Lazy 5: Part 2

So, I started to type this right after Thanksgiving, but when the pictures failed to upload, I decided to give it a rest for 5 weeks or so. Clicking on 5 pictures can be quite cumbersome.

Ahhh the holiday season is upon us, bringing with it the bribery of the Elf on a Shelf (named Jay, by John Dickson - much more clever than what his Dad would have named his elf back in the day - something either rhyming with Elf, or just "Elfsty") or the advent calendar. Whoever is the best listener gets to open the door on the calendar - we've been going on about a week just competing for the coveted first door privilege. And let me tell you - that 1/25 of an ounce of chocolate better be worth it, or come December 1 we may be down to just Jay. Anyhoo, I figured I better finish documenting all of our fall fun before it starts to snow. Tomorrow night. Seriously??? Seriously.

I know what you are all thinking... DID it snow??? No, it didn't. In fact, I can literally count on 1 hand the number of nights we have had to turn on the heat. Our apartment is BLAZING. Adam thinks it's because the devil lives downstairs. I think it's because we have 2 offers on our house right now. (That maybe was just an excuse to throw that in there).

Anyhoo, here is the ending from the Lazy 5 cliffhanger that has had everyone up at night. Just a few last pictures from Lazy 5.






Check out the cattle head to John Dickson body ratio here.

Lazy 5

We made it out to Lazy 5 Ranch back in October with Nana and Grumps - its like a new and improved Hollywild. It includes a lot of giraffes, so naturally, we had a great time.

A John Dickson sammich on the horse drawn cart:



Henry and Nana deciding where to go next:



Believe it or not, anything can be a gun.



Henry loves goats!




Stay tuned for more Lazy 5 pictures!

We're From SC

Yes we did go to the Nascar Hall of Fame thankyouverymuch!

It might look like John Dickson and I are racing on the simulator practice thingamabobber.



We are actually just hitting the gas and trying to figure out why we can't get the car to go.

Henry had the right idea - this would have been more my speed...





Adam lost by the way.

The "Johnny Johnston" Lowes car

Playground

Yes, I know. They are adorable.

Pumpkin Patch

I decided it was finally time to post pictures from our pumpkin patch adventure, seeing as how we are quickly approaching Thanksgiving. I received the gentle reminder that turkey day was upon us, as John Dickson had to report to his class his family's menu for the big day. I lost the sheet to fill out, so I gave Adam firm instructions to request another one this morning and fill it out when he dropped John Dickson off. The two of them worked together, and created the following problems:

1. John Dickson has the memory of an elephant, and will now NOT be forgetting that for Thanksgiving we will be enjoying sweet potatoes with a marshmallow topping, grapes, and chocolate cake. Just like our ancestors.

2. Even though I told John Dickson we were having chicken chili for dinner (side note: kids eat chili in tortilla scoops), he was confused by all of the Thanksgiving talk and devastated that we were not having turkey for dinner tonight. On Thanksgiving. Tonight.

John Dickson is quite into Thanksgiving. I went to pick him up from school the other day, and I'm always interested in seeing what toy he selected that morning to take for naptime. I've seen some toys that have surprised me - Henry's sock monkey, a bear lovie he never looked twice at when he was bear lovie age appropriate, a hard plastic robot to snuggle up with, but never did I expect to find in his cubby a Williams Sonoma catalog. Presumably because of the turkey on the front. It's the only thing I can figure. Regardless, I was proud.

And in the spirit of digressing from the pumpkin patch adventure, have I mentioned Henry is talking full speed? Well, maybe not full speed, but he's certainly taking off. He's calling me "mama" (finally!!!!!), and I think he calls Adam "dada." He will repeat it if you say it, and he knows who "dada" is, and I think he calls Adam that... but I'm not positive. He does say John Dickson. He is also saying book, yes, no, please, more, uh oh, ouch, car, mine, Boo Boo (what the boys call Bear), hi, bye bye, and I'm sure there are a few others. Oh, and he counts to 3. For real. And he sings the "lala la la" from Elmo's Song.

Anyhoo... if you've seen our posts from Denver Downs Farm in Anderson, SC that I will not be taking the time to go link this post back to, then you've seen a pumpkin patch done right. We were sad to move away from Denver Downs, but excited to try this new place that promised to offer just about everything from our beloved first love of a pumpkin patch. Turns out their webmaster needs a serious raise, because homeboy knows how to make absolutely nothing look like something spectacular. And it was one of the coldest days we've had up here yet. Seeing as how we were all underdressed and the pumpkins were underpatched, we let the munchkins pick their pumpkins (which were all conveniently already picked and spread out across the ground... pumpkin patch my behind) and headed for a warm lunch in a heated building with three meltdowntastic munchkins. Despite all, it was a good time.

Well That's Embarrassing

Has it really been almost 6 weeks since my last post?? Between working, studying for the CIA exam, soaking in the newness of a new town, and hitting all of the Janie & Jack sales (love this new town - and did I mention I can WALK there?!?!? I promise that's not why I took the new job...), blog posts and pictures have just been piling up in my head... and the bigger the pile, the more daunting the task seems and the less motivated I become. And at a 5 picture per post max, I just don't even know how to start... except that I know you are dying to see some pictures of John Dickson with his 'stache, and Henapen in his Peter Pan costume! Complete with Tinkerbell, of course!



"Awww... look at her in her elf costume!"





"What a cute pirate!"



Context clues people!!!



Even so, we had a great Halloween! John Dickson was thrilled to be Captain Hook. He insisted that he needed a sword, and seeing as how that would be the worst thing he could possibly have, we convinced him that he needed his free hand to carry his pumpkin. He did, however, get a hook. The first thing he said was "now I can really hurt spiderman." Like I said, no sword. Henahen loved his Peter Pan costume as well, crying when he had to take it off after he tried it on the first time. He also caught right on to the idea of trick or treating, using those eyelashes and baby blues as a distraction while he took piece after piece from each bowl. He insisted on holding Aunt Erin's hand all night, who had to remind him from time to time that this was "not a grocery store."

A little pizza, a little trick or treating, a big cousin bubble bath, a little impromptu dance party... it was a good night for all, except for maybe Adam, as John Dickson may or may not have danced in only his underwear and Ella's butterfly wings, and Henry may or may not have gone home wearing pink pajamas.

And as a side note, I went to a Halloween party last weekend, where I wore a little red riding hood costume. John Dickson saw me and asked "why you wearing a princess dress?" When I tried to explain the costume to him, he asked "how you be little red riding hood?" I said "like this!" He looked at me, confused, squinted his eyes, and then said... "Do it again..." He thought he had missed it.

And as another side note, Henry has a Halloween shirt that I had been saving for the big day. As Henry went to school in his Peter Pan costume on Halloween, I packed the shirt and a pair of jeans for him to change into. Someone, ahem, forgot to unpack the clothes from John Dickson's bookbag, and John Dickson came home wearing a 12-18 month shirt. That was pretty funny, but what really got me was the next day when he came home wearing size 18 month jeans. Or capris. You know, whatevs :-)

Many many more posts to come, including our trip to the pumpkin patch, Lazy 5 Ranch with Nana and Grumps, the SC State Fair, and some good ol fashioned pumpkin carving!