Annual Pumpkin Carving

We had a lot of fun carving our pumpkins again this year at Grammie and Papas house last Sunday.  Aunt Riss, Uncle Doug and Rosco were there and so was Uncle Travis.  Great-Nan joined us too!  Aidan was a bit more interested in it than Jacob, which is the reason I have a few more pictures of Aidan than of Jacob.  (It's not favoritism :-)  )  As usual, I didn't do a great job at getting pictures of everybody . . . sorry!  And, in great "it's time for a bunch of pictures" fashion, at least one of the boys has a large bruise right smack dab in the middle of his forehead.  Earlier that day Aidan bumped his head and the bump seemed to get redder and redder as the day went on.  Oh well . . .

BIG Congratulations to . . .

CODY!!!

On Friday, Cody accepted a promotion offer at his current employer, the University of Phoenix. He is now an Associate Director of Centralized Admissions.  I am so proud of him and excited for him.  He has done such an awesome job at supporting his family and making it possible for me to stay home with the boys.  We are SO blessed!  Way to go Cody!!

Opinions Please

Thank you all for your encouraging words in regards to these photos.  I've made a few changes on the photos and was hoping to get your thoughts-your thoughts and opinions do help me learn!  I've posted 4 photos, 2 of each.  The first one is the new one and the 2nd is the original photo I posted.  

On this photo I desaturated the color instead of going all black and white.  I also blurred the background so you can't see the creases in the fabric as much.

Original posted, black and white except for the color in Aidan's eyes.

The main difference in this photo is the blurred background.  I did crop it slightly differently and played with the black and white levels as well as the brightness and contrast.  Not a huge difference.

My Big Belly

If you are interested in seeing some pictures of the belly, please go to my photography blog (Ang's Photos).  I did a photo shoot of myself for our class and felt that they fit better on that blog.  Plus, l am self conscience and fewer people look at that blog. :-)  Despite that, I would love to hear what people think.

Happy Early Birthday Boys!!

Even though the boys birthdays aren't until next month (the 15th and the 30th), I purchased an early birthday present for them both.  They LOVE to play with their trucks and tractors in the dirt, so I thought it was time to invest in a sandbox.  I figured it would take me a while to find just the right used one (they can be pretty expensive brand new, that is if you want anything other than a turtle or ladybug).  I started checking out Craig's List and got lucky!  We got a great deal on this one and it is in great shape.  And the boys LOVE it!!  The weather is finally perfect for spending lots of time outside too.  Thanks again to our cousin Luke for picking it up for us.  (Although I think the boys think it was from him - if you talk about the sandbox, they refer to it as the one Luke brought.  Oh well. :-)  )  One of the first things the boys figured out was that they could jump off of the little table that is attached into the sand.  Being the safety conscious parent that am I, I first took photos - then stopped the jumping . . .

Whatch' you lookin' at?

Jacob decided to "help" Aidan jump.

Big jumper

Playing with Rolly

Tandem jumping - although it appears they are not going to end up in the sandbox . . .

More jumping

Aidan practicing his big karate moves

Finally playing and not jumping

Just chillin' in my box

Jacob doing some "silly" falls . . .

And down he goes . . .

Ugh . . . maybe not so silly!

(He was fine and not hurt at all)

Concentrating hard on the dump truck

Cannot resist the cuteness of toes . . .

for now.

New exhibit at the zoo

The boys, especially Jacob, have a new favorite place at the Phoenix Zoo.  This month they opened a new play space, the Yakulla Caverns Playspace.  It is this cool cavern with stalagmites and stalactites, slides, waterfalls, misters, water pads shooting up water and more.  We first checked it out on Tuesday, not realizing it had so much water.  Normally Jacob isn't really into water play areas - but he loves this one.  He was soaking wet and we had no change of clothes!  Luckily you dry off fast in Arizona.  So, I decided to take them back on Thursday, with swim suits, and they had a blast.  Jacob even ran through the part where a bunch of water shoots up - he never does that!  Aidan pretty much stayed in the cavern or played in  the little (very) mini moat.  Jacob woke up from his afternoon nap asking if we could go back to the zoo.  I wish it could have opened up during the summer though!  Oh well, we will definitely visit it while we can now and will have something to look forward to next summer.

Cabin Time!

This weekend the boys and I joined my parents and sister up at the Keller Cabin in Heber.  Despite some sleeping issues, we had a fun time.  It was great to get out of the heat and enjoy weather in the 60's and even some rain.  The boys always have a great time up there and we are so blessed to have great friends who share their cabin with us.  Thanks again Steve and Cindy!!

"We're gonna make it after all!!!"

Take a close look at these prints . . .can you name the animal?

It's Rosco!!

My sister's dog also enjoys our family time at the cabin.

"So, what do you want to do today?"

Good buds just hanging out

Papa and Aidan - our own Andy and Opie

"I don't know about you, but this hike isn't really doin' it for me."

"But now that I found my stick - this hike is more interesting!"

Jacob tickling Grammie with his stick.

(And yes, I am aware it looks more like he's poking her, but when we said no hitting or poking, he stated that he was tickling.)

"Up High!

Papa said watch out for animals in the culverts!

So, do you think that scared Jacob away - no way!

"Ah ha!  Now I've got a stick!!

And it wasn't hard to steal it from the boy either . . .ha ha ha!"

Jacob and Grammie out for a run

Super Rosco!

Jacob's favorite past time . . . playing with Scoop tractors, dump trucks and Rollies.

He would sit all day and play with them!