A Sampling of Fall Fun

Here I am to report on the week.
Except, this week held a lot of violent stomach bugs and hernias (well, just one of those), and is ending with me sitting here feeling like someone has punched me in the stomach, wrapped their fist around the center of my energy, and dragged it all out of me.
I have a feeling that someone could be the flu.
But don't tell the CDC that or they will probably break down my door, eager to inject me with toxins.

Point being, I don't have a whole lot to report on, since most of the week held a lot of lying around, changing diapers and sheets, and one visit to the ER with JC. As far as that goes, we have a consult with a surgeon tomorrow and hopefully we will then know when his surgery will be and what kind of recovery period we can expect.
I feel a little like the next couple of months are kind of hinging on what this doctor tells us tomorrow. I am quite interested to hear what he has to say. And quite eager for JC to be feeling better. :(
Speaking of sad face :( . . . this week, on Thursday, was supposed to be the beginning of JC's Deer Hunt.
Yeah, that one he finally got drawn for this year.
And was so excited.
And now can't go.
It is really sad.

But the cool part is, instead he gets to stay home and have surgery. Then recover in the midst of three energetic kids who like to jump on him. And a wife with (maybe) the flu.
Awesome.


Anyway, all this said, I scanned through our pictures from the last while, ones I have yet to highlight with a post and decided to throw them all together for a good hodge podge post.
Hodge podge.
I like that phrase.
I'm doing this because I am lazy. And they may not be in the right order. Also because I'm lazy.

I sound like such a grumper. I'm not really, I am actually quite content. Just not in any particular mood to spend much time on creativity on this particular Sunday night. You know, because my posts are usually so Picasso-esque.
????
Time to move on to narrating pictures.

What We've Been Up To
A memoir of some moments of early fall, 2009

Pillow Fights

Playing footsie with Daddy

Trying on Halloween costumes

and flying in them.

And posing in them.
(and specifically dictating how we want our hair fixed that day.)

Going to the zoo with Grandma Trudie!!!
We accidentally went on Columbus Day/first day of Fall Break. So, it was super duper crowded, everyone was a little grumpy, and Ben started running a fever. BUT we gave it a valiant effort.
Here are Bethany and James just taking their sweet time on the walk through the zoo.

James being awesome.

Ben feeding a giraffe!!!
The other two were hesitant but he, the baby, went for it.
I love his face. He was so excited, yet as the giraffe came to eat the leaves, his face changed to this expression. But he was quickly giggling about it!

He also got great giraffe sunglasses there at the gift shop.
His face is great here.

We crashed for rest time at Grandma Trudie's house that day. James actually took a nap, being exhausted from all that walking, nose-picking, and not feeding the giraffes. :)

We've gotten new fall shoes.
Ben got tennis shoes with Buzz Lightyear on them. He carries the box around (currently sleeping with it as we speak.)
Here he has his shoes on, the box in his hand, and his Buzz action figure in his other hand.

We visited this nifty place, a park we discovered like, a year and a half ago but had not been back. It is so fun. There are a couple different themed sections to the playground, but this is the best part: Farmland (or something like that)

We climbed.

And slid.

And rocked.

And had a picnic dinner. Then went for a too-close-to-bedtime shopping trip at Super Target. There was a lost James (he likes to hide in the clothing racks and say nothing when we call for him), an injured Bethany (slipped and fell to the ground, hitting head-first. Horrible), and an angry Ben (anytime he saw Elmo or Toy Story anything, and I did not stop to admire it for a lengthy period of time, he felt very betrayed.)
But there were also new pajamas (yes, Toy Story ones) and a couple pieces of candy corn.
It was a good night.

We also spent time giving Scout love.
(Let's face it, after the last few years, being at the bottom of the attention totem pole, he needs it!)
Bethany has convinced Scout that it is in his best interest to allow her to snuggle him like this on occasion. It's pretty cute.

We started spending more time outside!
YAY! My favorite part!
Bethany uses sidewalk chalk to practice her writing skills.
Here we have "mooo" (like a cow says)
followed by "Andrew" (her uncle)

One time, during outside time, Scout did something bad. He got banished to the balcony while JC sat down to rest in between who-knows-what. (Our backyard is in rough shape after a long hot summer and there is a lot to be done to have it play-ready)
Scout perched himself above JC, poked his head through the railing...

and waited for forgiveness.

