Random Pictures Oct/Nov 2011

Here are some random pictures from Oct-Nov that really don't need a post of their own. 

These are 3 of the bigger sweet potatoes that came from our garden this fall. The one on the far left is a purple sweet potato... very pretty but when we ate it, it really wasn't as good as a regular potato! 

Here is Isabella squinting because of the flash. She is enjoying camping out in her tent on her floor in her room. She slept in the tent for nearly a week but had to get back to her regular bed the night before co-op. She enjoyed it but I'm not sure now she sleeps on such a hard floor!

Here is Jackson. He came and put on Mike's cowboy boots (in his diaper, no less) & found one of Mike's belts (what he has in his right hand) and then started saying he was Puss in Boots. Super cute.

And believe it or not, this is the only photo I got for Thanksgiving when we visited Granny & Grandpa Abla as well as Uncle Joe who was visiting from AK while we were there. It's pretty sad that this was the only photo I got & it's blurry! Ugh. Better try harder next time!

Jackson @ 2.5 years

Jackson turned two and a 1/2 in October! It was hard to believe that he was already half way to three. He has grown so much developmentally since he turned one, it is really quite amazing. He is talking so much and loves to sing. He is now a big fan of Star Wars & lots of the super heroes. 

Here is a video of me trying to get him to sing Lullaby. And yes, I did bribe him with jelly beans... but I will say that he was going to get it anyway (Daddy was snacking on them) & they are real sugar jelly beans rather than hfcs. ;o) 

October 2011

One of my New Years resolutions is to stay more on top of putting pictures up on the blog. Hopefully I can stick to it! For awhile, it's going to be catch up time. ;o)

We had fun carving pumpkins... this is Jackson's Yoda pumpkin (no carving involved) & Isabella's scary pumpkin that isn't quite finished. We had to go out & buy a little baby pumpkin for this vampire pumpkin to eat. Nice, huh? She picked it after looking at many many designs online. I really cannot wait for the day to come when the kids can wield their own knives & I can sit back and watch. Carving pumpkins isn't easy! (Thanks to Mike for partly rescuing my design for Isabella's pumpkin.)

Here are my additions to Halloween... my pinterest inspired Halloween table/wall & my pinterest inspired wreath done with my MOMS club. They both were lots of fun & added a fun halloween feel to the house. (LOVE pinterest.com for loads of great ideas on ANYTHING!)

We took our annual trip to the Parkhurst pumpkin patch up in Edmond. Always lots of fun! The kids always enjoy the petting zoo (farm animals), tire swings, hay ride, & I personally enjoy the hammocks. If only the kids would relax in them with me long enough to catch a nap. ;o)

Jennifer invited us over to paint pumpkins. The kids had a lot of fun! (My niece Caitlin did too!)

Mike did a rappel group for my nephew Brendan & his homeschool/church friends. We came out for the day to hang out & enjoy Red Rock Canyon. Isabella & my nephew Cameron took Jackson & I on a wild goose chase... I mean a treasure hunt through the canyon but unfortunately I didn't end up with any treasure for my efforts. Carrying Jackson up & down those steep rocks can really wear you out! But the kids enjoyed it & I guess I got a good work out in. :)

The kids enjoyed dressing up for Halloween and actually got to do it twice... once to go over to grandma & papa's & once to pass out candy at the house. I'm still not a big fan of them going around to neighborhood houses & getting lots of crazy horrible candy that I'd just end up throwing out... seems like such a waste! So we stick with the semi-bad-for-you candy (because after all it is sugar-laden stuff!) and keep it to a minimum. The fun for the kids really is getting dressed up and seeing everyone else in their costumes. Candy is just a little bonus to the celebrations. 

So Isabella chose to be a Zombie this year after browsing a Halloween catalog & deciding a child zombie looked the most scary. I did try to point out all the super cute princess costumes at Target but she wasn't having any of it. So we made her costume ourselves out of some thrift store PJs, tattoos (which were really cool & actually looked pretty realistic), & make-up. She made a pretty good Zombie.

Jackson wanted to be Yoda and so my nephew, Cameron, loaned us his costume. He makes a pretty cute Yoda, I will say so myself. :) And also pictured in the collage below is my niece, Taelyn, in her mermaid costume. 

I think that about wraps it up for October! The kids (mostly Jackson) were sad to see it go but thankfully we got to hang on to our non-carved pumpkins for another month. 

Brendan's 16th Birthday

So as I mentioned, I didn't take any pictures after Great Wolf Lodge, when Bren's birthday celebrations got underway. We ate together for a couple nights and the final night was Medieval Times. I totally slacked on pictures... even with my cel phone camera! But thankfully I have other family who got some good shots (thanks guys!). So here are some of their pictures.

