Desert Museum on Monday - for future reference we will NOT be doing this again in the summertime! There were lots of fun and creepy things to see, but once again it was really TOO HOT to be out there. We quit halfway through the walking circuit, but I think Eli really enjoyed all the critters. We got to sit in a nice airconditioned auditorium for a presentation on animals and saw a live Coati, Porcupine, Skunk, Lizard, Snake, and Parrots. When the Skunk came walking out on the platform Eli yells, "Oh, a 'tinky snuck!" (stinky skunk). That cracked me up. I also couldn't believe how brave he was about touching the snake. He was fascinated and would have held it if they let him! Since then we've been trying to brainwash him that snakes are mean and scary, because my parents actually get rattlers in their yard and my mom especially is scared Eli will find one and try to pick it up. The beaver exhibit was awesome - we watched the beaver swimming through the glass - they are a lot bigger than i realized. Overall, a fun day, and both kids promptly passed out from heat exhaustion within minutes of being strapped in their carseats =).

Tucson and Casa Grande

I had to post a few more pictures for Brad's sake... we sure miss you honey! Wish you were here having fun with us!

Mmmm... Dog Bones

Vrooooom!

Mmmm... Chocolate!
Swimming in Casa Grande:
Water Baby
Decked Out in our Gear

Hilarious Diving Cousins!

The "boat ride"Babyfat Floats!

Ride 'em Cowboy!

Here, Puppy Puppy...