Slacker

Has it really been two months since my last post?

Ugh! Time flies when you are a full time Mommy and it's Christmas card season in the photography world. My poor children have definitely become photo deprived since I started this business, but they aren't complaining.

My grandma called last week and begged for some pictures...any pictures at all. She checks my blog twice a day. She is committed though I am not. Sorry Grandma! Here are your pictures.

I will try to do better!

On Halloween we went to a local farm for some Fall fun. Unfortunately it was a cold, misty day, but the kids didn't much care about that.

The first thing they wanted to do was ride the bucking cow train.


Well, maybe they liked the idea of it when they saw it, but once inside were not so sure. A "train" of four or five cows was pulled by a small tractor and as it moved the cows bucked up and down.


Austin loved it immediately. Mia waited a bit for her verdict.


But, ultimately she seemed to like the experience. We didn't know how she would do when the train went into the corn field where she couldn't see Mommy and Daddy. We waited for the wails!


But, to our surprise, they never came and when they emerged from the field this was her sweet facial expression. Pure joy! Needless to say, they rode it more than once.


Another highlight was the corn slide.


And the "heavy machinery" for corn play.


Of course, the John Deere inspired pedal carts were also a lot of fun, though Austin was a little frustrated that he was too short to do it himself.


We took a hayride pulled by a tractor out to the pretty much empty pumpkin patch where we weren't even allowed to get off. I imagine the pumpkins that were left out there were rotting anyway, but it was a nice ride. When we got off the kids were thrilled to get to climb on the stationary tractor for some pretend driving.


If you ask Austin what he wants to be when he grows up, he always replies with "A Farmer. So I can drive a tractor every day." He was in his own little world up there that day.


And because Mia has to do everything that Austin does, she drove the tractor too.


Before we left we let each of the kids pick a pumpkin from the selection they had left.


Mia picked the largest one she could manage to carry.


Hours later it was time for trick or treating and Buzz was ready to go. He LOVED the $7 costume I got him from a local consignment shop.


It really was cool with its light up head gear. He was on a mission and ready to go.


After some heckling from his family, Mark decided to dress up as Woody to go along with Austin. Mia who wouldn't be still for a good individual picture, was a fairy.

As you can see from the wet steps, it was a rainy night that didn't allow for much candy collecting. But we had a lot of fun and needed to get back home for a very important World Series game.

S-C-H-O-O-L

I am still not quite sure how it happened that I turned around and my baby boy became old enough to go to preschool, but alas it has happened.


Friday was his first real day. We had gone in on Wednesday to meet his teachers and I think that settled his nerves quite a bit. I still thought he was going to cry though.

For the last couple months he has cried a lot when I leave and he knew this was something that he was going to have to do without mommy. He asked me very often, "Are you going to stay with me Mommy?" I feared my weepy reaction if he started to cry.

But, you can see from the above photo and the ones to follow, he was ready to go.


It was a VERY rainy and cold day. He was excited to get to wear his raincoat.


He walked right in, hung up his backpack and coat and started playing. He really didn't even look back. We had to call him over to say goodbye to him.


He had a great first day. At least that is my assumption because I got very little out of him when we got home. I do know that they had Cheetos for snack. That may be the only information I am able to get out of him most days. But, as long as he is loving school, I will be a happy momma.

Little Pink Turtle Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for the Little Pink Turtle. I hope you enjoyed browsing their fantastic merchandise and will consider making them your official bow headquarters.

I had a little meeting with Mr. Random.org and the winner he chose was....

Kim

Congratulations Kim!!! You will be receiving an email from the Little Pink Turtle to claim your prize.

For those of you who didn't win but would still love some free stuff from Little Pink Turtle, you are in luck because they do Mom's Night Out parties where you can earn free bows and other accessories. Contact them today to set up your party, and help your friends and neighbors out by introducing them to their adorable products. It's a win - win!

I Can Take Care of That for You

** My giveaway ends at midnight tonight, so be sure to enter if you haven't already **

It Wouldn't be Summer Without It

We just aren't ready for summer to end.


So, we are continuing to enjoy some of our favorite things about it.


One of them is most certainly WATERMELON.


Cool, refreshing, sweet, juicy and fun to eat. What more could you ask for?


This is Mia's first summer as a watermelon indulger. I'd say she is a fan.



It isn't always pretty, but hey who cares if you let a little bit dribble down your mouth and drip from your chin and chubby elbows.


For now, we aren't thinking about all the things we will miss when summer is long gone. We are just enjoying them in the moment.


And I refuse to think about how much bigger these little watermelon tinged toes will be when next summer rolls around.

**My giveaway ends on Wednesday so don't forget to enter**

Fair-ly Nostalgic

This week's theme on I Heart Faces is Nostalgia.