Just James.
Being cute.

The boys gave the swings a shot, breaking them back in.

We also sometimes eat breakfast outside.
The mornings are awesome.

Something else Bethany has been up to - drama.
It's hard being a girl.
Being four.
Having two brothers.
And a mean mommy.
Sometimes, when there has been something-or-other that has left her feeling misunderstood and upset, I can find her here, in our front room.
Comforting herself.
It is precious.

Here's something else Bethany does lately - sets out her clothes at night for the following day.
After we say goodnight and tuck her in, we will sometimes find this on the floor when we head back in for final checking and tucking in before we head to sleep.
She's getting so grown up!

We have acted as taste-testers for Aunt Katie's baking endeavors. She brought us a piece of her Bastrawi Pie. It was so very good.
Someday she will have a cafe and sell them and we will feel famous.
The boys devoured this piece of pie and understandably so.

It's kind of hard to really see against the fence, but we lost our apple tree.
:(
It goes to join the plum tree in our graveyard of fruit trees. It was a rough summer for baby trees. Only I can't call them baby trees because that makes me feel really sad. Anyway, it died.

It's that time of year - winter grass!
JC is a big fan of winter grass. He said he has memories of being a kid and rough grass being so uncomfortable to play in. So he is determined that we will always have soft grass for the kids. He's such a softie. :)
Now if we could just keep the birds from eating all our seed.

Now for some new additions, foliage-wise!
We got a sissou tree for the front yard.
LOVE this tree.
It's going to grow big and strong and shade our yard forever more. Maybe we'll have a swing hanging from it someday for the grandkids.

A little hard to see, but...
The New Apple.
Apple 2.0, if you will.
Heaven bless you, 2.0. We will try to make you live!

The new plum.
I don't have a cool name for this tree but it sure is pretty.
Same blessing on this gorgeous girl - hopefully we will be celebrating this same tree next year, and not another replacement!

Our little grove.
Coming along slowly and steadily.

We discovered this nifty car-attached-to-shopping cart at Fry's.
If they could guarantee this baby was free every time I shopped, I would so do the grocery shopping by myself with all three kids.
You do NOT want to know what it looks like when I attempt to do so without something so fancy.
Anyway, the boys loved driving this cart around.

And...
all of that brings us to this week:

A lot of that kind of stuff.

As I close my random post here, all I can think about is this: I propose that, when we start to get sick, we should be allowed a day to go make our toenails and fingernails pretty, get our hair done, get a massage, and buy new pajamas. And smelly lip gloss (non-sticky kind)
So at least we feel awesome while we're feeling not awesome.

We should also be allowed to have our home professionally cleaned. Because, really, nothing makes you feel worse when you're already feeling worse than stepping on old food on the floor, tripping over toys, and snuggling up in a blanket that needs to be washed.
Not that I would know.

Even though I may not sound like it, I'm excited for the week that comes. I shall report back at the end of it.
Maybe before.
It could happen.

Things I Never Thought I'd Say

"Okay, Jesus, do you want to get dressed in your cat clothes or your Buzz clothes today?"

I said it.
And then I heard it.
And I laughed.

The kids have taken to pretending to be cats much of the time. If I want the best responses, the most attentiveness, I address them by their cat names. This morning Bethany told me she was Sarah the Cat. James told me he was Jesus the Cat.
I already knew it was going to be a laid-back day. (Short version - at the E.R. until late last night with JC who, it turns out, has a hernia and will most likely require surgery...for now he's just taking it easy until consult with surgeon on Monday.)
Since James has been asking to wear his Buzz costume lately, I decided today would be the day to indulge that desire.

It just so happens that today he is not James the Cat the Buzz.
He is Jesus the Cat the Buzz.

I bet no one else on this earth has ever been that before.

I'm such a good mom.

A couple of days ago, I had one of my prouder parenting moments.

We had just finished up with dinner. I was clearing dishes, JC had wandered into the office to work on something or other, Ben was trotting along under my feet, and Bethany and James had marched downstairs for one kind of mischief or another. (Probably "camping" where they take flashlights and hide out in the boys' closet, occasionally escaping for "food" or "to chase the bad guys." - - by the way, they call bad guys "The Billage" which I'm pretty sure is supposed to mean "The Village" which I'm pretty sure comes from that scene on Disney's Beauty and the Beast where the whole village gathers together to go kill the beast...I think it has been decided that scary groups like that are just called "The Village" and are always "bad guys.")

