Quick one...

In what I'm sure will prove to be a futile attempt to stay more current with blogs, I'm popping in tonight - barely awake - to share Addy's highlight of last weekend...a trip to the dinosaur exhibt.  My favorite lens broke, so I don't have a lot of photos.  In fact, I literally have none of them with their cousin Ethan, who joined the fun.  :(

I'm pretty sure underneath the "Dinosaurs" on this sign, the small print said something like "or a Paralyzing Fear of Animatronics."

Case in point.

Addy was fearless though...hugging dino legs, examining teeth up close, and taking a "ride" on a triceratops.  Only our daughter would yell, "Gitmeup, Triceratops!"  Personally, I prefer Gitmeup over Giddyup any day of the week. 

RAAAWR!

{October)

That subject line?  That's October, in a tiny lil' nutshell.  A tiny lil' acorn shell, to be more specific.  You can see it, right?  Humor me.  I'm a little loopy as I'm still dehydrated and exhausted from a bout with a stomach bug...and election night is going make for another late one around these parts.  Anyway, that's what this post is going to be, our family's month of October, in a nutshell. 

It's become more clear that Addy loves her accessories...

almost as much as she loves a trip to the park... 

but not nearly as much as she loves making a new little friend.

We had a blast eating Whitey's in the back of dad's truck, watching...

wait for it...

Cloud hoppers! (or as Addy called them, hot hair balloons)

We had our first fires in the fireplace and settled into quieter routines...starting the steady build to Christmas.

I spent some time learning how to use my mama's old sewing machine (more on that later), but I'm addicted.  I considered sewing myself a cape, people.

Addy has been loving the fall colors and obviously the leaves.  This beauty is the hard work of a leaf hunt in our neighborhood and also some abrupt stops along the side of the road on our way to gymnastics.  Picture a chinese firedrill, but I'm the only person hopping out of the car and running around like a fool scooping up leaves.  Addy's hanging out in the backseat, out of the view of passersby, giggling and gripping a bag of leaves.  Yeah, I'm that mom.

 Cohen has taken the title of King Cuddler. 

We hit some milestones...Aunt Kristen gave Addy her first haircut!  She still talks about it (we're keeping a close eye on the scissors in our house).

And Cohen got his big boy bed.  Addy was so excited to help put it together.

I love these smiley IKEA drawings.

And while Addy and Jason were hard at work, Cohen was unimpressed, reading a good book in the room next door. 

He was all about inspecting their work and seeing it all made up with his new bedding though. 

We of course made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch!

Addy spent a long time scouring the patch for a perfect pumpkin.

If she couldn't pick it up, it it wasn't a contender.

After she put down a pumpkin and circled back to the exact same one 5 minutes later, Cohen decided he was pretty much over it.

 The prize pumpkin?  Yeah, Jason had to fashion a stand for it to keep it from tipping over on our front stoop.  That's what we call "character."

 The sweet face of a proud pumpkin picker...

Halloween would have been the cherry on top of an amazing month if poor Cohen wouldn't have picked up that stomach bug I mentioned earlier.  Addy still had herself a blast and brother was a trooper.  She was so excited about her red riding hood costume (and my sewing actually held up!).  When we first set out in our neighborhood, she excitedly yelled after groups of kids, "Wait up guys!  I have to go trick-or-treating!"  Her honest compliments about other kids' costumes had me grinning from ear to ear.

While he might not have been a big, bad wolf, he was definitely a cute and slightly pathetic one.  He had the hoodie on for less than 10 minutes before he tossed his cookies all over it.  :(

My sweet everythings...

Bring it, November.  We're coming off of a good month.  Love!

Yup.

I hope ya'll did too!  :)

Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.

 ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Also, I'm collecting frickin' stickers today.  I'm thinking about heading down to Wal-Mart to add a smiley face to today's collection.

3 going on 13?

Tonight, this girl (ya know, the one with her eyeshadow applied carefully above her eyebrows) excitedly ran up to me with a blank legal pad and bounced around while she asked me, "Can I have this for my very own diarrhea?"  I'm still losing it (I know, I'm like a third grader when it comes to poo jokes).  And in case you're wondering, she needs a diary to write her name and draw pictures of people with large heads and limbs - no bodies necessary.

Happy Hump Day.

Geeking Out

Last weekend, my lil’ family and I joined 12,000 people to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of John Deere Harvester Works (and also the 175th for the company).  The factory tour, speeches from leadership, machines on display, and THIS VIDEO (I seriously squealed when I found Deere shared this video on youtube) left me spilling over with pride to work for Deere.  Addy officially thinks I go to work to play in corn mazes and bouncy houses, while I inhale watermelon slices and cotton candy and plan my next airbrushed tat.  The point is, sister totally understands why I’m excited about my job. J

Last week, I was lucky enough to head to Saskatchewan, Canada for Deere.  I got to run our biggest machine (the S690) to harvest canola, watched some functional testing, talked with dealers, met some amazing customers, and learned more about our product than I ever have.  It makes me all mad-crazy-excited about my job.  Bleeding green over here.  Honored.  Like totally geeking out to be a part of this company. 

Here’s a windrow of canola…

And the precious grain we’re after…

I found a random youtube video HERE of a S690 running a belt pick-up in canola (thanks “plowboy73”) in case anyone is curious.  I did this! 

I didn’t take a photo of Elmer (the farmer I rode with to harvest wheat who was on his 50th harvest), but I truly wish I had.  It was an honor to meet him.  Pretty wheat field, eh? (you know I had to throw in some Canada-speak)...

And this was something that struck me…

I’m used to seeing the machines all shiny, straight from the factory or on a display floor.  It’s not often I see this.  And this is why we’re there, because we’re “committed to those linked to the land.”

And then I got to go home to a boy who has learned to say “yeah, yeah” before he’s learned to say “no, no”, a girl who wants to rub my back while she falls alseep, and a husband who chases me around the house until I almost pee my pants.  I.am.grateful.  Confession:  I’ve been creepily watching each of them sleep (yes, this includes Jason) because they aren’t going to look like this even tomorrow. 

We headed to Stone’s apple orchard (where I forgot the card for my camera…boo!) to stock up on some autumn must-haves:  cider, apples, a basket perfect for a certain someone’s costume, and firewood.  The first day of fall had me saying, “Bring on the pumpkin patch!”

And yes, you heard that right, I’ve started the costumes (remember how much we love COSTUME-MAKING?).  Based on this pile of scraps, any guesses? J 

Happy Autumn!

**As always, these are my own opinions and views and may not represent or reflect the opinions or views of John Deere.**