5 Minutes of Fall

Wasn't it just 85 and humid? And now it's snow season. Nutty!

Thankfully, we were able to squeeze in lots of fun before snow season turns into blizzard season.

A few weekends ago, Goo got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa while Travis, Ryan, Ashley and I headed South for Scott and Alicia's big day.

Goo was great in the car - practicing his texting skills on my old phone ...


At the wedding, Travis was the best man and Ryan was an Usher ....

The wedding went off without a hitch - well, except for that one part where the minister spit on the bride, but we still had our happy ending ...


Maybe a little too happy, but I digress ...

The weekend after, I did something I never in a million years dreamed I'd do ... ran (ok, walked) a 5k.

I'm sure the "real" runners really appreciate it when people stop to take pictures on their cell phones, but it was just too cool not to document! My goofy friend Shannon "ran" with me ...


After a fabulous finish (47.17 - all but the last .17 were walked, by the way) - I went home and got ready for company! Grandma and Grandpa L came, along with Ryan, Ashley and the adorable Miss C.

We took the kiddos to the Children's museum, where they checked out the exhibits, painted pumpkins, and posed for pictures (or not). :)

Later that day the girls and Goo went to the mall where we did a little shopping and a little dino-land playing. Miss C informed me over dinner that she just needed some "girl time" - too cute!

After the kiddos were nearly ready for bed, goofy Shannon (see above) and her hubby joined us and we headed to the Haunted Farm. We met up with this guy:

... screamed (some of us more than others) and had a super fun time. We then headed back to the house and squeezed in some cards and some Trivial Pursuit (oh, and maybe some, um, adult beverages) until we gave up and finally went to bed.

Sunday we the in-laws headed for home and we headed out to the Buffalo River Pumpkin Patch with Shannon's family. Here's her "Bug" and Goo ... just 6 months apart, we imagine they'll be good buddies as they grow!


All in all, a crazy fun couple of weeks again - time goes too fast! Seems like that jolly old guy in the red suit will be here before we know it. *sigh* ... until next time!

We're Alive!

Here's the scoop since I last checked in.

At the beginning of August, we went to Medora with T's fam. We had a blast and were pleasantly surprised that Goo did really well in the car - sleeping from Fargo to Bismark both ways - we love that kid! We were a little squished in the Prius ... but more on that later.

I took a few extra days off and painted Goo's room and our master bath ...

We spent a couple of weekends doing respite for my parents foster kids, and got to host a little piece of my "little" brother B's 13th birthday party.

At the end of August, I spent the weekend with the class of 1999 - can you belive it's been 10 years already?! We had a dinner/bonfire Friday night and spent Saturday with kids and spouses - we hit the zoo and grilled. Fun times, fun times ...


Finally, the Tuesday after the reunion I had an interview for a promotion I REALLY wanted at work. Later that day we went to the walk in - did you know you can get swimmers ear without actually swimming? And that 4 molars coming in at the same time = a really cranky baby? Poor guy.

Thursday of that week (our day off from the walk-in) we drove to Wahpeton and picked up our "new ride" - my mom's mini-van. I'm offically a soccer mom. :)

Friday we went back to the walk-in, sold the Prius, and I got the call that I got the job! That afternoon, T and I drove to Grand Forks and picked up my favorite mother-in-law who spent the weekend with me and Goo while T and his Dad played in a golf tournament. Thankfully, Goo was feeling much better by this point, so we celebrated and shopped till we dropped.

Last weekend (Hey! I'm almost caught up!) T's brother and his family came for a visit, and my friend K, her sister and I went to Britney Spears in Grand Forks for her birthday. Crazy show!

This week I started my new job which I LOVE (yay!) and on Friday we headed out of town for T's Dad's "suprise" 50th bday party. Unfortunately, a rouge black baloon ruined the surprise, but we still had lots of fun! I forgot my camera (again) and tried to make up for it by loading you up with pictures at the beginning of this post.

In any case - WOW. We've been busy. Wouldn't have it any other way! I'd close with a promise to post more soon - but, who knows when that will happen again. So instead, I'll leave you with a picture of our cutie-pie Goo snoozing in his carseat on his way home from one of our previously mentioned escapades. 10 points if you can guess which one!!

Cows ....

When you see a giant cow on the side of the road ...

... you simply must stop, try to milk it ...

... and take a goofy family photo.

One d%$! Pound (among other things) ...

I'm SO CLOSE to being back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Can you guess? That's right, one d&@# pound. It will come off. I swear. Even though it seems to have taken up permanent residence, it WILL go away. Seriously.

On a more serious note (more serious than seriously, even) - please pray for this little guy and his family with me: http://www.mycharmingkids.net/. Mr. Stellan is just a few months younger than Goo and has been having a rough time lately. I found this blog accidentally a few months ago and got hooked. I don't know these people, but feel very much like this mama could be a friend of mine. Her little guy is so sweet and is such a fighter. Hang in there, buddy! We're all pulling for you. :)

Finally, because a blog post without pictures is no fun, I leave you with a couple of photos of Mr. Magoo at the chiropractor.

And yes, I am that Mom, who brings the camera everywhere she goes, because her kid is the cutest, smartest, funniest thing on the planet. Prove me wrong, I dare you. :)

Life is Good Today

I have to say, this kid of ours spoils us.

He smiles all the time.
He can entertain himself for hours with only his toes to chew on and an empty soda bottle.
He goes to sleep with minimal stalling.
He flirts.
He splashes in the bath.
He eats pickles.

Seriously, how lucky are we?

Oh, and did I mention? He's a genius. And a comedian. And a hugger. And a kisser.

Life is good today. :)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

July, Already?

I know, I know ... I'm not great about updating this thing. What can I say - June FLEW by (with the exception of 3 very long days). Here's an update on life as we know it.

The House: We're finally moved in! Still not settled, but we keep plugging away. Our big drama of the month was being homeless for 3 days ... our closing was supposed to happen on Monday the 15th and didn't happen until Thursday the 19th. In the meantime, all of our things had already been moved to the garage of the new house. Thankfully, my parents had brought their camper to help us move and were gracious enough to let us live in it while we waited to hear what was going on with our paperwork. What a mess! But ... we survived. And we love our new place. Pictures to come!

The Goo: Goo is walking around corners like a pro, has 2 new teeth (6 & 7) and is babbling up a storm. He's handled the transition beautifully and loves chasing the dogs around our new place. Grandma and Grandpa K dropped of Goo's birthday present in our garage this week - a new swing set! Once we get it together, I'm sure we'll spend even more time outside.

We're also busy getting ready for those big birthday parties. This weekend and next will be all about Goo. We also wrapped up his first session of swimming lessons this week ... Goo loved the water but wasn't quite comfortable with the floating, yet. We'll have to try again next year. :)

The Weight Loss: Weight Watchers is going surprisingly well. I'm down a total of 11 pounds and am tantalizingly close to being back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Moving was tough, we ate out a lot while we were "homeless" and unpacking, but we're getting back to normal now. We're also participating in the "Biggest Loser" contest at our chiropractor, so hopefully some of our hard work pays off!

That's life in a nutshell for now, ta-ta!