Pumpkin Smash from Jamba Juice.

Pumpkins. I normally don't spend a lot of time thinking about pumpkins, but this season with our trips to all the pumpkin patches, I am left with a few thoughts.

These gourd-like squashes are kind of annoying! They are massive to wrap your arms around, heavy, not always the most attractive, and somewhat rude with prickly stems. This is just what I think of the outside of them. On the inside they are totally disgusting. They are stringy and slimy and have lots of thin seeds that slip out of my hands when trying to grab them out. I know you can roast them, or plant them, but why? My boys won't even touch the insides. They make the most awefull faces at the sight of their guts.
But around Halloween, this useless gourd-like squash starts popping up in the most exciting places. Cookies, smoothies, pies, candies, and more! So, on my errand the other day, I saw a sign that seemed like it just might interest me. "Creamy Cool"... yes please.

I hopped in line at Jamba Juice and discovered something that MUST be shared! The flavor was.. pumpkiny, the sweetness was... rich, and the spices... made my palette come alive. I will be back for more. Have YOU tasted it? Did you like it? You should go get one... and tell me if you liked it as much as I did.
Enjoy!

Pumpkin patches

We've been to the pumpkin patch!

Here is what we saw...
2,000,000,000 acorns
765,000 pumpkins
13,832 hay bails
150 candied apples
23 baby chics
7 goats
2 pigs
1 train
Ok... we didn't just go to one, we went to as many as possible.
I thought I might help you out for next year

Here is a little more detail into where we found these things.. and mostly.. you can enjoy a few pictures.

1. Lee's Farms was fun because the baby chics, the hay slides, and the pigs! They were a little pricey, but what a fun place to just play ... and spend a few dollars.

2. Ryser's farm had a fun hay maze for little ones, and a fun swing set that my kids wouldn't get off of!

3. Fir Point Farms had a goat that climbed on top of a bridge and the boys sent food up via a pulley system. This was entertainment that lasted for.. hours!!! Then they discovered they had these bouncy horse things. Really? They went to bed tired after this one.

4. Baggensto's farm had these hay bails that left my children crawling with dust, dirt, and I'm sure a few mites of some kind or another. They were fun, and the view of those hills kept me singing and thinking I was Julie Andrews for a few moments!

5. Oregon Heritage Farms had this gigantic bounce house in the shape of an apple! We went when there was almost not one there.. so this was a fun afternoon!

6. The Flower Farmer had a super dark and scary pyramid out of hay! This might have traumatized the kids had it not been for the train that was going back and forth to the patch. We refused to pay for the train and just insisted the passengers were royalty to the kids. They wanted $20+ for the four of us to ride a grand total of 100 yards!

We made a few friends along the way, and loved all the sunshine that came out for us.

Here is Simon, Trenton and a new friend in the "Nut House"

The bouncing horses were a huge hit.. even with Emile and I. Good thing there were no pictures of us having a horse fight on these things.

Can't wait for next year!

My dream came true!

I dream of this image, but NEVER would have thought they would have behaved to actually capture it! I cried when I saw it... and I just HAD to share!!!
Please go see the rest here.. I'll be blubbering over them for the next few days.

Happy Birthday

He's 5 years old!!!
I can't believe he is 5! I know everyone said it would go fast, I have heard that a million times, but until I experienced it... I didn't fully understand how time works against me.

He is fabulous! I love every toe and finger on this boy, and I can't wait to see what a man he becomes!

I usually have a GREAT picture to show you, but it will come later...
as for now, this is the 5 year old that I have in my head right now!

We did have a party though, and we had SO much fun. He wanted it to be a space party, so we made him a space shuttle cake, hung planets from the ceiling and blasted off with a pizza party.

We had a few friends over (there are a few missing from this picture), and we launched rockets into the air until one blew up.

We made flying saucers and decorated them like a galaxy...

We even went on a space adventure and ended up finding "moon rocks" that could be examined closer at the NASA laboratory. Here they discovered that they would bubble and disintegrate to expose ALIENS!!!
(Baking soda balls with toy aliens inside put into vinegar)

Then we ate our rocket cake on our rocket plates, and drank Tang!

I hope he remembers this party, because it was some serious fun!
Happy 5th Birthday Trenton!

Texas or Bust!

The Lone Star State beckoned us a few weeks ago!!!
I've never had a reason to visit this state, until Lee and Sarah moved there, and believe it or not.. I'd go back!!!

It was SUPER HOT when we landed in San Antonio. We didn't last long, and there weren't many people out because they all were smarter than us! It was not a day to be outside!

Hello Alamo!!

We traveled quickly away from land, and went straight for the beaches!!! This is pretty much where we stayed too. The boys were so happy building sand castles and surfing.

With all the heat, humidity, water and castles...
we would crash at night telling stories on the couch.

we got goofy too...

then went back to the beach...

We visited a real air craft carrier.. and the boys now will not stop obsessing over jet planes!

The Texas State Aquarium put ours to shame!! We played with crab, anemones, turtles, watched a dolphin show, and even pet sting rays.

But we didn't last long in the heat, so back to the beach .. to surf!

We mini-golfed...

surfed...

Visited museums...

surfed...

built more castles..

and even played instruments.

Big thanks to Lee and Sarah for bringing us down! We cannot wait to do it again! We miss you already.

Pre-school Pranksters

This is Simon's first year in Pre-school and we were so excited to have the annual photo by the front door with him. While the picture was exciting, I find the school aspect bitter sweet.

This only means he is getting bigger. He is only going one day a week, and to be honest I have mixed feelings. The house is eerie when they are not home. There is no fighting, laughing, pushing, playing, toys, giggles, hugs, kisses, or anything when they are gone.

I'm sure I'll grow to love this, but I miss them while they are gone. Don't get me wrong though...a few hours once a week will be welcomed.


And this handsome boy, absolutely cannot grow any more!
I feel like I missed years with him, and now that he is smarter, and more independent, I just want him to stop here before he ends up in REAL school.

My "surfer dude"

We just got back from a surfing vacation!!! We were in Corpus Christi Texas... and the Padre Islands might be our new hang out!!! Here is one of the reasons why we had so much fun. There will be more pictures and video to follow soon!

Trenton surfing from Raina on Vimeo.

A big visitor!

This is WAY overdue! We had one of our favorite visitors come to town at the beginning of the month! You might see a lot of him in the next few posts... because he is pretty darn cool! Now, I know he'll see this post, so I won't tell you how good he is to the boys, or that they adore his every move, or that they still talk about him every night, or that we love having him around... it might make his head big. :D

But we had fun! We shot marshmallow guns and went on the "bubble". We ate yummy food (too much of it), played baseball, wrestled, and even painted a birdhouse. I wish I had more photos, but for now, this will do.

We'll see you again soon, Uncle Lee!