Autumn is my very favorite time of year. There is something so wonderful about the crisp mornings that warm up to a beautiful sunny day. The best part of this time of year though is the beautiful colors the trees leaves turn and of course, heading out to find the “Great Pumpkin”. This year Jakob, Madison and myself went with my Mom to a really cool pumpkin patch. They had hayrides, pumpkin slings, catapults, animals, food, hot cider, popcorn, caramel apples, slides and so much more. Even better, we ran into Josh’s cousins Jody & Jeane and their kids while we were standing in line to go the bathroom. It was a party and we all had so much fun finding our pumpkins and hanging out together for the day.
Josh and I were fortunate enough to get out without the kids for a little while this month too. My Uncle Matt threw a party to celebrate my cousin Rachel’s birthday & graduation from college, so we got to go out, have a couple of drinks and visit with family & friends. It was great, most of all because we were without children!
Every year Jakob and I decorate cookies or cupcakes. This year we made some great and tasty Halloween cookies. Jakob is so creative and baking with the kids is always so memorable and fun!
Halloween is a big deal around here with Jakob. He is a major advocate of pumpkin carving, pumpkin pie, dressing up and like every kid, candy!!! October is always a really fun month for us. This year Jakob carved a pumpkin with grandpa at the beginning of the month, one in the middle of the month, and then 3 with us on Halloween. Unfortunately our latest pumpkins didn’t come out so well. Typically we spend a lot of time carefully carving our pumpkins, but this year, Madison cried most of the time we were carving. She has been super cranky because her eye teeth are coming in. Needless to say, we carved quick and in that desperate hurry a pumpkin was sadly lost. Oh well, better luck next year! You can’t win them all
Halloween this year was super cool! We had friends and family join us for pizza, beer, vanilla rum & hot cider and most of all trick or treating. It was a hoot! It was Mahala’s (my cousins daughter) first Halloween and she was dressed super cute as a firefighter! Jakob went this year as BumbleBee the transformer and Madison went as a fairy. The look on Maddy’s face when she realized people were putting candy in her bucket was priceless especially when she saw her favorite…M&M’s.
I know I have already put up a ton of photos, but I have one more set I would like to share. Madison likes to play in my makeup while I’m putting it on. So I decided to take some pictures of her. She is so funny and her hair in these pictures absolutely cracks me up!
I hope everyone had a great October and a wonderful Halloween!!!
Posted: September 12th, 2009, 2:11 PM 2 Comments »
It’s hard to believe how fast this summer went. Where does the time go?
August was such a great month for us. We did lots of fun things. Jakob had his 6th birthday on the 8th. He was so excited to get “Devastator”, the transformer made up of 6 separate construction Decepticons. We topped off a wonderful family party with a chocolate cheesecake made by Grandma Ellynn. Yummy!!!
On the 11th of August we decided to go to the Zoo which offers a special on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. You get in for only $2! There were ton’s of people. I would venture to say if you want to go to $2 Tuesday you should really think of doing it during the school year, LOL! We did have so much fun. We even rode the train which we have never done before. It was great! What a beautiful ride. I think we need to go to Zoo Lights this year to enjoy the ride with all the Christmas lights. The zoo has done a lot of remodeling and we had a really great time enjoying all the exhibits. Jakob particularly enjoyed the snakes, bats & insects .
This summer was really warm. I guess we set some type of record here for how many days we had over 90 degrees. We so enjoyed cooling off at Lost Lake. We took our kayak and spent the day playing on the lake and enjoying the amazing post card views from here. There aren’t many things I enjoy more than a beautiful day on the lake. Good food, great company, nice weather = splendor!
As if all of that wasn’t exciting enough, we then got to go to the airshow. I grew up going to airshows every year. I was so excited to take Jakob for his first airshow experience. He absolutely loved it. The Hillsboro Airshow is much smaller (and definitely more expensive) than the airshows I went to as a kid. They charged $20 per adult. I was actually pretty shocked by that. I’m assuming it’s because instead of having it on base, it is on a private air field. Despite the cost, we had an amazing time. The show was topped off with all the amazing stunts of the Airforce Thunderbirds. I think next year I am going to look up and plan a trip to an airshow in Seattle area where we can go on base. I can only imagine the kick Jakob will get out of that!
