Fall fun: pumpkins and corn mazes

Last weekend we took the boys to Pheasant Fields Farms for a pumpkin picking experience, complete with a stroll through their corn maze. It was fun and, of course, pictures were taken. I mean... duh.

The boys and I are flying to Oklahoma tomorrow for a quick trip to check in with my parents. Mike will be staying home since he has a real job that involves actual work on a daily basis. :-)

I covet your prayers for safe travel and that we will enjoy our time with Poppa Jim and Grandmom. Thanks!

Enjoy.

FLIPPING

On Saturday the boys wanted to go to the playground for a bit, and since the weather was actually dry... we went. Zach has a new skill that he's recently perfected on the playground and he needed to show it off. He's a flipping mad-man. He flips forwards and backwards, on parallel bars and on single bars. Of course, once Alec saw Zachary flipping all over the place he had to have a go at it too. And then, in the natural order of boys... Mike also had to have a try. I was so glad I brought the camera!

Enjoy.

Fierce, frightening, and fretfully cute!

My boys have finally chosen their Halloween costumes. And for the first time, they've chosen the same thing. NINJAS! Even when Alec is not in costume, he "sneaks" around in a very dramatic fashion and says he's sneaky like a ninja. You'll see from the photos that Zachary has truly gotten into character with his costume. His poses and facial expressions are truly ninja warrior-like.

On a side note that should make you chuckle. Alec has recently become fascinated with the aesthetic designs he can make with his urine. For example, he'll be standing in front of the toilet and he'll say something like, "Look Mommy! I'm magic. I can make flowers in the potty with my pee!" Last night, after this photo session, he was in the act of relieving his bladder when he said to Mike, "Daddy! Look! My pee looks like my Ninja sword!"

Never a dull moment.

Factoids

I'm at a loss for a new "F" post, but my sissy Sara just did random facts on her site so I thought I'd steal the idea and just rename it.

So, here are some random facts about yours truly.

1) My favorite soft drink is Diet Dr. Pepper. I really don't like any other carbonated drinks at all. I have a DDP every morning instead of coffee because I don't really like coffee. I like the smell of it, but that's about it.

2) My hair is naturally curly, but it isn't CONSISTENTLY curly. The top layer is rather straight but each layer underneath gets curlier and curlier.

3) Like my friend Sara, I read magazines and catalogs from back to front.

4) In college I got to ride on the Harding "jet" from El Paso to Searcy with Dr. Burks, the president of my alma mater.

5) Also in college, I dated my friend Cara's now husband Kent. (Well, dated might be a bit extreme. I think we went on two dates. But still, it sounds better to say that I dated him.)

6) Much to my father's despair, I turned down a full scholarship to attend Oklahoma State University (tuition, room, board) because I wanted to attend Harding. I never regretted the decision. I'm not sure if my dad (and his wallet) would agree.

7) My husband proposed to me one afternoon while we were on a one hour break from our job as counselors at Camp Blue Haven. I wore my engagement ring for about 15 minutes before I had to hide it because we weren't really supposed to be "romantically involved" as counselors.

8) My oldest son, Zachary, was supposed to be Madalyn Nicole. His ultrasound said girl. It was wrong. I had to have an emergency c-section to deliver him. While the nurses prepped me for the cutting, they asked what name I'd chosen. When the doctor pulled the baby from my body I heard a nurse laughingly say, "Honey, this is NOT a Madalyn!"

9) Sometimes I crave Doritoes and bean dip. It's one of those snack foods that I just have to have about twice a year.

10) I have several small flat moles on my right leg that make up the shape of the Big Dipper.


Okay, your turn! Tell me a random fact!

Fancy Feet

Alec brought home a note from pre-school on Tuesday notifying us that there would be a dance teacher coming for an in-school field trip on Thursday. I thought, "Hmmm, a dance teacher with a classroom full of three-year-olds. Definitely gotta see that." So I left my class a tad early and drove a tad too fast and arrived just in time to see my boy "dancing." He was very cute. Of course, he does come by that cuteness naturally.

Above: Alec is wearing all grey and they are "dancing" (i.e. running and giggling hysterically) like birds.

Above: Alec is standing next to his buddy Savannah. He's always talking about Savannah. :-)

Above: This was definitely the highlight of the day for me. They gave him a ribbon and told him to run on tip-toes and twirl it. So... he stood there in the classic boy position and swished that thing back and forth manically until they made him stop.

It was certainly worth the price of admission.

Fall weather

I am just curious. Is anyone out there actually having somewhat normal fall weather right now? I realize that "normal" is terribly abstract and varies widely, but we're having the weirdest weather here in the Pacific Northwest! There has been no rain -- stunning -- and the temps have been in the 80s! Unbelievable in this neck of the woods. I am not prepared for such weather. I go to work and sweat in my work clothes because I do not have warm weather work clothes. Why? Because it is not supposed to be warm here, not while I'm teaching anyway!

What about you? How's the weather?