Suddenly, I hear Bethany gasp dramatically (not out of the ordinary, happens about once every half hour or so) but then, in a very tense voice - "James. Get. Up. Stairs. Now."

Oh my.

I start toward the stairs and the two of them are already halfway up, both with wide eyes and clenched jaws. Bethany proceeds to tell me that there is a big daddy bug downstairs that has black and red and two half circles and big legs that crawled toward them fast when they saw it.
They were both terrified.
I wasn't very far behind.

Now, if I were a single mother I would have no problem whatsoever assuming full responsibility in the bug catching and killing department.
But I am not.
And I would prefer to not operate under any pretenses.
More often than not, I change dirty diapers and clean the house.
More often than not, JC takes the trash out and kills bugs.
I don't mind old fashioned steriotypes.
I just don't.

So, JC was summoned and we all tentatively head downstairs. Well, not him...he had a family to defend...he stomped right down there, ready for action.
There was nothing to be seen BUT Bethany is like a little video recorder and can recall details from just about anything she's ever experienced, so she gave us directions on exactly which way the bug was headed. ("It came this way and then that way a little. Then it went this way so it's probably over there.")

Finally, JC finds the culprit in the bathroom. A roach.
Ugh, I can't even type it without shuttering. Or read it without shuttering, I just found out.
It was one of those horrible big ones with long stilt-like legs that can run like the dickens and make you feel like it's on you for days after you see it.

See? Just now, I swore it was on my neck. My NECK!

But back to this lovely drawn-out story, as JC was trying to figure out how to best get this particular bug and we were all huddled around the corner on the stairs, Ben keeps tugging at me saying "I see! I see!" So, I figure he has every right to see this thing we're making a big deal of, and I tell JC that Ben wants to see and kind of walk him down there.
Things seemed very under control, so I let down my guard a bit and turn away to talk to my two older children who are now pretending to be Spider Man (no doubt trying to escape from The Billage) by sliding on the railing.
Next thing I know, I hear JC yelling "Here it comes, Ben!" and out of the corner of my eye see this monstrosity of a bug moving a good forty-five miles per hour toward my general space.

And what do I do?
I take off.
Yes, that's right. I run toward the stairs, probably squealing a little. The details escape me.
Toward the stairs and away from my baby who is definitely squealing and more than a little. With his arms raised over his head, flapping around as he runs, the bug essentially 'chasing' him, as it continues to run in the same direction as he does.
I can't explain this. I don't understand what made me abandon my child and run away. JC didn't understand either. As he tried to catch that daddy bug, he looked at me with a very strange look on his face and sort-of-shouted "Um...CAN YOU GET HIM??"
I numbly nodded and raced back toward the scary bug and the scared Ben, scooped the later up and brought him to our safe haven on the stairs. We watched JC win his battle, go outside to dispose of any evidence of a struggle, and come back in to cheers...after which he looked at me funny again, like he didn't recognize me and slowly said, "Um...sorry I kind of yelled at you."

To which I replied, "Sorry I left our baby in the path of the roach to indulge in my own silly and unfounded fears."

Well, maybe I didn't say that. But we both laughed about how I did just that.

And I felt really dumb. And I hope Ben forgets it ever happens. And that Bethany and James didn't make a mental note as they witnessed it.
"Note to self - Can't count on Mom to not abandon us when something scary comes along. Learn to fend for self ASAP..."

As the next few days have come and gone with Ben occasionally going into hysterics when something moves funny or when something brushes against his feet in a way he doesn't like, I have begun to question if he's not just trying to make me feel guilty . . .

We'll be comin' 'round the mountain . . .

How many weeks does it take Mandy to report on one week's worth of activities?

Well anyway, here I am with the last bit of fun from our week of JC's vacation from work!
(Although I have to be honest...right now my back hurts and I wish I were lying down instead. Also, I joined the ranks of pathetic moms everywhere last night by having a dream somewhat involving the Twilight saga...so I kind of want to watch that movie right now...but I am forcing myself to accomplish the task at hand!!!)


SO, Saturday of said week, we drove up to "The Mountains." The kids know this as where daddy goes when he goes camping/hunting, and where we have talked about taking them someday to sleep in a tent, etc. But we decided to baby step it and take them up there for a day.
This probably would have happened sooner was I not terrified of the drive up to Payson. For some reason, this...well...terrifies me.

