TrIcK OR TrEAt

HaPPy HaLLoWeEN!!!!

#1!!!!!

WE WON!!!! THE CURSE IS OVER!!!

Ewww, It's Gross!!!

Tonight we carved our pumpkin. T wasn't too excited about it because it was slimy. Dad cleaned out the pumpkin while T and I picked out the seeds so we can toast them later. We had a great time watching the disgusted looks on Tayeson's face throughout the process. Now we're officially ready for Halloween!!!
When T pulled off the top he couldn't stop laughing because he thought it was so gross. What a goofball.

He absolutely refused to help clean out the pumpkin. He wouldn't even help hold the spoon while Daddy did it.

He actually helped pick out two seeds before he was too grossed out to help anymore. :)

The finished product. Not bad huh? Thanks Dad.

Here it is in all its "glowry". (Eric made me say it.)

He huffed.....

And he puffed.....

And after about 20 tries he finally blew the pumpkin out!!!!

Sesame Place

Saturday we went to Sesame Place. Our apartment manager gave us four free tickets!!! We took T's friend Marlee with us so we could use the extra ticket. We had a great time even though it rained off and on throughout the day. The kids got to ride all of the rides (yes, T did eventually get brave enough to ride a few of them) and see a couple of different shows. The definite highlight though was getting to meet all of the characters. Thanks again for the tickets, Avra.

Picture Tag

Here is the fourth picture in our fourth file. This was T's first Thanksgiving (sniff, sniff). We were at my parents' house and my Dad took a little bit of my Mom's jello salad and put it on T's binkie. After he tried it the first time he couldn't get enough!!! Every time my Dad would put more on T would lunge for it. It was too cute.

T's First Field Trip

Wednesday was T's field trip to Linvilla Orchards. He was more excited about the bus trip there than he was about anything else. He talked about the school bus for days!!! While we were there we were able to take another hayride, play at the playground, see some huge pumpkins, and freeze to death. With the exception of the wind and subsequent dust we had a great time.

Here is T on the school bus. As we were getting ready for school Monday, I told him that he was going to ride the bus on Wednesday. After he got his coat and shoes on he started unlocking the front door. When I asked him what he was doing he told me that he was going to go outside and ride the school bus that picks the kids up just outside our house. He was not exactly happy when I told him that he had a couple of days until his trip. After a few tears, that's all he talked about for days. Can you tell he's excited?

Here are some of the rather large pumpkins that we got to see. T loved to see all of the different kinds of pumpkins they had at the farm.

They had a little maze for the kids that T decided to try out. After we both had been wandering through it for some time we were able to find our way back out the entrance. Better than nothing I guess.

T driving a semi-truck. They have a great playground for the kids with tons of awesome toys to play on.

T atop the castle that he couldn't get down from.

Notice that he is walking in between the wooden slats. He refuses to walk on anything that is slightly unstable. He lost his shoe a couple of times on the way up.

Here is a shot of the cool stuff they have built at the playground. How fun is that?

The End of the Curse?

On the top of Philadelphia's capitol building is a statue of William Penn. By tradition, no building was to exceed the height of the statue. In 1983, One Liberty Place, a skyscraper that exceeded the height of the statue, opened for business. Since then none of Philly's pro sports teams have won a national title. Now there is a new giant in town. This title is held by the Comcast Building. Last year a new statue of William Penn was affixed to the top of the Comcast Building in hopes of breaking the curse.

So far it looks like it may have worked. The Phillies have made it to the World Series and are up 1-0. Here's to hoping...........

GO PHILLIES!!!!!!

I'm Tayeson and I Like to Fish

Sunday was our ward's Primary program. The title was Tayeson's part, which he actually mumbled into the microphone!!! We were so surprised and proud of him. Later we asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate. He told us that he wanted to go fishing. We packed up and walked down to the Delaware where T caught our biggest fish yet!!!! He brought it in all by himself. He was so proud!

A very proud Tayeson standing a safe distance from his prize fish. :)


Here is his fish. The Lightning McQueen fishing "cole" strikes again!!!!

Here is the video of T reeling it in. He really had to work for it this time. Good job Buddy.

Three States in One Day!

Saturday started way too early for me. We were up at five so that we could be in Maryland in time for a Families Supporting Adoption meeting at nine. We had a great time meeting other couples that are in the same position we are. We laid out some group goals and assigned some responsibilities while we were there. I am now the moderator of a Yahoo group for all those who are working with our agency. I'm excited to be able to help provide support to others as we all go through this process.

After our meeting we decided to make a stop at Gettysburg to see the battlegrounds and some of the history. We had a great time driving around and seeing all of the monuments and various sites. It is a beautiful place and the fall foliage didn't hurt either.

We eventually made it home after a long day of touring Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. We won't talk about Eric's shortcut so don't ask. :)

Mom and T checking out the cannon. He was okay with hanging out at the back of the cannon, but he would not go near the front.

Mom and T again. Notice the tiny ant sized people and cars in the background?

This is why. We climbed this huge tower to see the 360 view of the battlegrounds. It was worth the climb; the view was amazing.