Medieval Times

Both kids loved it & Isabella asks regularly when we're going to go back. I was pleasantly surprised by their vegetarian option & thought it was really tasty with good variety. The crowns were my least favorite part. ;o) I think Brendan had a good time! 

Great Wolf Lodge October 2011

Once again we find ourselves at Great Wolf Lodge. Well, it's an easy get-away from Oklahoma City (only 3 hours or so from here to Dallas) and the kids LOVE it (and Mike is a sucker for giving them what they want. haha!). Isabella especially loves it. So we decided to once again stay for a few days before joining up with some of my family for my nephew's 16th birthday celebration (of which I have no pictures... I'm horrible at this stuff! Not to mention Mike broke my camera as we were leaving the local food picnic so these pics from GWL were from my cel phone. He'll tell you a different story about the camera though, so don't ask.). It's pretty much the same old stuff. Isabella loves the water slides. Jackson enjoys the water for a bit and then he's ready to explore other areas (which is where the rest of the hotel comes in handy!). They both love the rooms with the bunk beds and all the fun creatures. And they both really have a lot of fun making the howling wolf noises every time they see a wolf at the hotel. :) Oh & they both really like the nightly show & story time (and meeting the wolf characters).

Now we must put our trips to Great Wolf Lodge on hold and focus on the trip we've been planning for awhile... Costa Rica!

Slow Food Local Food Picnic, 2011

I believe this is the 3rd year that we have attended the Slow Food's Annual local food picnic. We really enjoy this even, the whole family looks forward to it! For one, I can enjoy eating lots of local food (including local, humanely raised meats) nearly all of which (if not all) is grown/produced w/o the junk (pesticides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics, etc). And there are lots of yummy dishes put together by chefs from local restaurants around the OKC area. For two, pay $5 per person to enjoy all you can drink local wine & beer (had a bit much of the wine this year for myself & didn't feel too hot the next day but it was fun at the event!). And for the kids- they love the animals that are there to pet, the face painting, the food art, the pony rides, and this year they had trackless train rides (for everyone, even adults could jump on). They have live music (lots of old country songs that Mike knows but the rest of us are clueless) & the atmosphere at the Harn Homestead is really nice for a picnic. We look forward to many many more years of attending this awesome event!

And as you can see in the pictures, Isabella got the butterfly painted on her face and Jackson (which you probably wouldn't guess) got painted as Chewbacca from Star Wars. (haha)

The Great State Fair of Oklahoma 2011

Isabella loves the fair. Correction... Isabella loves the rides at the fair.

This year, when we heard that Toy Story 3 on Ice was going to be coming along w/ the fair, we had to buy tickets. Jackson has been obsessed with Toy Story for awhile and we knew he'd love it. We got pretty close seats and we were right up close to the rink. Isabella was acting like a teenager- grumpy because she no longer wanted to see Toy Story but rather wanted to start riding the rides. (After the show, she said she only liked the intro w/ Minnie & Mickey & nothing else.)

Jackson was quite mesmerized by the show and watched it all pretty closely. We were glad to see the claw in the show, that is one of Jackson's favorite parts.

We then ate lunch (which I was happy to find a place with wraps for me and grilled cheese for the kids!) and then we were off to ride the rides! We weren't sure how Jackson would do so we put him on the little dragon roller coaster with Bella to see if we should buy a wristband or just a few tickets. Turns out, he enjoys the rides as much as Isabella! Jackson and Isabella ended up riding quite a bit together and they both had lots of fun. Unfortunately it was pretty hot and sunny so after a bit of riding, Jackson was hot and tired. So Mike took Jackson to look at the animals and Isabella and I took off to ride a bunch of rides together. I picked the first ride (which was a mistake), the Gravitron. Now this is the ride where you lean up against the wall, the spaceship like ride spins really fast, and then the wall slides up & you are pressed against it and off the floor. Isabella did not like this ride one bit. She actually cried & wanted to get off. Of course we were stuck so I did my best to calm her down (didn't work) while we endured the ride. When we finally got off, she said she hated it and that I was not allowed to pick any more of the rides. So I learned my lesson! She picked all the rest of the rides and did fine with them all... even other spinning, bigger kid rides. Just not the gravitron! It was all fun for me because it has been so long since I've been on a real ride and it was fun to see Isabella have such a good time. 

We checked out some animals and then went into the butterfly tent where the kids got to have butterflies climb on their hands. Then we headed home (much to Isabella's dismay and a huge fit did follow). We were hot, a little sunburned, and TIRED!