Halloween Pics: Our Pumpkins

We actually carved pumpkins this year!! I'm so stoked. I think they came out pretty good especially since we haven't carved pumpkins in years!! One is a pretty lady and the other is a hick. Also note that they are blue and orange- Go Boise State Broncos!! I'll post more Halloween pics soon... I gotta get some sleep right now.

Happy Birthday Amanda!

I wanted to wish my dear friend Amanda a Happy Birthday! I hope you had a good time last night at dinner and really wish I was there to celebrate with you. We really need to figure out a time to sit and reminisce about good times. Anyways, you're such an amazing friend and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. Happy Birthday!

A wonderful time...

Rylan is on Cloud 9 and there's no getting him off the cloud (until Grandma goes home). He is having an absolute blast with her. We've been so busy that I haven't had alot of time to blog but after I get some more photos, I'll make sure we get them on here.... until then... here's one of Rylan and Grandma at Souper!Salad. This place has become one of our new favorite places to eat...

Afternoon Play Time

We had this little pony tucked away in his closet for a long time and I've recently gone through his entire room and packed up everything he's out grown. He insists on keeping this out now so he can ride it. He got mad at it after I took this pictures because he fell off of it. Most of the time he loves his pony.

Mommy Tip: Dyson Vacuum

Last year my wonderful hubby, Roger, bought me a Dyson Ultimate Animal vacuum as a anniversary/birthday/just because I love you present. This vacuum has been the best purchase we have made in a long time. I absolutely LOVE it. As many of you already know, I have terrible allergies. Heck, I'm allergic to almost everything that occurs between April and September... along with Easter Lilys and Poinsettias. Since purchasing this vacuum, I've had maybe 1/4 the amount of my allergy attacks. I was so amazed the first time I vacummed my living room. I filled the canister 8 times!! I even found black animal hair in the vacuum. We believe that this came from the previous occupants. You can see for yourselves at how well the vacuum rakes the carpet and pulls up the dirt, dust and allergens. I insist on vacuuming Rylan's room almost every other day and I think it's made a real difference. I honestly think that if you can afford to invest in one of these vacuums, you'll never regret it. I especially recommend the Animal series to anyone with pets or allergies.

A nice fall day to take photos...

Rylan didn't really want to cooperate with me so it was hard to get him to look at the camera. It was such a beautiful day- I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take pictures..

Mr. Boss Man

We bought Rylan a little desk this weekend and he's now "Mr. Boss Man". He loves it!!! He can color, etc and it's really given him the sense of being more independent.

"Now let me get started on the right foot... gotta get my light turned on...."

"Now it's time to retrieve my voicemail messages..."

"Decisions, Decisions, which color to use?!?!?"

"Now that sounds like a good deal. I'll have my secretary call your secretary..."

"Where is my secretary?!?! It's my lunch time and I'm getting all these calls!!"

"Man, this has been a long day of work. I'm ready for naptime."

Jeff Foxworthy's View of Michigan

Some of these are quite funny and true.. others not but I thought I'd share it anyways... Hope you get a chuckle from it like I did...

Jeff Foxworthy's view of Michigan ...Are you aware that this guy is now picking on Michigan?Read on. (pretty funny ... and accurate)

*If you consider it a sport to gather your food bydrilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hopingthat the food will swim by, you might live in Michigan .
*If you're proud that your region makes the nationalnews 96 nights each year because Pellston is the coldestspot in the nation, you might live in Michigan.
*If your local Dairy Queen is closed from Novemberthrough March, you might live in Michigan
*If you instinctively walk like a penguin for fivemonths out of the year, you might live in Michigan.
*If someone in a store offers you assistance, andthey don't work there, you might live in Michigan.
*If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving aroundthe middle of his forehead, you might live in Michigan.
*If you have worn shorts and a coat at the same time,y! ou migh t live in Michigan.
*If your town has an equal number of bars andchurches, you might live in Michigan .
*If you have had a lengthy telephone conversationwith someone who dialed a wrong number, you mightlive in Michigan

