Fall Fun

Fall 2011 was very busy for us.  Our week spent in Arizona gave us two fewer weekends to get to all of our fall fun, so we had to get a lot done in a little bit of time.  No worries though, we got it all in ;)

Pumpkin Patch
The fall wouldn't be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch!  We finally learned our lesson and headed straight to the "big" pumpkin patch a little further from the house instead of hoping the closer one would have the tractors going.  We'd had quite a bit of rain before our visit, but luckily the kids didn't seem to mind the mud.   The kids were very proud of their selections, and we were all very proud of Daddy for carrying all of them (it's $20, all you can carry).

Halloween

Surprisingly, this year's costume selections were pretty easy.  JGray saw the Transformer costumes at Costco early in the season and knew immediately that he wanted to be Optimus Prime (even though he's never seen the movies).  And of course, Delia wanted to be a princess.  She chose a very pink Sleeping Beauty costume (that was ripped weeks before Halloween because she wore it so much) and plastic pink high heels.  Already proving that fashion is worth a little discomfort, Delia wore her shoes the entire night without complaining!  John really upped his pumpkin carving game this year and purchased a "pumpkin gutter" at Walmart.  Attach it to your favorite drill and voila, you have pumpkins without seeds and guts in a matter of minutes (much to the delight of Mommy and Delia)!  He also used his Dremel to create awesome designs.  Check out the Cannibal Pumpkin!

Apple Picking
Quickly becoming a family tradition, we had to find a weekend to get to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick some apples!  It was VERY cold, so we didn't spend too much time on the mountain.  We bought apple doughnuts and immediately hiked to the Pink Lady Apples.  Delia is a monkey and loves it when Daddy holds her up HIGH (emphasis on the word, high) in the air so she can reach the top of the trees.  John Grayson, being our more cautious child, is much more content closer to the ground.  We picked lots of apples and enjoyed them for over a month.

Flag football
Last, but certainly not least, we must discuss John Grayson's newest fall sport.  Flag football.  Silly me assumed that flag football meant minimal collisions and no tackling.  Boy was I wrong!  John Grayson was definitely a little intimidated by how physical the other boys were.  They would throw themselves at each other to get to the ball!  I think he had fun (thanks to his wonderful coaches), but he said that he was ready to go back to soccer in the spring.  

 

5 lessons from "Own-A-Zona"

This past October we took our first big family trip out to Arizona. Leading up to the trip John Grayson was very excited to see cacti and Delia was content just being excited to say the name of the state we were going to... which came out as 'Own-a-zona'.  We learned a few lessons on this trip...

First - Children have no concept of time zones, this was readily apparent on both our flight out to Arizona (John Grayson was in tears about how tired he was at 6pm on the first day) as well as our 4:30am wake up time from the kids each morning. Thank goodness for 24 hour Dunkin Donuts.


Second - The kids loved Cacti.

It started with John Grayson. Every time we saw a new cacti (and there are lots of variety) he wanted to take his picture in front of it. This was great to look and learn about these cacti, but both John Grayson and I learned that touching a cactus is not a pleasant experience. John Grayson due to curiosity, while Daddy backed into a cactus while taking the picture above. I was picking needles out of my leg for more than a week.

Delia started getting into the game as well, but she had a passion for large cacti. We found this one just down the block from where we were staying. The locals told us that this one had to be at least 100 years old!

Third - While the air temperature is hot in October, the water temperature gets cold.

We went over to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda's house for a cookout one of the evenings we were there. I remembered how much I loved their pool when I was a kid, so I thought they would love it the same. They did, but wow was it cold.

Given that the kids are not prolific swimmers at this point, I had to go into the pool with them. I thought it would feel better over time, but the half hour we spent in the pool was one of my coldest dips ever!

Fourth - A family trip to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix is a long day no matter how you do it.

