Just a Weekend...

This past weekend was pretty uneventful...we stayed around the house for most of it. Here are just some pics of our normal life...

Playing with Mommy's sunglasses - eat your heart out, Beyonce!


Building a mansion with blocks...


Hanging out with Indie...


Hangin out with my buddy, Marty, & having 'tea' while his mom & dad went to the store...

Beauty of Nature

Yesterday morning, I was on my usual morning rush, but was in awe of the sunset I was lucky to get to view on my commute to work...what a great way to start the day! I snapped these pics through the windshield and I have to say they do not do nature justice, but they give you an idea (we won't discuss how unsafe this probably was)! How wondrous is God in all His works!!

Passionately Pink...for the Cause

Mission statement of the Susan G. Komen for Cure Foundation:
To save lives and end breast cancer forever by empowering people, ensuring quality care for all and energizing science to find cures.

Visit the foundation to learn more about Breast health, what you can do and to donate to the cause at:
http://cms.komen.org/komen/index.htm


The bracelets in this photo were made by my swister Wendy for a fundraiser she's doing in honor of her best friend, Jill, who lost her battle with breast cancer. No one should ever have to feel that pain (as the patient or loved one of a patient) so we need to fight this demon!


"Imagine the day when celebrating another year won't seem so miraculous."

Go Big Red...A Diva is Born!

We went over to Connor's (and mommy V & daddy J's, too) to watch the Husker/TT game on Saturday afternoon and what fun it was - for kids and grown-ups alike!! Vonda's other friends, Phyllis & Joel, were there with their kids, Taylor and Josh (I think that was his name!). It was a lovely, unseasonably warm fall day so the kids got to be outside in the backyard and play - and cover themselves with sand!!


They also played inside quite a bit with all of Connor's beach balls and in his little school house...





Even the mommies got into the silliness (surprise, surprise!)...



Then, the moment that we'll someday look back upon when people ask how the diva Ms. Zoie Simone got interested in performing happened...a microphone was put in her hand and she discovered karaoke!! She loved it!

Tiny Dancer & Building Blocks

I've been wanting to get Zoie involved in something to help her large motor skills - dancing, tumbling, gymnastics, etc - so we were able to attend a pre-ballet class at the YWCA in downtown to give it a whirl. First I have to comment on the building - it is an old building with a lot of atmosphere. The room/studio we were in was a pale pink with wood & cream trim, a fireplace, and, of course, the barre and a mirror over one entire wall...the little girl in me wished that I was dancing around that studio too! But, I digress...

There were 3 other little girls in the class...all in pink leotards & tutus...and here come Miss Zoie Simone in her red leotard and black jazz pants! Does she know how to stand out from a crowd or what?! With her posture being surprisingly great for a toddler, she did look like a dancer though! The teacher led them through some free movement exercises and a few actual ballet moves, such as first position. First position is where you stand with your heels together and toes facing out to the sides but Zoie decided to put her toes together instead! The teacher got her straightened out and then they did little plies. They did a little tiptoe walking with the teacher's assistance as well.



Overall, it was an adorable experience but I think we're going to hold off on the ballet classes for maybe another year and just start with some tumbling and balance classes for now...I do think she has dance in her future for sure though!


When we came home, Zoie was having fun playing with some wooden blocks that are just like I had when I was little and I played with them ALL the time! Grandma even got in the action...she actually got down on the FLOOR with Zoie, which she thought was too awesome.

It's Plum Good!

One day after mom had picked Zoie up from preschool/daycare, they went to a local produce stand to get some fresh fruit/produce. The woman who ran the little market was giving out samples of pluots (hybrid combo of apricots and plums)...well, Zoie LOVED it! Suddenly, Mom and the lady turned around and Zoie had grabbed one off the stand and bitten into it - and, of course, had pluot juice all over her as she dove in bite after bite! I had a similar happening with her at home yesterday evening...we'd just gotten home and she wanted a snack. Apparently, mommy wasn't moving fast enough because when I turned around, she had already snatched a pluot off the counter and had a couple of juicy bites taken out of it! I quickly got her stripped down to her diaper, got her in her chair and let her have at it...you can see in the photos why there was a need for clothing removal!

Fall Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Ok, so it's the same exact place we went to just a week before but it is amazing what a week can do...it was a cooler day - still sunny - but cool and it just felt more like Fall on this day...maybe because it was October now, who knows?! For this outing, we met Wendy, PC & Marty for breakfast then headed out to the orchard.







We focused more on play and pumpkins this go around: running through the gourd cave, in and out of the cornhusk teepee and we even loaded the kids in a wagon and ventured into the corn maze! I, of course, thought I could take an alternate route in the field and come up on a different side of the rest of the group to surprise them, but I got the surprise and was lost! After re-tracing my steps, I joined up with them and we all had a laugh.






Next up was the hayrack ride out to the pumpkin patch! We had clippers in hand and went out to find the great pumpkin! Zoie & Marty both found their own little pumpkins that they could carry and we loaded them up after some photo ops and headed back to the main building.


No visit to this orchard would be complete without a stopping by the raspberry bushes!! Zoie fell right into her pattern of picking and eating with vim & vigor! Marty wasn't sure at first until he saw us eat one and once he tasted the bursting sweetness of that first raspberry, it was on! All parents ended up giving the orchard a couple of dollars to cover the amount of raspberries our little ones devoured!


Finally, we paid for our pumpkins and got caramel apples and cider slushies and had a tail-gate picnic, at which time it was obvious the kids were out of fun tickets so we loaded up and headed home for lunch and nice long naps!