Crafty Ones

I will be the first to admit that I am not a crafty, creative person, but the other day the crafty "bug" hit and Corbin really needed some attention, so we crafted some Halloween creatures.

Corbin mostly colored...

A pumpkin...

A ghost....

A bat...

A spider!

And just to embarrass Jeff I made him "dress up" in this costume for my Dad's birthday/costume party on Sunday. (If you need a close-up, click on the picture.... He is the Burger King and I am the Dairy Queen.)

Ha-ha... crafty, isn't it? Well, Jeff didn't appreciate the humor and told me this was the most humiliating thing he's ever done.

Tee-Tee's Visit: Day 3, The Pumpkin Patch

After the cemetery, more naps, and more shopping we stopped by Mother Nature's Farm for some fun fall festivities.

Corbin enjoyed climbing on the pumpkins and throwing hay and rocks at the them.

It's so fun to have cousins that live close by who are so close in age... especially when you get to have sleepovers and play together!

Here's Quinton's pumpkin patch pose at 4.5 months old...

... and believe it or not this one is Corbin at 2.5 months old in the same outfit and at the same pumpkin patch. They could pass as twins.... separated by 22 months time, don't you think?

Our 2 boys...
A cute video of Corbin in all his Halloween excitement:


Measuring up to the pumpkin.

A bunch of farm animals....

Quinton the pig...

Sammy the horse...

Corbin the sheep.

The all too exciting hay ride that Corbin still talks about... and our only proof that the Tee-Tees were actually with us at the pumpkin patch.

Corbin's very own pumpkin, before decorating it... So proud!

Quinton's pumpkin, he wanted to hold it so bad!

During the decoration process. We think this place really is haunted... see that ghost who tried helping us decorate pumpkins? Crazy!

Sammy decorating her pumpkin in the most meticulous way.

I admit, I had more fun decorating the pumpkins than the kids did... something about fall and reliving everything again through your kids brings out the child in me.

Corbin had a blast playing in all the kid-sized play houses and tunnels. We almost left him there.... When it got dark we remembered we hadn't had dinner so we headed to Red Robin and enjoyed another meal on the patio with a few intermintent fireworks a few blocks away while we ate.

Quinton enjoyed the day and especially the pumpkins. Thanks Grandma and Aunt Tee-Tee for being such good sports. Corbin (and I'm sure Sammy too) made some great memories over the weekend.

Happy Birthday Ione

My Grandma, Ione would have been 80 years old today. She passed from this life nearly one month before this milestone, on September 16, 2008.

The funeral services were bittersweet. Bitter because we said goodbye to someone so loved and important to us in our lives, but sweet because she lived a happy, successful, and full life and all but one of her 28 grandchildren and 3 of her 29 great-grandchildren were in attendance!

Now how is that for posterity?

Her grandsons carried her to her resting place...

... and we bid our adieus.

Papa with his 4 children.

Papa and I. His strength through all this truly amazes me.

I visited the cemetery last week and was happy to find her headstone in place. It's beautiful and looks like one she would have chosen herself.


It's strange to visit the place of her rest because I know although her body is there, she is with me all the time. It's a peaceful place to visit, but the peace in my heart that comes from knowing the Plan of Happiness supersedes all. Tonight a few of us will meet at HomeTown Buffet (one of her favorites) to celebrate her day.... and I know she'll be there with us... in spirit.

Shhhhhh...

THEY ARE ALL ASLEEP... at the same time! This rarely happens with my own 2 children and has never happened when I have all 3 kids. Three you ask? Yes, last week we made an addition to the family.... no, not really but, I did start tending my 6-week old niece Eizley, 3 days a week. She is a doll, and a newborn who sleeps a lot still, easy right? Well, not when you have 3 kids under 3 in the house. Along with Quinton who is nearly 5 months old it's almost like having twins, a definite baby juggling act. But, I think I have a schedule down... at least today. All 3 are asleep as I type this and I'm doing everything I can to get things done around the house and still keep quiet so as not to disturb a soul! Wow, a true miracle.... sshhhhh!

Tee-Tee's Visit: Day 3, The Cemetery

Friday morning was a lazy one. Jeff got off work early to spend with us and Rocky and Jessica made their way up North so we all met up for lunch.

Chipotle is a favorite of ours and the Tee-Tees so when they are in town we are sure to grab a meal here. We enjoyed a yummy lunch on the patio while the Tee-Tees soaked up the nice AZ sun.