Lamenting the 8 hour round trip drive to get to and from the Canyon, I found a company that could do a charter flight from Scottsdale to the Grand Canyon, significantly shortening our journey. So on Tuesday morning the 4 of us piled in a Cessna with our pilot and headed up to the Canyon. The flight up was incredible, we were provided with some of the most epic views I could have ever imagined of the Arizona desert. We also got to spend 30 minutes flying over the Canyon which was amazing (picture above).

When we got there we spend a few hours hiking around the South Rim, while Mommy and Daddy were enjoying the view, the kids interest began to wane as they saw it as just a big hole in the ground. We were able to get a couple good family pictures thanks to some friendly folks in the park. By the end of the day the kids had enough.

 

All of us ended up sleeping on the plane ride back.

Fifth - The old west is cool at any age. 

Our last night in Phoenix we took the kids to a western town called 'Rawhide'. They had people in character (Cowboys, Sheriffs, Outlaws) walking all around the 'town'. As we got there one of the Outlaws had been thrown out of the Saloon and a shoot-out ensued. The kids were enthralled at all of the old west activities and the actors. 

Albeit a long trip to get there, taking the family to 'Own-a-zona' was a fun trip that filled with great memories!

First Day of School

John Grayson and Delia both started school two weeks ago. JGray is going 5 mornings a week and Delia is there on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. So far, both kids LOVE school!

JGray is thrilled to be in a Pre-K class. His teacher, Ms. Mary, is amazing and everyone raves about her (and now we know why). He is making lots of new friends and is already practicing skills he'll need next year in Kindergarten.

All ready for the first day of school

Outside his classroom on the first day

Delia is having fun too! Her class has lots of boys in it (9 boys, 4 girls), but having a big brother makes her perfectly prepared for dealing with all those crazy, silly boys. She is making some new friends too and loves her teachers, Ms. Sarah and Ms. Anna.

All smiles on the first day of school!

Delia and her sweet friend, Charlie, outside their classroom on the first day

Snapshots of Summer

I didn't do a very good job of keeping up with the blog this summer, but that's just because we've been so busy! We spent lots of time at the pool and the park, played with friends, went to Busch Gardens, drove to Chicago and spent an amazing week with family, went to the beach, and just had FUN! Until I'm able to catch up on individual blog postings, here's one big posting with lots of pictures from our fun summer.

In late May, I took the kids gem mining. It was hot and dirty, but everyone had a blast. The kids filled their buckets with dirt and rocks and then took them to the water and panned for gems. We didn't come home with anything special, but JGray and Delia thought they were priceless!

We also spent several mornings at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. They have an incredible Children's Garden with a water play area, and the kids love to run around and get wet.

JGray took swim lessons this summer and did so much better than we ever expected. He's been nervous in the past but really like his instructor and was a little fish by the end of the two week session. He was so proud of himself and we were too!


One weekend, we took the kids to a local putt-putt course that also has go-carts. Delia was too little to ride in the go-carts so she and I watched the boys drive by and took lots of silly pictures.



In late July we went to Chicago to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We DROVE, but the kids were spectacular, and thanks to a seemingly endless supply of fruit snacks and lollipops, we got there safely and sanely. We spent an amazing and very busy week with family. The kids even attended their first wedding and danced until 9pm! There are too many pictures to include here, so I'll make John draft a funny, witty post.

Photographic evidence that we did, in fact, drive the 13 hours to Chicago. See, they were quiet for a little while.

Auntie Em painted D's toenails for the first time. No big surprise, she LOVED it!

The kids had been practicing their dance moves for weeks and were very excited to show them off!

And not to be forgotten, one very special boy turned 5! JGray had a Mad Scientist birthday party and 15 of his friends (plus his little sister) helped him celebrate. I promise to write a separate, sappy posting about all the amazing things he's doing now. Plus John owes me a video montage.


We spent an amazing week in Sandbridge, VA (just south of Virginia Beach) with my parents. John had to work at the beginning of the week, so the kids and I got to spend lots of quality time with MaMa and Pop. We had to evacuate a day early because of Hurricane Irene, but the weather was perfect before our departure. The kids loved the beach so we spent the entire week on the beach, digging in the sand and playing in the waves.

