Pumpkins: From Patch to Porch

Warning: This post has a LOT of pictures. That's what you get once I finally have access to all the pictures I've taken over the last couple months! Oh well, I'm sure the grandparents will like it! :)

So, after our adventure at Deterings the previous weekend, the 2nd Saturday of October we headed out to Lone Pine Farms for pumpkins, cow train rides and beautiful fall weather! What a gorgeous Fall day - sunny, but with a slight chill in the air to let you know this most definitely was not still summer. We set out fairly early again and made our first stop to visit and feed the goats and the sheep. I think this is one of Ethan's favorite parts!

They're always ready for a snack.

Then it was on to the pumpkin patch.

Got mine!

After carefully selecting this year's soon-to-be jack-o-lanterns, we took our gourds to be weighed and Ethan decided to hitch a ride in the wheelbarrow. In the meantime, we saw... a helicopter of all things! Apparently they were doing 10-15 minute rides in the area (for a hefty price that is).

Next it was on to the Cow Train, where Ethan seemed pretty excited, but was a little hesitant once the ATV took off... especially because he was riding by himself. No tears though!

After paying for our pumpkins, along with some farm fresh apples and cucumbers, we treated ourselves to some ice cream cones. Ethan enjoyed a little from both of us!

And before we could go, we just had to stop by the playground. Ethan just made a constant loop - up the ladder, down the slide and repeat.

Two weeks later....
We finally carved our pumpkins. [A temple trip and a round of colds kept us occupied the other weekends.]

Ethan was a good pumpkin guts scooper!

Ethan keeps looking at this picture and saying, "We don't eat pumpkin cheese!"

Hard at work...

A clean slate, just waiting to be carved into jack-o-lantern awesomeness!

Ta-da!! This was my creation.

Sean's creepy, big-eyed alien pumpkin. Ethan loved it.

Ethan's very happy little pumpkin!

Pre-candles lit.

Spooky, huh?

Observations by Ethan

Some recent conversations with Ethan and observations by Ethan...

At home, in the bathroom - Ethan admiring my curly hair (read, I actually did my hair that day):
Me: Does mommy have curly or straight hair?
Ethan: Curly!
Me: Does Ethan have curly or straight hair?
Ethan: Straight!
Me: What color is mommy's hair?
Ethan: Yellow.
Me: What color is Ethan's hair?
Ethan: Yellow!
Me: What color is Daddy's hair?
Ethan: Brown.
Me: What color is... Lizzy's hair?
Ethan: Yellow.
Me: What color is... Christine's hair?
Ethan: Brown.
Me: What color is... grandma Julie's hair?
Ethan (thinking...): White!!

At Fred Meyer grocery store (the day after he'd been with grandma Julie):
Me: What do we need at the store?
Ethan: Bread. (This was right, we were getting some french bread to go with dinner.)
Me: What else do we need?
Ethan (as we walk past the candy aisle, thinking...): Umm... Malt balls!
(Grandma Julie had gotten both a loaf of french bread and a bag of malt balls the day before, so duh! that's what you always get at the grocery store!)

After all the Halloween decorations were put up in the living room (including bats all the wall, a ghost garland, ghost cut-out thing, etc.):
Ethan: We have a Halloween house!

While wearing last year's Christmas jammies (from Nana and Papa - they still fit) last weekend:
Ethan: Look! I'm a Christmas boy!


I just love this little guy! And I love getting a glimpse into how his 2 1/2 year old mind works!! :)

We were the Early Birds (for once)

Catching up on our October weekends...
The first Saturday of the month we knew was going to be a busy day. Sean had to help clean the church, we were hoping to get out for a date night AND we wanted to go as a family to Deterings Orchards' Apple Days. Of course, all of this had to be timed just right with the weather (it was supposed to rain off and on, especially in the afternoon), General conference sessions (which we ended up just recording on the DVR), Ethan's nap-time and Duck game traffic. Good luck! So we started our day bright and early with a couple McD's breakfast sandwiches (love the buy one get one free coupon), picked up Lizzy and headed to Deterings Orchards in Coburg. I knew they opened at 8am, but it wasn't until just before we pulled up at about 10am that we heard on the radio their Apple Days customer appreciation event didn't really start up until 11am. Oh well, we were there and it was the ONLY time we could go all day. For once we were actually somewhere early! And it definitely worked to our advantage. It was freezing, but we just about had the place to ourselves. Ethan had a blast running around their hay bail maze and climbing on top - perfect for an impromptu fall photo session! Next it was time to head to the kid-size pumpkin patch for Ethan's free pumpkin - oh yeah, there were freebies all over the place! So we grabbed a cart and headed down to the patch so he could "pick one out". Yeah, umm.... he grabbed the first one he saw and called it good. Typical boy. Then he was obsessed with pulling the cart all by himself - such a strong boy!