Corbin and Sammy had a blast playing and posing in the rocks. So glad they can entertain each other while we enjoyed some conversation... until someones Root Beer suddenly hit the floor and went everywhere. Good thing we were outside!

After lunch we enjoyed a nice visit to the Mesa City Cemetery where uncle Kim (the twins brother, Jeff's uncle, and my sister Mandy's father-in-law) is. Jeff did a good job cleaning it up.

The TeeTees left their mark... beautiful flowers for their little brother. We are pretty sure he was laughing at the fuss we were all making over him, but they wanted him to know they were there to visit him too.

As we were getting ready to leave Jessie Heal (Kim's daughter, Jeff's cousin) drove up and we had a nice visit in the shadow of the trees where Kim could watch over and hear us.

The kids didn't mind spending the afternoon lounging and picnicking on cookies in the cemetery. They had a blast eating and spraying each other with water bottles while we visited our kindred loved ones. Come to find out-- my grandmother's headstone is in place after her burial just over a month ago. (I'll post on that later). It was a lovely afternoon.

Tee-Tee's Visit: Day 2

On Thursday morning Corbin, Quinton, Grandma and Aunt Tee-Tee and I slept in a little before taking a vigorous and refreshing walk through Val Vista Lakes.

The afternoon found the boys taking more naps the TeeTees shopping again. That evening we met up with Rocky, Jessica and Sam at the Outback, another family favorite.

There were appetizers, salads, steaks, soups, salmon, and dessert shared around the table. It was a great meal, thanks Rocky! Afterward Corbin was sad to say goodbye to the TeeTees who stayed the next 2 nights at Jessica’s in order to watch Sam while Jessica and Rocky attended a wedding out of town for the weekend. Surely, another busy day!

Tee-Tee's Visit: Day 1

When grandmas live far away it's hard to wait for their visits, but when they do come, it is so fun! This week Grandma and Aunt Tee-Tee (the twins) came from Utah for a fun fall vacation. We shopped, ate out, visited the pumpkin patch, made breakfast, visited the cemetery, went for walks, talked, sang songs, read books, laughed, and loved every minute of it. They flew in early Wednesday morning and after dropping off their bags and enjoying an oatmeal breakfast we had to stop at TJ HomeGoods first, looking for some great deals. Afterward, we stopped off at Paradise Bakery & Cafe for some yummy lunch.

The afternoon was spent napping (the boys) and shopping (the Tee-Tees). That evening we enjoyed a yummy lasagna and Caesar salad at Jessica's. Then Corbin and Sam had Oreos and milk (in the previous post) and then entertained us all with a little dancing: (pause the music)


Grandma Tee-Tee lit up Quinton's night with Sam's princess wand. These two couldn't get enough of each other. It was a full first day for all of us.

Intruders

Funny little story I just had to journal about. Over the past few weeks (or months it seems) we have been finding little intruders in our house in the form of spiders, crickets, pill bugs, mosquitoes, etc. When we catch them Jeff will (in his masculine, protector role) call Corbin over and have him watch as he smashes the little bugs with a shoe or tissue, making sure to include some masculine-sounding noise like "AAUUuuurgh!" as he kills the creature. Then the two of them run to the toilet as Corbin excitedly flushes the bug away and warns, "Bye-bye bug, don't come back in my house!" Then Jeff and Corbin give each other five in their ritualistic way and the bug hunt is over until they spot another intruder.
Well, just now Corbin found a new intruder of sorts.... his very own booger. Yep! He came running up to me and disgustingly said "Look what I found mommy, a booger!" Then, without any prompting he ran to the toilet and wiped it off with some TP and flushed it down the toilet with his traditional declaration, "Bye-bye booger, don't come back in my nose!" So, watch out if you come intruding in our house you might just get flushed down the toilet!

The Joys....

...of childhood!

Learning to eat an In 'N Out Burger.... mmmm.....

....learning to dance around in your "towel dress" after your bath (don't ask)...

...driving the car with dad...

...making cookies with mom on a lazy Sunday afternoon...

...decorating and eating homemade cookies and making a HUGE mess in the process!

Learning the art of eating Oreos and milk from your cousins. This is Sammy telling Corbin to watch and learn... first you dunk the Oreo in the milk and wait for it to get soggy...

... then you pop it in your mouth and enjoy its sweetness!

Here goes Corbin...dunk it in the milk.... wait for it...

...YUM!

And making block tunnels for your toy trucks and then destroying them yourself! Life is good here... these are our subtle daily reminders that childhood doesn't last!