I have an almost identical picture taken last year at Kiawah. Same big smile even though the waves were much bigger in Sandbridge.

Delia loved making sandcastles. Or let me clarify, she liked to make Pop and Daddy (and sometimes Mommy) make sandcastles for her.

JGray got a fishing pole for his birthday and he insisted on trying to fish at the beach. Unfortunately, the Cars-themed fishing pole didn't catch any fish.

Our beach baby loved the ocean. Her hair, not so much. By the end of the week, I couldn't brush it, but it did become beautifully blond.

Best buddies, some of the time

We let the kids stay up late one night so we could walk on the beach and hunt for ghost crabs. Imagine the beach covered with crabs of all sizes, but you can't see them because the kids have the flashlights. What? That doesn't sound like fun to you? Me neither ;)

What's this? A cute picture with Mommy!

What do you do at the end of the week when the kids and their fighting is driving you crazy? Dig a very big hole and put them in it!

Well, I've run out of pictures, so it must mean that summer is almost over. I still have a week left to play with the kids and we're going to try and cram in all the fun we can. Bad weather won't stop us! I promise to try my best to keep the blog updated more regularly this fall. Between both kids' school schedules (JGray has school 5 days a week; D has school 2 days a week) and other fun activities, we're going to be very busy!

2 1/2 Years Old!

Yes, I'm a little late writing this post but Delia has been so busy being "two na na half" that I kept forgetting to sit down and type. It's crazy to think that Delia is now a little older than JGray was when she was born. Oh how time flies! Delia has grown into such a sweet, sassy, delightfully funny and imaginative little lady.

At 2 1/2 years old, Delia:

• Has the best laugh. It's contagious and impossible not to smile when you hear her giggle.
• Makes the funniest faces, especially when she's mad or trying really hard to make something work. She scrunches up her nose and tries to be so serious (but it's hard not to laugh at her).
• Is (almost) fully potty trained! Yes, this is a huge accomplishment and we're thrilled with how well she's doing. As luck would have it, bribery with princess underwear and skittles goes a long way with her. We've had our challenges--she doesn't like telling the ladies at the gym or at school that she needs to potty--but she's making great progress.
• Started preschool! Yes, our sweet girl is a big girl who goes to school. She loves school and really seems to enjoy her new independence. When you ask how her day was, she always responds, "GREAT!"
• Loves her "Bobby." Yes, she still calls John Grayson by the nickname "Bobby." Actually, most times she says, "My Bobby" and JGray is not happy when someone else (John or I) call him by that nickname. I keep hoping that this nickname will stick and she will use it to torture him when they're in high school :)
• Has the most beautiful hair. Yes, I have hair envy for a 2 1/2 year old, but it's just beautiful. She's kept those curls and how it's long and reaches the middle of her shoulders. We finally cut it (but just trimmed the ends) and it has grown since then. She still loves her hair bows and now specifies how she wants her hair done each day--one ponytail or two, bow or clip.
• Might be little but there is A LOT of personality crammed into that body! She's still tall, but I swear that she hasn't gained any weight since her 2nd birthday. She just gets taller and skinnier, but that hasn't stopped her personality from growing exponentially! She likes to do things by herself ("I do myself, Mommy!"). She also makes the funniest face when she's trying to be serious and make a point--she scrunches up her nose and opens her mouth (in a "Awww, Mom!" sort of way).
• Is so lovable. Delia gives the best hugs and kisses. And is very quick to say, "I love you too!" (even if you haven't said "I love you" yet).
• LOVES princesses, books about princesses, dress up (in princess dresses), tea parties, baby dolls, stuffed animals and everything girlie. She also loves to play outside, doesn't mind getting dirty and has been known to play too rough (she has a mean tackle, thanks to Daddy and big brother).

Delia, we love you so much and can't imagine life without your adorable face and giant personality!

Here are a few pictures of Delia at 2 1/2:

Delia's first hair cut (in July)

Delia and Mommy at a family wedding in July

At the beach in August