We snacked on free apple cobbler w/ ice cream and grabbed Ethan his free apple to eat with lunch. Just as we were leaving, the live band started playing and the people started pouring in. We missed the big rush and headed for home just as even more people were getting there and it was starting to sprinkle. Talk about perfect timing! :) And the day was a great start to the Fall season!

LOVE this picture of Ethan!

Random Recommendations

Oh the joys of not having your own laptop... forced to be creative with your blog posts since you don't have access to pictures. [[sigh....]] Who knows, maybe this will become a semi-regular post topic - though I don't dare tie myself into that like I did the monthly recaps!!

* BOOKS *
So. It's just been Ethan and I home a lot lately. Can't really go anywhere by the time we get home at night. Too dark and too cold. Don't want to resort to just turning on the "boob tube" so we're forced to make our own entertainment in the evenings after dinner. We've been trying to do a lot more reading now that Ethan will sit still for a story a little longer. Here are our current top three...

1. A seasonal favorite:

I loved this book when I was little, then I loved reading it to Lizzy when she was little (I don't really remember reading it to Christine) and now I love reading it to Ethan. He "helps" read it too...

"...but behind her she could still hear:
Two shoes go CLOMP, CLOMP!

One pair of pants go WIGGLE, WIGGLE!

One shirt go SHAKE, SHAKE!

Two gloves go CLAP, CLAP!

One hat go NOD, NOD!

and One scary pumpkin head go, BOO! BOO!!"

His part is in italics. And you can bet your booty he wiggles, shakes and claps as he says the words!! So cute - I love it!

2. A quick read, but still fairly interactive. :)

3. Another old favorite of mine. You MUST read this book with proper inflection - it just makes it more fun!

* FOOD *

1. I don't know why, but one of my current fave cereals is Post lightly frosted Shredded Wheat. Note that is not the over-advertised Frosted Mini-Wheats. There's just something about the shape and texture that I prefer about the Post variety. Plus I feel like I'm eating pretty healthy when I pour myself a bowl!

2. Cinnamon bears. So glad that Wal-Mart carries these. There is pretty much a package in the cupboard, on-hand at all times. It's a new treat staple.

3. Sloppy Joes. These have become one of my new favorite foods. They're a good Fall comfort food - warm and hearty. Sean prefers his "plain", but I like mine put under the broiler for a few minutes with a slice of sharp cheddar or colby-jack cheese. This week I tried a "from scratch" recipe. Very good and very easy. Thank you Best Bites!

* HOLIDAYS *

1. Pumpkin Patch. I think a lot of people do this, but can I just say that going to a farm to pick out your pumpkins trumps a trip to the local super-market any day?! I think it's great to start traditions like that. Plus it's good for kids to see that pumpkins don't come from the store! Not to mention the awesome "photo shoot" you can have with your kiddos with all of the natural backdrops. [Pumpkin patch/farm pictures to come... I promise!]

2. Old school pumpkin carving. I had to really force myself to do it this year. Ethan and I were still getting over colds Monday night, but it was either do it then while Sean was home or wait and do it late Thursday night or even later Friday night. I love our old school, fancy-stencil-free pumpkins!

Anyone else have some good "random recommendations"??

Cabin Fever

"Ohhhh, we've gotta cabin fever, it's burning in our brains!

We've gotta cabin fever, it's driving us insane!!"

And today's lyrics are brought to you by Muppet Treasure Island on VHS because I have yet to ever see it on DVD!

Yes, it's true. We have cabin fever. For my last post I mentioned that Ethan was sick. Ha! By Thursday morning we were ALL sick! Sean was still in Salem, so since Ethan was still sick Wednesday he slept in our bed that night and I slept horrible. Not so much because Ethan was in the bed, but because as the wee morning hours dragged on (and believe me, I saw each and every one of them) I felt myself gradually getting more and more sick. By 7:30am I was so congested I couldn't hardly breathe. But I managed to drag my pathetic booty out of bed and get ready for work. I knew I wouldn't last all day, but usually by the time I've been up and get to work and am vertical for an hour or so everything sorta "drains" out (lovely, I know) and I feel much better. Well, my goal was to work at least a 1/2 day and I had to fight to make it to 11am! 2 hours. Meanwhile, Sean had called (from Salem) to let me know he was on his way home and not going in to work because he had been throwing up all morning. Great. So Ethan and I were back at home by noon and every square inch of furniture in the living room was being occupied by 12:05pm with the cozy blankets dragged out of the closet, the lights down low and the TV turned to Disney for Ethan's sake we all just laid there in a semi-comatose state. ALL afternoon and ALL evening.

