Thanks a lot, Martha!

So, every year I get super inspired by all the cute and fancy pumpkins that Martha Stewart comes up with (well, at least someone that works for her ..). Why do I feel the need to be crafty? I have no idea--for some reason I thought it would be fun....

Well, we started out the night cleaning our pumpkins outside, which was a marvelous and brilliant idea (if I do say so myself). Kennedy was coloring all over the table and Bridger was painting his arms...it was fantastic. So, I print out all of these really cute templates and we each choose our own--Bridger wanted a pirate pumpkin--Kennedy could care less--Jer picked a haunted house I had picked this cute one that said "Goblin goodies for sale: night or day"...or something like that...

So, we proceed to scrape out 4 pumpkins--unfortunately that took so long that we had to wrap it up and put the kids to bed...how sad...but, trust me--they werent' having loads of fun at this point (just picture Bridger grabbing the pumpkin saw at every opportunity and jabbing it into one of our pumpkins...) So, we kindly explained to our children that the "pumpkin fairy" would visit that night and all of our pumpkins would be magically carved. Bridger said: "Oh, mom--I am so excited!! I can't wait for the pumpkin fairy to come--I am going to bed right now!" Man, I cannot wait for this kids teeth to fall out! :)

After they were in bed, Jeremy and I carved all four pumpkins and they were such a pain! Doing something fancy sure takes a long time...and why did I pick a stencil with so many letters???

Here are the finished products. This one was mine--as you can see I cut it down to just say "goblin"--I started on the next word but decided it would be too much (not to mention the ever growing blister on my right hand was starting to hurt...)Bridger's pirate pumpkin turned out really cute--Jeremy did that one (and he cursed Martha's name the whole time... :) )

The other two--well, let's just call them an "artistic rendition" after we threw the other stencils away and opted for something more original...

No, I shouldn't complain--it was a lot of fun--but next year we will be sure to keep it "sweet and simple"!

Donut Falls

We did this hike on Saturday and I am still sore!!! Holy cow--I carried Bridger up a mountain on my back--Jeremy is so mean to me.... Just kidding, actually he let me carry the empty backpack (cause Bridger usually never wants to be carried) but then Bridger remembered that my backpack had a camel-back in it, so he wanted to ride and I insisted that Jeremy not trade me. :) Geez, that kid (especially after all the water he drank...) felt like a horse on my back!

Then, while he was still on, I pretended like I was going to jump off a big rock--he got scared and decided he couldn't trust me--so he got off and walked the rest of the way (with the occasional water stop). Thank goodness!!!
It was so pretty up there--we didn't make it all the way to Donut Falls but we had a great time playing in the water--it was so pretty and really nice weather--but there were a lot of ice chunks in the water--so my mom broke off an icicle and made us all take a lick (does that suprise anyone???) :)

We had a great time crossing through the "river"--it was pretty shallow and so it was fun balancing on all of the logs--Bridger even gave it a try (and got his feet soaked in the process!!)

Here we are for another water break--I was so afraid my back was going to get all wet (if you know what I mean.....) but luckily Bridger held it--and took a hefty bathroom break by a tree. He is becoming a man.... :) And for those of you who may be concerned---don't be. We made sure not to contaminate the water.

It was a fun hike--thanks mom for coming with us!

The Old Mill

We have been loving this recent fall-like weather! So, we had to take it to the mountains, before it gets too cold.... This hike was fun--Bridger walked the whole way (2 miles--I was suprised) and had a ton of fun playing with dirt, rocks, and pretty yellow leaves. There were a lot of mounain bikers on this trail--when we saw one Bridger would yell: "Watch Out!!!" and we would all have to run to the side of the path. We had a lot of practice runs.....

Believe it or not, it is so fun hiking with Kennedy on my back! The whole time I can hear her whisper little things in my ear--she doesn't say a lot of words yet, but she does say "pretty"--and she giggles when I bounce her up and down--such sweet little noises!!!

Bridger's fun to carry too---but he weighs 20 more pounds and treats me more like a pack mule...(giddyup!!!) :)

H is for Hudson

I just finished this quilt for my little nephew--he is doing great and is so cute!!! Bridger always talks in a high pitched voice whenever he comes up in conversation--he thinks he is pretty darned cute too! Meanwhile, Kennedy can't wait to poke him in the eye.... :)

The Paving Machine

Bridger loves Jer's job--he gets to work with construction trucks all day--although, he is a little disappointed that Jeremy doesn't actually get to drive these trucks....

Well, a new road in the city was being paved, so Jer called us up--to show Bridger the infamous paving maching. For those of you who don't know--Bridger loves construction vehicles--and can tell you (from start to finish and in a very loud voice) how a road is made--so you can imagine how excited he was to get up close and personal.

They were so nice to him--the guy driving the roller even gave Bridger a candy bar (which we let him eat--taking candy from strangers--now, that's good parenting!!!)

In Remembrance.....

Our beloved purple airplane (not sure of technical name) was laid to rest Thursday evening at 6:25 p.m. Having been lovingly and painstakingly handcrafted by the pilot (for weeks on end), it is understandable that grief has overcome this family. This airplane was the cause of great joy on many family outings--After flying for approximately 3 minutes, the airplane rammed into the batting fence, full speed ahead. We are not sure of the exact cause of death, but think it may have something to do with the depth perception of the pilot.

This airplane leaves behind a distraught and frustrated pilot and two very sad (and confused) children

We are not sure when the pilot will be returning to the runway, but therapists are working round the clock to get him back in peak flying condition.

Meanwhile, Bridger has been ecstatic about finally being able to "touch" the airplane and even "run" with it....

We will leave with some pictures from the last few minutes of this airplanes life--including but not limited to-the fence that resulted in it's untimely demise....

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On a side note--after this gruesome crash--the pilot was given a prompt lecture (by this three year old son): "you have to be very very careful, Dad."

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins...

We just had a weekend full of pumpkins--on Saturday we went with Jer's parents to the Pumpkin Patch (a yearly tradition)--it was so cold and windy--but fun to get into the spirit of fall!

What a cute picture of her! She is finally looking at the camera and smiling at the same time--yeah Kennedy!
Just pretend like my eyes are actually open...
Bridger driving a great big tractor--he even looks in his side view mirrors--what a conscientious driver!

So, both Kennedy and Bridger think that you are supposed to eat pumpkins (like an apple)--Kennedy was trying to take a bite when Bridger decided to get in on the action--don't worry he didn't break the skin!
This is classic--the chocolate chip pumpkin cookie experience--we have yet another cookie monster on our hands!
Then on Friday (we are working in reverse order...) Bridger went on a preschool field trip to another Pumpkin Patch--they had fun going through the corn maze, going on a hay ride and petting all the animals. Bridger loved the hay-like trampoline the best!
Kennedy loved riding on this little tractor! She looks so big--it's so sad!

Now that we have 10 pumpkins on our porch (of all shapes and sizes)--we look forward to covering the floor and table with pumpkin slime--I mean, having great fun carving them all!!! :)