Another Birthday...

...came and went. My friends were asking me what I wanted to do and my answer was "nothing." Well, that wasn't going to cut it so we all went to a friend's house and danced to the "Just Dance" game on the Wii. It was so much fun. I even got a few grown-up minutes because the older kids took the younger kids next door to the playground...after the tiniest cake in the world that is. (They made me wear the "happy" hat) They ordered pizza for us all and then sang to me while I held my cake. I ate so much pizza and the cake was so sweet, I only ate one bite at the time. I also got several phone calls and facebook messages wishing me the best. I felt very loved. While the kids were outside we enjoyed our adult beverage. Ok - it was actually just the MOST potent grape juice I have ever tasted. We were all looking at each other and checking the bottle to make sure but it really didn't have any alcohol in it.

Pumpkin Patch

Oct 4 - Bucky took his first field trip on a bus to the Venetucci Farms to visit the Pumpkin Patch. They allow each child to pick out a free pumpkin as long as the child can carry it. The story behind this generosity is that back in the 50's Mr. Venetucci had a cart full of pumpkins and stopped for some reason. The children were looking at the pumpkins but could not afford any so he told them just to all take one for free. Such a generous man! Bucky loved the bus ride, loved the pumpkin farm, and loved all the animals at the farm. I volunteered to chaperone b/c I figured "why not?" All in all, we both had a good time.

Bucky and Ben

Ben, Bucky and Owen

Looking for the perfect pumpkin

Too Big

Concentrating on Shucking Beans

Class Picture

1st Session Done

Bucky is really enjoying school this year. He has only been in 6 weeks but he tells me about it everyday and we enjoy our talks on the way home as he excitedly explains what he did and the songs that accompany each activity. I am thrilled that he not only enjoys school but also loves his teacher!

Just a Funny Picture

And, yes, this is a real sign :)

Fall is Here

Sept. 25 - Katie and I went on a drive for our 2nd attempt at seeing Fall Colors. Since I am from Florida and she is from Texas this was potentially very exciting for us. We both come from places where the leaves go from green to dead :). We did notice right away that there was more yellow than the weekend before so we could feel our anticipation building from the start. The further we drove, the more yellow we saw. It was absolutely gorgeous! We eventually stumbled on Eleven Mile State Park. We didn't even know there was a park where we were headed. We didn't pay to get into the park because we were running low on time and wouldn't get our money worth. I did pull into the parking lot, though, so we could walk around. We walked up some rocks and we were able to see the mountains, the lake, and the trees. It was very serene and beautiful. We had a great day!

Circus

On the 24th of September there was a circus in town. Bucky has never been and even though I am not thrilled by them, I took him anyway. Once you get past the smell of you know what and the filth that surrounds you and the hard seats, it actually was tolerable. Bucky had a great time and talked about it for days later - "Mom, I love the circus. It was the best circus EVER!" It made it all worth it. Well...maybe not the 10 ft python they brought out at intermission...but everything else.

Garden Of The Gods

On the weekend of Sept. 18, my friend, Katie, and I took Bucky and headed West...literally. She had heard that if you head west on Hwy 24 the trees and leaves changing are amazing. Apparently we were too early. We didn't get any pictures of leaves but we did make it to the Garden of the Gods. While we weren't dressed for it (you don't wear light-colored pants), Bucky really enjoyed climbing on the rocks and actually posed for a couple of pictures with me. We didn't stay as long as we would've liked because it was getting late and close to nap time by the time we went to the Park since we had started the day with a drive but it was a nice break from every day life.

For more info and pictures of the Park, see http://www.gardenofgods.com/parkinfo/