Is There Anything Better Than A Farm On A Fall Day?

Today, I was supposed to take Dylan on a school field trip to the farm.  He's had a cold and an ear infection, and I've had a sore throat since Saturday, so I decided to skip it.  I hate missing out on that stuff, but we did make it to the farm earlier this month, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad.  The day we went, I am pretty sure that every family with children under the age of 8 decided to do the exact same thing, because it was packed with people!  We didn't eat lunch before going, so I waited in line to get food for ONE HOUR, while Jim and Dylan played.  I managed to avoid going completely nuts and losing my patience, and we eventually ate, before enjoying a long list of activities.

You might have noticed that I have this thing that I love to do.  I like to recreate shots.  So, here's the one from last year, 

and here's the one from this year...

Aaarrggghh!  Why do I do this to myself!  Look how much he's grown! 

Welcome Fall

Wow, have I got behind here!  I know it's not officially Fall, but to me, summer is over when school starts and the pools close.  I'm proud to say that we crossed every item off of Dylan's Summer To Do List.

Even though I hate for summer to end, I do like Fall.  I love the new beginnings and the crisp feel to the air.  I am much more a "Fall Cleaning" kind of gal, than a spring cleaning one.  I get motivated to tackle those boxes I haven't looked at since I moved in 3 summers ago.  To rip wall paper off the walls.  To go through my clothes to find (once again) that I "have no clothes to wear".  Fall means hay rides, and changing leaves, and Halloween costumes, and candy.  Uh, oh.  I'm going to gain back those 10 lbs I lost since taking my nutrition class, aren't I?  No problem.  Fall also means layers.

This weekend we went to the farm.  I've noticed that every time we go to the farm, I take (more or less) the same shots.  I have many traditions.  I have to get a shot of Jim and Dylan walking in this spot.

It makes me sigh every year, because those two together are just too cute.

It's hard to compete with this kind of adoration!  That boy loves his Daddy.

I have to get a shot of my favorite tree.

Dylan has to run along this wall, and jump off it, (while I hold my breath).

I have to hand the camera to Jim and force him to take at least ONE shot of me, with Dylan.

I did get one completely new shot this time.  To my knowledge, we have never been there when they had these gorgeous sunflowers.

We really didn't even need to go to the farm to see animals, since we saw this guy right in our backyard that morning!

Never What You Expect

Yesterday the temperature reached 70! (Insert choir of angels singing here). Ever since I saw this idea, I've been waiting for a nice day, so Dylan and I could go to a certain park with a stream. He loves to throw rocks in the stream, and it is a beautiful park. When he woke up from his nap, I told him to get a bucket - that we were going to the park to collect rocks. Man, you would have thought I said, "From now on we are going to eat only cookies, all the time"! He was excited. I was excited. I had a picture of the perfect fall day in my head.

I would say that one of the biggest lessons I've learned from having a child is this - you have to be flexible. Things rarely go as planned. As a matter of fact, do they ever? We got to the park and it was closed. Closed!?! Since when are parks closed? That is just ridiculous. They had fenced off the entrance and there was a sign saying "No admittance. Park closed for season". I was going to park nearby and climb over the fence (What?), but there was no where to park.

After explaining things to a very understanding Dylan, I turned the car around and headed to another park. I also realized that I hadn't brought my good camera (Canon), just the small one that I hate, that always takes horrible pictures. So much for my perfect fall day.

But, then I had an idea. "Dylan, why don't we stop and get subs and have a picnic at the park?" He shouted "YEA!! I LOVE PICNICS!!", and that was it. Perfect fall day back in business. We had a picnic in the sun, chased each other through the leaves, had races on the slides, and drew letters in the dirt. And, somehow, my crappy small camera took these pictures...

A Fall Day at The Park

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous! Much too gorgeous to stay inside, so we went to the park. Today it is gorgeous again, which is why I am keeping this post short!

A Fall Day?

My parents are not people who enjoy staying home much. Which, of course, means that I'm not a person who enjoys staying home much. Which, of course, means that Dylan is already not a person who enjoys staying home much. Which, of course, means HOLY HECK! WHEN IS IT GONNA STOP RAINING?!

Monday, as always, the day with the best weather of the week, I took the girls I'm a nanny for to Barnes & Nobles. Tuesday we were rained in. Wednesday and Thursday, after taking Dylan to school and back in the rain, we were stuck inside. Today it was still raining. This made me just a little bit AAHHBBBLLPPHHTTT!! I was supposed to have a mom and her son from Dylan's playgroup over. We've been trying to arrange it for a month now. First she was sick, then I was sick. This morning Dylan woke up with a red face and runny nose. Her son woke up with a bad cough. So, we were stuck in the house with no company. It wouldn't be so bad if it were just raining, but it is also COLD. Forty degree weather in October makes me start my "Why do we live here" mantra ridiculously early.

I might have been a tad bit irritated and bored, so I might have overcompensated. We played, we read Halloween books, we listened to a tape about fall, we painted a pumpkin, we made cookies. I also did two loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, washed dishes, organized a file cabinet, worked on a digital scrapbook, and wiped Dylan's nose eleventy billion times.




Since we were just going to be inside all day, I didn't bother to comb his hair. Be happy I didn't show you a picture of what I looked like today! If you are wondering why there aren't any pictures of the painted pumpkin, that is because I was too busy trying to prevent my WHITE kitchen from becoming multi-colored. If you are wondering why the cookies are red(ish), yellow, and orange, that is because we were SUPPOSED to make fall leaves. After mixing the food coloring in the icing, I realized I don't actually have a leaf cookie cutter. And, also, did you ever go to make cookies and notice that your flour says that it expired in 2006?! Yea, I never did that either.

We Got To Go Places

Today we went to Dylan's friend CJ's 3rd birthday party. It was at a park. There were swings, a slide, see saws, pizza, cake, and favors. What could be more fun than that, for a 2 1/2 year old boy? Not much.

After that, we went grocery shopping, then out to eat.

While walking into the restaurant to eat dinner, Dylan said, "It was a beautiful day! It stopped raining, and the sun came out, and we got to go places!" Man, I love that kid! Positive thinking at the age of 2 1/2! I have to be doing something right. Watching Jim and Dylan laughing, and throwing leaves at each other today, my heart was full. I am so lucky.