This week Jakob started first grade. It was a bittersweet moment. It’s weird to think that unless it is Winter or Summer vacation, Jake is going to be in school all day. The wonderful early years are over. It really is the ending of an era. I can’t lie though. It is nice to enjoy a bit more peace each day. Especially when Maddy is napping. As if I wasn’t already aware that my little boy is growing up to fast, Jakob lost his first tooth this week too! We knew it was coming and we tried to get him to pull it out at home so we could save and treasure it, but no such luck. Jakob lost his first tooth at recess on the playground in the bark dust. The sentimental weirdo that I am, I went to the playground and looked for it. Of course, I didn’t find it. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Oh well…there’s always the next tooth!
All in all we had a wonderful summer and I am already looking forward to my favorite season, autumn. The idea of the approaching baking & holidays excites me every year. I will be sure to post and update our great family adventures as they happen this fall!
July has been an absolutely crazy month for us. It began with 4th of July. We had a wonderful time. Uncle Bill came and visited from California. He bought tons of great fireworks and we all had fun setting them off. This is the first year since Jakob was born that he would actually watch fireworks (he has been to scared in years past, he wouldn’t let us watch them either, LOL). I really loved that our city had a fireworks display of there own. It was an impressive 45 minutes long too. I think I experienced enough fireworks this year to almost make up for the lack of in the last 5 years!
Josh had his 3rd surgery on his knee this month as well. I can’t tell you how long and exhausting this road has been. He is still in pain and we are both frustrated and concerned. Only time will tell if the most recent surgery was successful.
Next up for the month…the Sandy Mountain Festival! We joined my Mom & cousins Lisa, Rachel, and little Mahala at the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade. It was so much fun. Jakob was really hoping to see the tanks like in years past, but unfortunately…no tanks this year. My Mom had to keep Madison under control. That girl was ready to join the parade. Good think Grandma had her by the seat of her pants or she would have!
Here are some random pictures from this month. Jakob, Maddy & I had fun racing around Safeway in this sweet cart! I don’t know why more grocery stores don’t have these things. It makes shopping so much easier for parents!
Maddy loves to wear Jakob’s backpack. It is too cute watching her run around with that huge thing on her back. It cracks me up! My cousin said that we should get her a green backpack and dress her up as a turtle for Halloween. I think it’s a great idea! LOL!
This month brings a lot of family events as well. July 27th was Maya’s 20th birthday and it is also Josh’s parents anniversary. We celebrated Maya’s birthday last Sunday with a wonderful chocolate cheesecake topped with chocolate ganache and cherries made by my Mom. It was so wonderful!
Next up this month…well Josh’s birthday is tomorrow and Jakob’s 6th birthday is right behind it, so stay tuned for pictures and maybe even video. Oh, I almost forgot. I cut my hair. It’s a pretty drastic change but I absolutely love it. I was really tired and bored with my long hair. So here it is!
Today was a really nice relaxing day. We all met up at my Aunt Linda’s for a Fathers Day get together. It was a ball. Josh & Jakob caught some snakes, we all got to eat some fantastic food (a staple at any family event of ours) and the kids had a great time playing. Below are some of the photos we took while there. Madison was mesmerized by her beautiful baby cousin Mahala. She really wanted to steal her binky too! I know next year is going to be so amazing when Mahala and Madison will both be able to play together. Definitely something to look forward to.
Maddy saying “Hey Cuz” to Mahala
Rachel, Grandpa, Tina & Madison
Jakob & Daddy with their snakes. Eeewwwwhhhh!
And last but not least I will leave you with a short video. Yep…at 14 months old she is washing her own hair. Maddy absolutely cracks me up!
It has been forever since I have posted here. I’m going to have to blame it on my Facebook addiction as well as being busy working and re-designing my company website. I was feeling so over loaded teaching Jakob at home and with everything else that I do it became clear that we just needed to put him into the public school. He really does love it and he’s having so much fun with all of the other kids. Unfortunately the side effect has been constant family sickness. The pediatrician said that this is completely normal. At this rate I should have super immunities by next year.
Madison turned one in April. It’s so hard to believe how quickly this year has gone. She is already walking and saying a few words. She just loves being with her big brother Jake. So since I haven’t updated with pictures or video for a long time I am going to throw some in. I have also updated my YouTube page with some videos from the last couple of months. You can find them here: http://www.youtube.com/weedbead1.
Maddy taking a stroll
Josh, Jakob, Grandma Lynn & Madison at Jakob’s Spring Concert