- - Side note - -
JC is making turkey jerky in the kitchen and just walked into the doorway of the office in which I reside, pointed the jerky gun (no doubt full of seasoned ground turkey) at me and said,
"Go ahead. Make my day."
If that's not worth documenting, what on earth are blogs for?

Moving along...
I had finally made peace with the idea of driving up to "The Mountains" and not having to be sedated to do so. (sort of)
So, we packed up and headed out with a van full of things to get us through the day. The plan was to leave mid morning, expecting Ben would probably get a nap in on the way up and we would all be chipper for the rest of the day, eat dinner, drive home and put the kids to bed.
Ben didn't want to play along and defied all logic by not falling asleep leaving me very anxious for what manner of boy we would have on our hands once we hit late afternoon.

Sometimes I think that my blog would be a lot more charming if I were to just leave out the details and use like, two pictures, just to give an idea of our adventures but not necessarily give a play by play.
(In fact I as a whole would probably be more charming if I could learn to do that...just ask my husband...)
But I just can't seem to do it.

Anyway, here is how our day unfolded! Our day in The Mountains!

The drive up went smoothly. I kept my cool and the kids chilled while watching a movie.
When we hit our turn off to find our little spot for the day, it was...
a little bumpy.
Which Ben thought was really funny.

JC pulled us in to a great spot to call our own for a few hours.
First matter of business:
Lunch.

Second matter of business: explore.
James took this seriously and really forged ahead on this little dirt road.
He was a man with a mission. I don't know what. Neither did he.

Ben pulled me aside at one point on our exploratory walk and very excitedly announced that he had found....DIRT!
"yook mama, yook mama, DUHT! DUHT!"
It was so endearing, I demanded that he remain two forever.

JC pointed out some squirrels along the way.
They are almost as hard to spot as the duht.

At one point, the trail we were following got just a bit of a downward slope.
Ben decided it was a slide.
This is not my goofy way of saying that he fell down. He actually sat down and tried to push himself down the "slide."

Meanwhile, Bethany searched for sticks. Her selections got bigger and bigger.

JC brought us to this watering hole. He hunts around here sometimes, so he knows it pretty darn well. Plus, this is the general area he camped a lot growing up. He was like our local guide. Except he lives with us. And brought a portable potty seat.

Bethany loved that she could find itty bitty flowers growing around the water if she looked hard enough.

I don't know what this would be called but it is what JC and his hunting buddy, our friend Ben, built to hide behind and watch activity near the water.
I feel like I could not be a commentator on a hunting show. I don't know the lingo well enough or how to make things sound super cool and manly.
Besides, I probably wouldn't want to hang around with the people who worked on the hunting show anyway.
I'm just saying.
But, good job boys. It looks super cool and manly.

Ben is cheering. Maybe the mountains will be his happy place like they are his daddy's happy place.

The kids on a big rock.
I don't know what else to say.
(So, for anyone who's keeping track, any kind of Man vs. Wild type show is out too.)

But I do think I look a little Sacajawea-like in this picture, as if I could be pointing out the way to...wherever the guys who were led by Sacajawea were going...yikes. Time to brush up on my history. Or watch "Night at the Museum."
What I'm actually doing is showing the kids that this big log is a tree that used to be standing up...pointing out toward the roots and asking Bethany if she can tell us what roots do for a plant. I know for a fact that she knows. But since she is four now she doesn't feel the need to bend to my every whim and she just looked at me and said something like, "Don't you know, Mom? Why don't you tell us?"
Oh, my sweet girl. I hope we stay friends through your teens. :)

A beautiful tree in the midst of all the pines.

Once we started back to our spot, Bethany decided she was too tired for the walk.
I would have obliged her in her request to be carried. But, see, both boys had already played that card and I had one on each hip.
Oh, JC would have helped. But, when those boys want mom, they want mom.
And when Bethany wants to sit down on the dirt road, she wants to sit down on the dirt road.

Eventually, James started walking again and Ben transferred to my back, giving me a reason to twirl around crazily.
You have to do that when you have a baby on your back.

Bethany further demonstrated her tiredness. She wasn't kidding.
I ended up carrying her and Ben much of the way back and felt good about my cardio for the day.

Everyone rested once we got back to our spot. Can I call it a camp site if it was just for the day and not actual camping was involved?

