The Pumpkin Patch

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and so are the weeks that precede it. This year we had Grammy Carmen with us to go to the pumpkin patch so we picked an early weekend that had the most fantastic weather and chose a patch that is like the small Disney Land of punkin' patches. The whole trip was great fun and after over 4 hours of adventure we all poured ourselves back into the car exhausted and ready to go home. The whole trip was great.

Audrey Has talked non-stop about all the things we did ever since we got home. "And we rided the hay wagon train ride thing over and over and I found the coolest pumpkins and gourds and I rode in the wheelbarrow, and then I played in a corn bin and took corn kernels home in my pockets, and we went through the hay maze and got lost because we went in backwards, and then when we found the right way we went down the slide a whole bunch of times, and then we ate hot dogs and kettle corn and Grammy bought some fresh apples that they grow right there and apple cider that they make from the apples, and we got some pumpin apple bread and ate the whole loaf that day because it was still warm when we bought it and dad shot an apple cannon and mom used the apple sling shot, and I got to sit in a race car and then I swang in this really big swing and daddy helped me and then I went down the slide over and over and over and over and..."

Here's a funny video that Bill took.

Rockstars make good builders!

I have no idea where these sunglasses jumped into our lives but Audrey absolutely loves them and refers to them as her "Rockstar Glasses." She has asked on at least one occasion if I would like to wear them play one of my shows. I'm certain that if I had taken her up on the offer I would be a multi-platinum artist by now.


The bulk of our summer this year has been all about the "sheds." We (not me) have two paid storage units that are a big ol' ball and chain and building some storage sheds to get us out of paying for this service has been high on the list of priorities. Time has been at a premium for what seems like an eternity, however, so this project is something that has sort of built itself up into epic proportions. Bill has been pretty clever in his masterminding of the space and money used and has opted for 5 smaller sheds rather than one big building in order to be able to better compartmentalize the contents as well as being able to build them himself versus hiring an expensive crew to handle a big building. Audrey LOVES to be able to go "help dad with the sheds." She likes to dress up special for it too!

When I can tear Audrey away from the shed project we have a long list of parks that we like to peruse. One of our favorite outings is to the park that is right next to the library. This one even has a fountain that Audrey has a love/hate relationship with so it makes it even more attractive in hot weather.
Having the library to spend more time in on rainy days helps too. Audrey is so hooked on books that it makes every single minute of our daily 30-60 minute reading time worth the investment. She truly has the vocabulary and speech skills of a child twice her age. It's likely her smarty little pants that have her so enamored with the possibility of being able to read rather than our indulgence in this ritual but we so enjoy sharing this time with her. It even makes her constant correction of our mistakes in her favorite books adorable.

It's was a really busy and fun summer all tolled. The days are getting shorter and the blankets thicker. The rocks are still mostly just where we stacked them around the new parking area - but I'm certain that any second now I'm just going to burst at the seams to get them done. In the meantime we're enjoying the new play-structure I built instead. Maybe we'll have the energy to take the air conditioners out of the upstairs windows soon...

The team project we lived to tell about.

Grammy Carmen came to visit for a few weeks in October. Now affectionately referred to as the "extended stay" these trips not only give us some good quality time with my mom but also give Bill and I the opportunity to get a few extra things done around the house and property on the weekends while Gram plays with Audrey.

One of the other important things we get to do more of while she is here are "dates" for Bill and I. This weekend before we got started on the project we had a chance to have some quality time with some very good friends who we hadn't seen in ages. We had the most delicious brunch at our good friend Mike Jones' condo. Vince and Cassie were there too along with a good friend of Mike's who was visiting from L.A. We were so engrossed in having the experience we forgot to take pictures until we were leaving so that was a good sign of how much fun we had.

One of the projects we tackled was to build a wood shed on the side of our garage to give ourselves a larger storage closer to the house. With my new carpentry skills from the play-structure I was going to build it myself while Bill stayed focused on the storage sheds. It didn't need to be fancy or perfect as it will be taken down once we start the deck next summer so I figured what the heck. In the end we decided that doing it as a team would get it done faster so we hunkered down one rainy Sunday afternoon to get it started.


Audrey really wanted to help so we let her set up her gear to give us a hand. We found this great "workbench" at a yard sale. She absolutely loves it. It makes great sounds and talks to you so it's equally entertaining for us.

When she was working she wasn't quite sure if she was building or cooking though. I guess it does look a little bit like her kitchen. Too funny!

Et Voilà!