Jack-o-lanterns

We carved our pumpkins last night. I've carved pumpkins every year for as long as I can remember, and we're not about to skip a year....but, I have to say, the boys aren't quite at the age yet where'd I'd consider it good family fun.

Sharp knives, pumpkin guts that they refuse to touch, little boy meltdowns over the slightest imperfection...the process itself can be a big challenging but the end result is usually worth it.

Little boy with a BIG knife:

Brady found this idea in his Ranger Rick magazine:

Another new favorite picture

...although I do kind of wish it was Maggie's other side, to commemorate her exciting summer surgery!

What say?

If I haven't mentioned it before, "What say?" is one of the kid-phrases that I think is likely to endure forever in our lexicon. From the time Brady has been old enough to ask us to repeat ourselves, this is what he's said. (And, we hear it quite often!)

Today he came downstairs after his shower and told me that he had used "air conditioner" in his hair.

Later, he asked me how our friend Miss Roxanne got her name. I didn't really know what he meant, so I asked him why he was asking..."Well, why is her name rocks and sand. It's kind of funny." When I listened more carefully, I realized that he really does pronounce her name exactly like that: Miss Rocks-sand.

Looking at the Christmas toy catalog with Rudy, he pointed out Hannah Montana. I asked him how he knew who she was..."I watch commercials, Mom." (He's already got that teenage "duh" tone perfected.)

His favorite spiderman shoes wore out, so I had to find him new sneakers with some urgency. The only thing I could find that was even close to a reasonable price was a pair of Sketchers. I tried to talk them up as cool skater shoes. Once I told him they were Sketchers, he was very excited because he's "seen them on the previews on TV". Brand loyalty at age 4.

In Rudy's language world, we've added "rhinerous" to "hippowatermus" in the zoo animals category. He's also discovered the word "Why"...so now we have his chorus of "Why, Mommy" and "What's dis, Daddy" to add to Brady's questions. I love it!

Photo shoot, part 2

More professional pictures...why can't we take pictures that look like this?!?

Photo Shoot

We had our first ever professional family photos yesterday. These are from the first set we got back from the photographer...

Brady did really well and was very cooperative with Brooke, the photographer, except he kept sticking out his tongue - even more than the picture above :) Rudy did great at the beginning, but once he found the sandbox was open he wanted nothing more to do with the pictures. At one point, Brooke said, "You're done with me, aren't you?"

Rudy: "Yup." And walks away. All done.

5K and costumes

Our neighborhood had a 5K run today, costumes encouraged. No costume prizes for us...we were pretty good but "Michael Phelps" won (it was a great costume - medals, flag, tight swim trunks, swim cap and all!)...

Fall has fallen (?)

It's looking pretty fall-like around here these days. I'm thrilled (and shocked) that I actually managed to keep the hydrangeas thriving and that my clearance-rack mums from last year came back. (A green thumb is not really one of my areas of expertise!)

Ohio was a couple weeks ahead of us in autumn. The leaves were beautiful colors and the days were definitely crisper!

Two of my new favorite pictures of the boys:

Not technically a great picture, but I still love it! Such joy!


Quite possibly the best picture I have of Brady:

Road trip, in pictures

So...once again a full demonstration of my inability to eliminate pictures. However, I can at least rationalize that it's acceptable because this is also serving as my scrapbook!

Gorgeous fall colors on the drives...


Rudy wrestling with Grandma. (Have I mentioned yet that she is a most amazing 87 year old!?)


We took a tour of "Grandma's forest" in her golf cart. (Originally it was 3500 trees that she and my grandfather planted!)



This is the same merry-go-round that I used to ride...except now it's manually powered!


...and the same swingset (and just as much fun!)



The boys found a "woolly bear" caterpillar.


Playing in the pond...


Brady and I got to do some china painting with Grandma. Brady painted a technicolor stegosaurus and I got through the first two firings of a hydrangea Christmas platter. Grandma said she'd finish it up for me (she probably has a lot of touching up to do!).


Baking with Grandma


Playing Battleship


We found a unique pit stop between Ohio and Chicago...the RV hall of fame and museum. Betcha didn't even know that existed!! The boys had a great time exploring the campers which dated from early 1900's all the way to brand new (and quite fancy).



In Chicago...the kids met last spring but picked up right where they left off...


We spent several hours at the Museum of Science and Industry and could have easily spent several more hours there! (We got in free with that awesome museum pass...we need to keep that updated for all future trips!) They had an "idea factory" just for younger kids with this huge water feature, balls, hoses, wheels, etc.



The kids trying to catch the "bubbles" with their shadows


At the train exhibit. (Note that Rudy asked ALL morning to see the trains. When we left the museum he told James that his favorite part of the museum was the "pish" [fish]. There were no fish.)


Brady made friends with the chicks...


Dave and kids riding a cow...kind of weird, huh? For those of you who know about all the "food" books I've been reading...don't get me started on this farming exhibit sponsored by Monsanto and various other key players in the food industry!!


At the Brookfield zoo...Hudson the baby polar bear was by far the biggest hit. (Note that Rudy told James his favorite part of the zoo was the "A-planes". No airplanes at this zoo. Do you see a trend?)


Like father, like son...


One of Brady's biggest requests for the trip was to see the "big lake":


We timed it so that we left Chicago close to bedtime and drove a few hours to get a head start on the long hike from Chicago to VA. It actually worked and the kids fell asleep in the car.

Road trip, by the numbers

We're back from our first major road trip with the boys and it was a resounding success...of course, now we have to deal with the post-vacation let down - groceries, unpacking, laundry, bills, mail, etc. Ugh. I am also behind in my writing work...but I'm still going to take the time to update the blog with our trip highlights. Not sure what that says about my priorities!

We went from Virginia to Ohio to visit my relatives, Ohio to Chicago to see friends from Penn State, Chicago to Indianapolis, Indy to Dayton for the Air Force Museum, and Dayton back to VA.

So...our road trip in numbers would look like this:

1720 total miles, 31 total hours in the car

469 miles, 8:14 hours drive time, 10 hours including rest stops - day 1 (VA-OH)
379 miles, 6 hours travel time - day 4 (OH-CHI)
185 miles, 3:30 hours travel time - day 6 (CHI to Indianapolis)
117 miles, 2 hours travel time - day 7 (Indy to Dayton)
459 miles, 8 hours - day 7 (Dayton back to VA)

(For those of you doing the math, the 111 extra miles and extra driving time was around Ohio and Chicago!)

Then, there are all the things that can't really be quantified:

• The number of times (Day 1) that Brady sang God Bless America and Rudy responded with, "Brady NOT bless 'merica!!"
• Playing tackle football with the boys on a perfect autumn day.
• The number of times on the drive that someone said, "Wow! Look at the colors of those trees!"
  
• Watching the boys do all the things at Grandma's house that I used to love (OK, still do!) to do...ride the merry-go-round, play on the swingset, play in the pond, explore Grandma's woods, bake with Grandma, play marbles...
• Hanging out with our Penn State friends and realizing it was like we're still neighbors!
  
• How truly wonderfully the kids behaved the entire trip!
  

Look out, Bella...

...there's a new girl in town!