I chose this picture for this week's Nostalgia theme because it brings back so many childhood memories. The "Swings" were absolutely my favorite ride anytime we would attend the fair or a local carnival when I was a kid. I loved the breeze in my long hair, the feeling of flying and the view from the elevated height. If my family would have tolerated it, I would have used nearly all of my ride tickets to swing.
It is no wonder that my son is exactly the same way. Last year at the fair he rode the swings three times and begged for more. I stood there smiling knowing exactly how he felt.

For more Nostalgia themed shots click here.


**Only two more days to enter my giveaway**

If the Kids Could Decorate the Yard

There is a store near Nana's house that sells all sorts of indoor and outdoor art. They have common things like bird baths, ornate mirrors, interesting plant holders and taxidermy. But, they also have many uncommon items...like life sized elephants.


...and fierce looking tigers


...and dinosaurs of all kinds


The realism is unbelievable.


It is honestly a little strange that such a shop is located in such a remote area.


Austin and Mia were thoroughly enjoying the visit and wanted to take home many of the pieces.


This was Austin's favorite.


I wasn't sure if the caboose was for sale, but the kids were having a great time on it.


We enjoyed the brief visit, but as we left I had one question lingering in my head.

Who actually buys this stuff for their yard?


**Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already**

Woo hoo!

I'm so excited! I just found out that I was a top ten finisher in this week's I Heart Faces "Bubble" themed pictures.

Check out all the winners here.

Gardening with Nana

This year was the first year my mom stopped talking about wanting to have a garden and actually (with a little help from daughters and friends) made it a reality.

While we were visiting Austin spent a lot of time in the garden with Nana.


They would go out in the morning and afternoon and check on the progress of all the vegetables, pull some weeds and pick the days bounty.

Austin loved it!


He has always been a good eater and he was finding no problem enjoying the fresh veggies right there in the garden. (A little dirt shouldn't hurt right?)

There was always a face of satisfaction and joy as he would bring the baskets full of tomatoes, green beans, peas, radishes, squash and cucumbers into the house.


It was certainly a very special time with Nana and he wanted it to be all his own. He was happy to share the vegetables, but not the garden.

It was such a joy for me to see him doing something I loved to do with my Grandpa when I was little.


He had a big, beautiful garden every year and even some berry bushes. My sisters and I would go out and do the very same things that Austin was doing with his Nana.

They are some of my fondest childhood memories and it warms my heart to know that Austin will have the benefit of the same types of memories.

Thanks Mom for planting seeds in your garden and memories in Austin's life.


** Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already! **

Mud Bog

Last week while we were visiting Nana, their county fair was in full swing.

On Monday night after I had a day full of photo shoots in my old stomping grounds, we went to the fair to watch the Mud Bog.


In case you aren't familiar with what that is (because I had never been to one either), it is a section of "race track" filled feet deep with mud.

Trucks attempt to make it all the way through the mud by using a combination of lots of horsepower and fancy maneuvering.

The winner is the truck who either makes it through in the fastest time or if none of them make it through, the truck who goes farthest through the mud without making it to the finish line.



It was a family affair for sure. The four of us, Nana & Pap, Gigi & GP and Aunt Amy.


I don't know if the kids were having more fun being on our shoulders or watching the trucks.



Actually, I think it was pretty clear what Austin liked the best.


The next night we were supposed to go back to ride the rides, but it poured rain and we returned on Wednesday.

As we stood at the ticket counter to buy our wristbands, Austin noticed that the woman helping us had an obvious "flaw."

He promptly and loudly said, "Hey, your teeth fell out!"

When she didn't respond to him he assumed she didn't hear him, so even more loudly and this time with an accompanying pointed finger, he said, "Hey, your teeth are missing!"

I think she quickly realized she better acknowledge him. So, she said with a toothless smile, "Yep."

Needless to say, we were just a tad embarrassed though we realized he is 3 and was just making an observation.

Off to the rides we went.


I was sure Mia would not be a fan of us leaving her on a ride, but she did well on the first one.



"Dumbo" was a hit, but the second ride of little rockets that went up and down was NOT. Mia cried the whole time and they stopped the ride early when she started trying to get off.


Austin was a fan of any ride we put him on, but he needed a little more intensity than most of the kiddie rides offered. You can see his obvious boredom with the pace of these vehicles.


After watching Austin ride the train, twice, she decided she wanted to ride it too. And she loved it!


I thought she would like the carousel, but wrong again. She would have been fine if it has just gone in circles, but the up and down motion was not her thing.

Don't you love Mark's, "annoyed at her drama" face?

Finally, after riding kiddie rides for a while Austin was able to ride the two adult rides that he was allowed on.

First the bumper cars, which we all did.

And, second, the highlight of his night....the Ferris Wheel!

We could see the tractor pull that was ongoing while we were up there and he loved it.

It was a great time at the fair with so many people that we love!


** Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already! **