I knew there was no way I'd be going in to work the next day, but miraculously Sean did not have what Ethan and I have and he was holding down solid foods again by the end of the day. So he got up and went to work on Friday. I was so hoarse I texted my office manager to confirm I'd still be out that day. And Ethan and I stayed in another day. Horizontal. Tissue box on the back of the couch, at the ready. Garbage sack for used "snot rags" beside the couch. And nice, full juice cups for Ethan and I. And then we vegged. And napped. And vegged so more. I'm pretty sure we were dang near close to being TV zombies. And when we weren't watching repeats of every morning Disney Playhouse cartoon (or for me, catching up on What Not to Wear and anything else on the DVR while Ethan napped) we were reading books and snacking on goldfish crackers. Unfortunately we had to venture out in the cold and the rain to drop off our SUB payment and stock up on some cold medicine for me (I was having some serious sinus pressure issues and headaches) and more juice. Then we were back home. Horizontal again.

Saturday was much of the same, but with Sean home (and still feeling pretty good). We did go out briefly in the evening to combat the cabin fever, but just long enough for me to barely get my Clinique gift - last day of the promotion. We also stopped and got my parents some gourmet carmel apples (german chocolate for my dad and rocky road for my mom) for a couple of week-late b-day gifts and dropped those off before heading home (with a pit-stop at the grocery store for milk).

Now it is Sunday. Ethan just woke up from a 3 1/2 hour nap on the couch - I napped in the recliner about half that time. Sean just got home from church and I found out I missed both the Primary presentation and our last Sunday in the marriage class. Karen (and Tim) - I really enjoyed your lessons and am totally bummed I had to miss the last one. :(

Ethan and I still have raspy voices but are feeling much better. I'm particularly happy to have my cold out of my sinuses. I'm still not sure about going in to work tomorrow, but I have definitely benefited from actually staying home (I can be a bit of a work-a-holic when it comes to not taking a sick day) and having 3 1/2 solid days of rest and recuperation.

So... How is everyone else doing?? How has the cold/flu season affected your house?

PS: I am working on catching up on some commenting on everyone's blogs this evening while we still have Sean's work laptop at the house... from my trusty recliner, of course! :)

Few and Far Between...

I know, I know... I've said it before. And I've got more lame excuses. So, sorry it's been two weeks since I posted last. Lizzy has been bugging me, I've been bugging myself, yada, yada, yada [a la Seinfeld]. My excuses are this: 1. Our laptop sucks. 2. Our other laptop sucks. 3. Well, that's really all I got. Actually... Our laptops don't really suck. My old one just has such limited memory and is not wireless internet (it was old before I got it back before Sean and I got married!) and our other laptop has been having serious issues with the powercord, as in, we've bought two new ones now and are pretty sure it's something with the connection on the actual laptop. This means no power, no charging the battery, no internet and no blog updates!! ARGH!!! Anyone know how to fix something like that??

Anyway, here's a little look into what we've been up to the past week or so, minus any major event that was documented with pictures (because, again, no power to the laptop means no downloading pictures off the camera)!

*Jungle Junction*

Anyone else with toddlers seen this show yet?? Well, let me tell you. Disney advertised this show to death! I thought it looked sorta "baby-ish" and had no intention of Ethan watching it (we're Handy Manny and Mickey's Clubhouse people). Enter DAY 1 of the new show. It just happened to be on while I was getting ready for work and he is hooked!! That's all I hear now... "I wanna watch Jungle Junction!" Luckily the show is better than I thought it'd be, so we record it for Ethan to watch either in the morning while I'm getting ready or at night while I fix dinner. Yes, for that 1/2 hour, Ellyvan, Zooter, Bongo and friends are my "baby-sitter"!

*Army Wives and Grey's Anatomy*

Keeping with the TV topic, Sean and I finally watched the season finale of Army Wives last weekend... Hole-E Mole-E!! Serious downside to shows with a summer season - we won't find out what happened (where's Pamela?? is Jeremy ok??) until June! Also, Grey's Anatomy - holy mean people from Mercy-West! What a bunch of over-zealous jerks! Oh, and Izzy and Alex - what the...?!

*Ethan's Papa, aka Sean's Dad, aka my awesome Father-in-law*

Was officially back in the hospital this month. Curse you pancreatitis (as I shake my fist in the air)!! This time they claim to have *cured* him. We sure hope so, especially because it looks as though he may have had his gall-bladder removed (after the last round of pancreatitis attacks) unnecessarily.

*Alysha is engaged!*

In other CA Southworth family news, my sister-in-law Alysha is engaged! We're so happy for her and Blake. :) Massive wedding plans are now underway and January will be here way too soon.

