"5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate..."

Last week, the 3 of us went to a pumpkin patch on a farm about 20 minutes away. It was chilly and funRKZ holds up our decorated pumpkin from the pumpkin patch
Buck with his pumpkin
Buck decorating
Buck with his treasure on the hayride back (actually a wagon filled with other parents and kids. Not exactly heaven, but it was fun for Buck.
Can you tell that Buck is about ready to stop with the pictures?
Family shot at the pumpkin patch
Buck on the tractor with his find
Buck picked up his pumpkin like right away. No "searching" for our boy!

Another family shot.
Our 2nd annual semi-scary Halloween toddler party is tonight from 4 - 6. RKZ and I set up the house last night with layers of orange plastic paper all over the floor and on the tables. We'll have 2 crafts and a little dinner snack. It should be fun as we have about 35 people total invited and planning to come. We'll trick-or-treat from 5-6 - Halloween is really the best night to have a party since we spend 1/2 of it outside walking around.

RKZ made Buck the coolest airplane costume. I'll post loads of pictures of it tomorrow, I'm sure!

"I am surfin' in the Spirit"

No time to go back and "recaption" but the captions are all messed up. It's like a game!
Ma and Pa Joad with Buck @ Disneyland.
RKZ and Buck at Autopia. Buck continues to say, "I'm a crazy driver!" Doesn't bode well for us.
Daddy went on every ride (love him). This is Buck's ALL TIME favorite ride - the rockets in Tomorrowland. We totally have different ideas when it comes to Disney.
Can you tell who is competitive in our family? Hint - 2 of the people are pointing at their scores from the Buzz Lightyear ride. :)
Buck and his buddy C on Seal Beach
It's good to be a boy in California
"ARRRGH, Mateys!"
the one and only picture of me if I can help it with my darling boy.
My other darling boy. I love this shot.


I'm trying to get all old pictures (or most) posted before the onslaught of Halloween pictures tomorrow (and the next day). We are planning our second annual Halloween (semi-scary) bash. Around 30 people coming with the marjority of those being babies and toddlers (good times).

Today, Buck is a Saint for his All Saints' Day parade at school. I'll post pictures later as he and nearly 1/2 the boys in the class are all St. George (Sword, shield, dragon - what's not to love?) all of the girls are angels (not angles, as I first typed). Easy.

"These are the days, we'll remember"

I just read this in my email (I think this has gone around a few times), but I love it and want to have it on the blog. This summarizes my attitudes in general (which could be why I'm a nominal mommy).

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they
were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get
tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs
covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats,
seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually
died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar,
but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back
when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.

And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the
hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a
few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150
channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell
phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms........

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits
from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us
forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and
tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did
not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the
bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had
to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They
actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers
and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL
WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them. CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as
kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for
our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and
lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

"You can't stop wishing if you don't let go"

Putting together an Alphabet puzzle at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Gary's house



So we have these toys that we bought from the neighbors. They are called "Rescue Heroes" or Rangers or Something. Anyway, some of the animal pieces (there are animal rescuers as well, turns out) have the name "Jack" written on them. That's the name of one of the boys who used to own them. The vehicles (it's quite a collection) have "fisherprice" on the backs. This morning, Buck asked me what the signs on the vehicles says. I told him, "Fisher Price. That is the company that makes the toys."

A while later, Buck came up with one of the animals and asked what the letters on the bottom of the dog meant. I said, "Jack." He asked, "Who wrote that?"
I didn't want to explain that they had belonged to our neighbors (Buck would immediately want to take them back, not understanding fair trade). I said, "I guess the last people who owned them."
Buck said, "I guess Fisher Price wrote it."
So cute, to be a part of a developing mind.

"Baby, Baby, I'm taken with the notion"

A fetus at 20 weeks.

"Singing La-la-la-di ay!" (Coldplay)

In early September on RKZ's newly laid extension of the driveway.
Mommy and Buck in Aunt K's front yard.
Cousin K-na standing in a swing in Cal.
Uncle Coach K2 holding his Godson.
Hard to think that this was just a few weeks ago. Look at those shorts!
"Next season on 'Dancing with the Stars'" - :)

I am currently avoiding getting ready to go to the zoo. We just finished swim lessons. It's a good life - seriously. The back of my minivan is filled with birthday presents for 3 year olds (about 5 remote controlled firetrucks I got on sale at a discount store - score!) RKZ made me a pot of coffee this morning before I woke up. It has a little "too romantic for the internet" note.

Buck just asked me (out of no where): "So why isn't it the truth (prnounced Troof)?" When I asked him what he's talking about, he said, "Rubber wheels - why aren't rubber wheels the troof?" Ahh, my son, I just don't know. That's the question, though, isn't it?

"Don't think I don't think about it"

Buck's first ice skating lesson
He looks pretty happy, doesn't he? We haven't started yet, of course.
They teach the kids to fall down first. They should have taught the Daddies the same thing.
Parents are supposed to hold up the kids while they try to "walk on the ice"
Yeah, right.
I know that I have never gone 20 days without posting since I started this blog. I'm sure that no one is going to be reading this anymore, but the blog is becoming more of a family album for us anyway. If you're still out there, thanks for reading. I am obviously never going to be a professional blogger (thank God).

Later today or tomorrow, I am going to post pictures of our California trip, which was so nice. September was honestly a blur for all of us with Buck starting school and the whole near-adoption thing. Then we were off to my friends' wedding and now it's already nearly Halloween. Amazing. It's been a very busy time but I'm hoping all of that will change soon. We need to simplify a few things, I think.

Buck has started ice skating lessons and we've signed him up for skiing lessons in December. 3 is a magical age. The magic words are "non-parented classes." Or, at least "Daddy parented."

"Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway"

posting from So Cal - my brother Coach K 2's apartment on 13th street in HB, actually. It's in the 90's here - amazing after the 40 - 70 degree (F) Calgary. We've been having an amazing trip - 3 beach days far and a few nights of fun. RKZ just arrived last night, so that makes the entire trip more fun. Breakfast at Sugar Shack this morning with Coach K2 and now some lunch at Jan's Health Food. I think we'll try to make a quick stop at all the shops like the tourists we are.

I wish I could post some pictures. Buck's been having the time of his life with friends' kids (now his friends). So many fun stories.

RKZ just came in and said, "oh, for heaven's sake." I guess he's anti-blog today.

I'd better go.

:)