Carve 'Em Up.

Prior to Halloween, we had to carve pumpkins, of course.
So, one evening last week, some neighbors came over for "the kids" to carve pumpkins. We seasoned veterans know how that goes: they are excited for about 2 minutes, pick out a design that they want, and then the parents are left to finish the project.
This year was no exception....

Pics from the evening...




























The final products:

R & R's pumpkins...















Gage & Daddy's pumpkins...













...and of course I fried up the pumpkin seeds in butter, and salted them, and ate them & Jessica tried them too. She liked 'em too. I'm not crazy. Hubby thinks I'm crazy for eating them. I think they are GREAT!
:)

For Hubby & the other dads on our very own, Wisteria Lane.

Halloweens Past...

Oh, how Gage has hated Halloween...until last year.
Last year (2009) was the 1st year that he liked it.
Prior to that, his mentality seemed to be "hey, you parental units tell me 364 days a year not to talk to strangers, and certainly not to accept things like candy from strangers...and you tell me it's rude to just ask for people for candy...but here this ONE day, I'm expected to ring their doorbell, repeat some age-old cliche saying, AND accept candy from a stranger? You guys are nuts."

But...last year that all changed. He liked it last year.

So, in preparation for the upcoming holiday...
I bring you pictures of Halloweens past...



2009: I was Octomom & he was Spider Man.


2008: His costume.


2008: Trick or treating & kind of being okay with it....




















2007: Gage was this "WebMaster" costume...















2007: Going up to THE house---the one where he screamed at the lady who answered the door, threw his pumpkin-bucket at her, and RAN back to Daddy.





















2006: The zebra. Quite possibly my FAVORITE of his little costumes...






















2005: Gage's very first Halloween...Our Baby Bumble Bee {don't judge me in that picture! I JUST.HAD.A.BABY!}

Festive Fun: Dallas Arboretum

On Sunday, October 17th....I took Gage to the Dallas Arboreteum.
There was a whole crew from our neighborhood going, and we all just kind of met up once we were there... Good times.

:)
If you've never been to the Arboretum in the Fall...well, you're just missing out. It's my FAVORITE time of year to go.
But I must say about this last time: it was more crowded than I've ever seen it ever. Really. We used to go all the time, but I'd always go during the week. Going on the weekend was for the birds! People EVERYWHERE...parking NOWHERE.... And, I even ran into an old classmate from junior high & high school, but because we met on a path, people were waiting for us to move and there was no place to scoot. So, I moved out of the way & then she was gone! Too many people, I say.
{So, Kelly R.(now V), I'm sorry! I meant to spend more time chatting, but it just didn't work out that way! Your daughters are adorable!}

Anyway....here are some pictures from the day:

Gage...


Gage & his buddy, H.


Gage & Mommy...


Gage LOVES pumpkins. Seriously---you let Gage & his daddy loose at a pumpkin patch? No telling HOW much they'd spend if you didn't set a limit... I'm just sayin'....


Gage was excited about having his picture made there with all the pumpkins & his GhostBusters costume...






And of course the kiddos had fun in the frog fountains...




Gage & H checking out the cottage...



So much to see & do...



Quiz: Which kid is used to his mom whipping out the camera every other second? Why, yes, that would be my kid on the right. What a little poser! {GQ---here he comes!}



So...when it was time to leave, Gage & I were starving. I agreed to take these two to Chili's for a laaaaate lunch/early dinner.
Clearly, Gage is very excited to have such a good friend...




It was a great day.
A tiring day...but a great one.

The Morning After...

So, I left off blogging with Gage's 1st Ever Sleep Over.

Here are some pics of the morning after...
I actually got up & made breakfast!!! Because my little guy asked me to. Well, I had to say "yes" to that, because I had just finished telling him "no." I had to say "no" to his plan for waking up T: we could sneak up on him, and yell his name on the count of 3. Ummm....No. So, anyway...I made breakfast & the boys ate bacon, eggs, and confetti pancakes.



After that? Why Ghost-Busting, of course.




Gage really was having a difficult time sharing that morning, and T was so patient & understanding... He's such a sweet kid!

I'd say that Gage's 1st ever sleepover was a success.

The Beach: Over a week ago....

So, last Saturday, after the birthday brunch, we had plans to meet up with Patrick, Amanda, & their son, T.

We all met up at the marina to head out on the lake....

T & Gage


In case you wondered what pure happiness looks like, here it is:


Me & Amanda



Patrick & Amanda showed us this one little area that we had no idea was there. It has a small stretch of sandy beach, and the boys had a blast!




I even got out of the boat!
And the next series of pictures also comes with a pop quiz.
Was I....
A) Afraid to touch my toes/feet to the bottom of the lake?
B) Getting drowned by my husband who claims to love me?
C) Getting freaky-deaky right there in the lake for all the world to see?



The answer is A.
Ewwwwwww! The lake bottom? It's squishy & gross and ewwww. What if I step on something? What if something gets me? Ewwwww!
I put my feet down long enough to have Amanda snap a picture of us to serve as proof: Yes, I got in the lake.

And then there's this:

{so for those of you who answered "B" in the quiz above....hmmmmmmmm....}

To answer the burning question: yes, the water was cold.

But, we were all having a blast.
These two.... these are the two long lost best friends from high school. Together again....


I am so lucky that the boys pulled the boats up soooooo close to the beach, that when I officially got off the boat to get onto the beach area, I only had to take 3 or 4 steps in the water. I'm so lucky!

Pics from the beach....

Amanda & T


Baby Gage


The shells the boys collected


The boys played in the sand...


And as the sun started going down, we decided to build a fire. Hubby built the fire while Patrick & Amanda ran to the store for hot dogs and smores goodies. While they were gone, the boys played & played...and collected wood for the fire...









Have I mentioned yet how perfect this all was??


Cooking our hotdogs...& having fun....







Oh, it really was so much fun.
These little boys of ours decided that the fun should not end at the beach. So, after we put the fire out, we all got on our boats, and headed back to the marina. They had grand plans for T to spend the night at our house. As in---a sleepover! But, on the boat rides back to the marina, they each fell asleep. Then, on the few minute ride home from the marina, Gage fell back to sleep. This is what I saw when I pulled into the garage:


But, those boys held us all to the plan: go home, get showered, & then T comes over to spend the night.
So, we did it.
A little while later, this was the scene at our house:


T: Gage's 1st spend-the-night friend.

Last Saturday was a very.very long day!
With the brunch in the morning, beach & boats with friends, and then a sleepover. Not to mention the stuff that I haven't blogged about: during the brunch, Gage was with Memaw & Poppa. He had the opportunity to go in a helicopter, so how can you tell a little boy "no" to that? So, while we were brunching it, he was doing two awesome things: going in a helicopter, AND competing in a golf putting contest. He took 1st place. Apparently the kid's putting contest wasn't necessarily on the plan for the day, but when the opportunity presented itself, again, how do you tell this little one "no"??? So, I have no pics of it, but that's okay.
My point? It was a perfect, but very busy day, filled with family & friends. We are so lucky.