Bethany used the bag which usually holds the canopy as her "sleeping bag."
Innovative.

James found his way to JC's chair and took it over for a while.

We snacked on fruit leather and cashews.
Ben has the bowl containing the cashews because he decided that it was time to make his lack of nap manifest to all in the form of cashew possessiveness.
(That word has so many s's, yes?)

Then we made nature bracelets.
Masking tape sticky-side-out around your wrist, pieces of "nature" you pick up and stick on...you know...nature bracelets.
Here's mine.

Ben's.
(I think he just tore off his masking tape as soon as I put it on, it fell down on the ground, and JC picked it up as-is. That's another way to do it.)

About this time, James decided he was done and ready to go home.
He did this on and off for the next couple of hours.

Here's Bethany making her nature bracelet.
And Ben with his cashews.

James found JC reclining in the back of the van and attacked/joined him.

Ben just looked cute wandering around, stomping through the pine needles.

James, back at this again...

JC worked on getting the fire started so we could cook our dinner and, of course, dessert.
We quoted Cast Away a lot at this point.

The kids thought JC was the coolest, building a fire. They just watched.

And giggled.

I was taking pictures of Ben messing with all the pine needles and rocks around him when I snapped this one. It wasn't until right after I took the picture that I realized he has his hands square on this pile of old cow poo.
Awesome.

This was also an exciting picture. First, I'm taking a cute picture of Bethany and Ben walking along together, then it becomes a picture of them tripping over each other.
It's really great when you capture those special moments.

But this really is a cute special moment:

James thought the fire was pretty cool but wasn't sure about all that smoke!

Everyone got on board when it was time to roast hot dogs!
FYI - hot dogs, especially turkey dogs, turn BLACK when roasted over a fire like this.
It's like eating soot.
Soot with ketchup.
But look how cute they are, roasting away:

You know that way a campfire has of mesmerizing you and causing you to just stand there with your mouth slightly open, arms hanging at your sides, eyes glazed over?
Um, yeah, me neither.
But James does.

After dinner, marshmallows were roasted as well (FYI, no matter how hard you look, it appears to be impossible to find a marshmallow not laden with corn syrup and sugar.) and S'mores were made!!! (FYI, you can find a decent graham cracker at Trader Joe's. They are SO yummy and thick. And you can find a really yummy dark chocolate bar there too.)
I heart s'mores almost more than anything.
So good.
James investigated for a while before he actually ate. But he loved too.

Ben also investigated. I think they were wary of the marshmallows. I guess there is not much that they have had before that is gooey and sticky like this. I can understand why that would be cause for concern.
But he eventually liked them too.

See? Gooey.

Bethany practically worshiped hers as she ate it.
We have many of the same tastes.
She often tells me, "Mommy, what you like, I like." I think it is more of a bonding attempt, which is cute. But it actually does turn out to be true much of the time. :)

After the desserts, I got them cleaned up (practically hosed them all down) and changed into pajamas, then tucked into their car seats with blankets and stuffed animals, while JC got the fire put out and everything non-living packed up and ready for the ride home.

Before we were two minutes into the drive, Ben was out.
Before we were eight minutes into the drive, James was out too.
And Bethany?
She fell asleep about thirty minutes in but don't try telling her that. She claimed to be awake the whole ride home.

I am so glad we made this little trip! The kids got to experience something new and fun, JC got to share a place he loves with us, and I got to put one more check mark on my "I can do hard thing" checklist. :) But really, I had fun.
I even taught the kids how to play baseball using a few rocks as bases, an old fire pit as the pitcher's mound, a big stick as the bat and pinecones as the baseballs. Though, inevitably...someone got hurt. And...inevitably...the kids didn't really retain any of what I taught them but...ah well. We still had fun.
With that and all our other adventures up in The Mountains.
Thanks for taking us, JC!

P.S. Three weeks later, I am questioning introducing marshmallows. They ask for them EVERY DAY. And even though I had stashed them up in a cupboard for future random uses, James apparently got wise to me, climbed on the counter, got them out of the cupboard and I found him eating one under the kitchen table. I put them away, gave him a talking to and that was that. When, the next day, the same thing happened again, I threw them away. Whole bag in the garbage.
P.P.S. "Out of sight, out of mind" philosophy - - does not work for marshmallows.
P.P.P.S. It doesn't work for The Mountains either. We can't wait to go back!