Part 2 - You know you're a true MICHIGANDER when............
1. "Vacation" means going up north on I-75.
2. You measure distance in hours.
3. You know several people who have hit a deer morethan once.
4. You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the sameday.
5. You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snowduring a raging blizzard, without flinching.
6. You see people wearing camouflage at social events(including weddings).
7. You install security lights on your house andgarage and leave both unlocked.
8. You carry jumper cables in your car and yourgirlfriend knows how to use them.
9. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fitover a snowsuit.
10. Driving is better in the winter because thepotholes are filled with snow.
11. You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter,still winter and road construction.
12. You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
13. Your idea of creative landscaping i! s a sta tue ofa deer next to your blue spruce.
14. You were unaware that there is a legal drinkingage.
15. Down South to you means Ohio.
16. A brat is something you eat.
17. Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate hisnew pole barn.
18. You go out to fish fry every Friday.
19. Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due tofrost.
20. You have more miles on your snow blower thanyour car.
21. You find 0 degrees "a little chilly."
22 You drink pop and bake with soda.
23. Your doctor tells you to drink Vernors and youknow it's not medicine.
24. You know what a Yooper is.
25. You think owning a Honda is Un American.
26. You know that UP is a place, not a direction
27. You know it's possible to live in a thumb.
28. You understand that when visiting Detroit, thebest thing to wear is a Kevlar vest.
29. You actually understand these jokes, and youforward them to all your Michigan friends.
30. ...even though the war against Ohio officially ended nearly 200 years ago, you still consider it an ongoing battle.

Some new stuff... pretty funny! From Becky Babcock from CMUThought you might like this for your You know you're from Michigan When... group!
COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . .60 above zero:Floridians turn on the heat.People in Michigan plant gardens.
50 above zero:Californians shiver uncontrollably.People in Michigan sunbathe.
40 above zero:Italian & English cars won't start.People in Michigan drive with the windows down.
32 above zero:Distilled water freezes.The water in Lake Michigan gets thicker.
20 above zero:Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.People in Michigan throw on a flannel shirt.
15 above zero:New York landlords finally turn up the heat.People in Michigan have the last cookout before it gets cold.
Zero:People in Miami all die.Michiganders close the windows.
10 below zero:Californians fly away to Mexico .People in Michigan get out their winter coats.
25 below zero:Hollywood disintegrates.The Girl Scouts in Michigan are selling cookies door to door.
40 below zero:Washington DC runs out of hot air.People in Michigan let the dogs sleep indoors.
100 below zero:Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.Michiganders get upset because they can't start the Mini-Van.
460 (-459.67 F below zero):ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero, zero on the Kelvin scale.)People in Michigan start saying..."Cold 'nough fer ya?"
500 below zero:Hell freezes over.Michigan public schools will open 2 hours late.

6 days to go!

We're all very excited for next weekend when Grandma McQ comes for a visit. She'll be here for a few weeks visiting and we couldn't be happier. Rylan is going to be on cloud 9!!

New Camera phone pics

Rylan on Tio Johnny's motorcycle. He loves being at Tio Johnny's house.

He was so excited to drive the racecar cart at Lowe's.

Love that Smile!!

Contest Time: You gotta sign up!

Mommy Tips: New favorite snack

I've recently ran into a new favorite snack for Rylan. I bought these fruit snacks at Costco the other night and he loves them!! I'm happy because they are easy to chew and eat... they taste good and they are fairly affordable.. box contains 80 pouches and they cost around $9.00-$10.00 so it was a good deal.

I'm ok... really I am...

I know it's been way too long since I blogged last and some of you wondered if something happened to me but I'm ok.. I just have had a very busy week and didn't get the chance to blog. I'll try to be better this week. I might even get in a Flashback Friday... Until then.. enjoy these photos from the week... This is his game of Peek-a-boo...

I like how this one turned out...

(He's thinking "Why does she keep taking pictures of me in the bath tub?")

This was a terrible storm that we had the other day... It rained so hard, then turned to hail and back to rain.. there was terrible wind gusts and I'm quite surprised we didn't lose power. We've had alot of these thunderstorms lately...

Blogging Humor

Check out this Great Giveaway!!

I wanted to make sure to let everyone know about this great Giveaway opportunity that Misty (a new friend from the blogging world) has on her blog: http://toddandmisty.blogspot.com/. Misty is a Scentsy consultant. I found her blog one day and was instantly intrigued... I'd never heard of Scentsy. Now, I just wish I had more money because I'd buy so many of these awesome products. I've heard amazing things about the quality of the scents. Scentsy makes regular candles look bad, very very bad. Anyways, check it out for yourself.. look at the giveaway rules and regs and by all means, vote on a name for her new blog.

Afternoon fun at the park with Mommy

I took Rylan to the Settlers Park yesterday afternoon so that he could play on some of the new toys they have there. This park has a great playground area that includes the Adventure Island Playground, Splash Pad, Little City of Rocks and Music Garden.

This playground was built with special considersation for disabled or handicapped children so that they can play there. I remember watching it being built when I worked the summers for the City of Meridian Parks and Recreation Department. The playground area has a special flooring that is a soft foam type material so that if someone fell, they are less likely to get badly hurt. Anyways, it's a great park. If anyone lives close by, you should check it out for yourself. Here's our pics :

This one above is my favorite picture. I do love them all but this one turned out nice.

2 minutes after we got into the car, I look back and here's how I find him... it was great. He took a nice long nap afterwards...