These are both pics of the battlegrounds taken from the top of the tower. Not a bad view huh?

Romeo Oh Romeo

Friday night Eric and I went and saw the Philadelphia Orchestra perform Hector Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet Symphony. It was beautiful and we really had a great time together. Right in the middle of the performance this cute little old lady sitting in the balcony section accidentally knocked her Playbill over the rail. Over the music you could hear the pages flapping as it sailed down toward those seated in the floor section. Hopefully it didn't hit anyone, but I guess that's what you get for paying $115 for tickets. :) Thanks again to our dear friend, Amanda, for watching T so last minute.

A picture of the Kimmel Center where the performance was held.

The inside of the Verizon Hall. It was so beautiful and the acoustics were amazing.

So Much Fun!!!

T has been so much fun lately. I'm really loving this age!!! We've had a great time making things together lately. Here are some of his latest creations.

Today we made this necklace. He even cut the straws on his own. He is so proud of it.

We made and painted these for Daddy. When they were dry we hid them all over the house. T chose most of the hiding spots. My personal favorite was underneath the toilet lid. :) He really loves his Daddy.

We made this glow-in-the-dark sticker page. He loves going into the bathroom to look at it. As you can tell, he wouldn't hold still long enough for me to get a clear pic of it, so this will just have to do.

And on a random side note, this is the balloon that we got him for his first day of school. Yep, that's right; it's still very much alive after almost four weeks. A dollar well spent I guess.

The Good Witch

Saturday night we went with our good friends, the Montgomerys, to Linvilla Orchards. They have this awesome apple orchard, hayrides, a pumpkin patch, and all kinds of other fun stuff to do. We took the hayride out to the witch's house in the orchard and listened to her tell a story and some really bad jokes. After the hayride we roasted marshmallows and got some fresh apple cider. We had a great time getting ready for Halloween.

Our new family portrait.

T and Marlee waiting in line for the hayride.

T on the way out to the witch's house. He loved riding on the tractor.

As we rode out into the orchard, T covered himself up with the straw in the wagon. By the time we got done he was covered in it from head to toe.

Here we are at the witch's house. They do a really good job with this every year.

T and Mommy roasting marshmallows.

T enjoying his marshmallow. He doesn't like most sweet stuff, but he LOVES marshmallows!!!

Traditions

Every conference Sunday we always make homemade pizza. T had a great time helping by eating the dough. The pizza turned out great and we even had enough left over to make some cinnamon rolls. We are so blessed to have a living prophet on the Earth. We really enjoyed listening to conference.

T eating the bread dough. This is so gross, but he loves it. He will even ask for the frozen Rhodes Rolls.

T made sure that all of the cheese was firmly packed down. Notice the globs of cheddar.

T and Dad listening to conference and painting pumpkins.

The pumpkins proved to be a great distraction. We were actually able to listen to most of the speakers.

The finished products. We're getting a great start on the Halloween season.

T's Hard Work Pays Off

Eric and I feel that it is very important for our children to understand the value of hard work. We have been trying to teach this to Tayeson for quite some time. For several weeks T had been asking us for a yellow school bus, so we decided that this may make a great incentive for him to learn about some important aspects of life. We went to Target and told him that he could pick out a toy he wanted. He quickly decided on a Thomas the Train boat. We brought it home and put it on top of the fridge where he could see it. We showed him his chart and explained that if he earned all of his stickers he would be able to have his Thomas boat in a week. He worked really hard all week. Every time he put on a new sticker he would look longingly at his Thomas boat. Today, he finally earned his last sticker and got to open his boat. Little did he realize that in earning these stickers he learned the value of work, patience, following directions, and setting and achieving goals. You can tell that this boat means more to him than any toy that has been given to him because he earned it.

We love this little boy so much. Everyday he does something that makes us laugh. I love that when I do his laundry the lint trap is always full of sand, dirt, and rocks (and recently spare change?). I love how he knows when I'm having a bad day and says, "Mom, you're a princess." I'm so excited to see who he becomes as he gets older and I'm so grateful to be a part of his life. Tayeson we love you so much and we are so proud of you.
T with his new Thomas boat and his completed chart. Can you tell he's excited?

Ringing Rock

Yesterday we went to Ringing Rock. When we got there we hiked back into this huge pile of rocks. The fun part is finding the rocks that ring like a bell when hit with a hammer. Yep, you heard me right, some of them ring when you hit them. It was the weirdest thing. T had a great time climbing all over the rocks.


T even found some "dragon berries" while we were there. For those of you who don't have to watch Dragon Tales everyday, that's where dragon berries come from. Needless to say he was very excited to make such a discovery.

Hiking back into the rock pile. Notice T is dragging a huge stick that he found along the way.

Eric buried in the rocks.

"I found one Mom!"

After lunch we headed over to the river and spent a few minutes fishing. We didn't stay long after Eric took a plunge and soaked both shoes and tweaked his back.

On our way out of town we stopped at this little orchard and bought some apples. You just can't beat fresh, homegrown apples.



Below are a couple of videos of the ringing rocks. Consider this proof that I'm not crazy, they really do ring.