*Curls are the new fall trend*

I don't know how the topic of my hair works it's way into our blog so frequently, but I've decided it's time for the curls to be back... when I actually have time to blow-dry/diffuse my hair. I made the effort to "do" my hair on Sunday for church and realized I'd forgotten just how much I loved my curly/wavy locks. Definitely something I will be doing more. Plus, I think I'm going to grow my hair out just a little bit and length always helps with my curls (they're not the super-springy, get-really-bouncy-when-you-cut-your-hair type).

*The Crock-Pot is my friend*
I love this time of the year when I can put my crock-pot to use more. I just love being greeted with a whiff of dinner when you've been gone all day and open the front door. [[sigh...]] Feel free to pass any good crock-pot recipes you have my way. Right now I basically just make chili, stew or taco soup... I'd love to try something new!

*Ethan's sick*

Poor guy. I hate when they get sick! No fever [yet], just a really runny nose and slight cough. Of course, it comes during the couple weeks before our new insurance kicks in! Luckily, it's not a doctor-visit-worthy cold. And it certainly hasn't affected his dinner appetite! The kid has been chowing down on spaghetti, green peas and sliced peaches - always asking for more. Last night he even had a late-night bowl of cereal after we got home from the grocery store.

And I think that's about it. Sorry no legit pictures. I'm working on it... I've got a couple of pumpkin patch/farm visit posts in the works - one with pictures and one waiting on pictures. And let me also apologize for my lack of comments on other people's blogs... I promise I'll try to catch up! Oh, how I miss our good laptop!

September Recap

So apparently some of you people actually look forward to and expect my monthly recap posts. For all of you that applies to, here is September in all its uneventful glory...

* I chaperoned my last stake dance (for now) and was released as 1st counselor in the stake YW presidency at stake conference. Our previous stake YW president moved away in August, but the other counselor, secretary and I had been filling in until the new president was called. It was a good year. I learned a lot, made some excellent new friends, was sad to be released but also a bit relieved. It was a very time consuming calling! No new ward calling yet... I think the rumors of our possible move have reached the Bishop so they're holding off for now. It's kinda nice to have a break and just enjoy church.

* We did a mad-rush of doctor and dentist appointments while we still have insurance coverage through Sean's old job. Sean and I were double-covered for dental so I wanted to hurry and get one more cleaning (and what ended up being a couple for surface fillings) while we still had both. And health insurance at Sean's new job should kick in soon, but I squeezed Ethan in for a flu shot with his current doctor just in case.

* Lemon cupcakes. I got suckered, err... politely asked, to make cupcakes for the bridal shower Christine hosted for her friend Megan. I asked to NOT have to make a cake (I trust my baking skills, so I wasn't worried about the taste - it's my decorating skills I didn't trust and I just didn't want that kind of pressure). So I tried out a new recipe (I don't know why I always seem to try new recipes for events like that... oh, well) and made some delicious lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting with a recipe from Best Bites. They were delish! The real buttercream frosting sealed the deal. I am never using margarine in a frosting recipe again! I even tried my hand at decorating with an icing bag and star tip... not bad.
* New job/house hunting/schedule adjustments. This... has... not... been... fun. For anyone. Poor Sean is staying in a studio-motel 2-3 nights/week in Salem so he doesn't have to commute back and forth so much. We had NO LUCK townhouse/duplex hunting in Monmouth/Independence area and are now going to focus on either Dallas or west Salem. In the meantime, Sean turned in another application for a Salem job that would be perfect for us - particularly because it is year-round, rather than just following the school year. So we're waiting to hear back from that job before we make any more moving decisions. So. Sick. Of. Waiting.

* Labor Day weekend was jam-packed-full-of-activities (that I already posted about). If you missed them, you can read about it here (for part 1) and here (for part 2).

* Hair appointment at the end of the month... This was SO overdue. Got my hair trimmed and fresh highlights - just told her to "warm it up" and get rid of the roots. She put in THREE colors - a golden blonde, a lighter blonde and an auburn-y red. Yeah, no pictures. As usual. Just take my word. It looks good. :)

* Oh yeah, and we missed our date-night-movie-of-the-month! {Gasp!} I know! We just couldn't help it with our busy schedules. But, we did rent Taken.Holy intense! Non-stop action the whole movie. Phew.

* And finally - a random messy Ethan picture. Nice, huh?

Now He Knows His ABC's...

This took a couple takes, but we got it. Yeah, he's an active little boy! You should see one of the other videos... almost the entire song was sung while he was upside down.
Don't you love how "j" is m.i.a. and then it's "q", "r", "x" and "t", "u", "b"... he knows them, now we've just got to work a little on getting them right in the song!! ;)