Happy Halloween!

Bean the Bumblebee!

And she doesn't even sting!

Spidey and the bumblebee. Bet nobody guessed Jace would be Spiderman.....

Spidey moves with the help of...Shrek!

The whole group at Tricia's. Including Shrek and Fiona.

The End!

Wine Tasting 2012!

Mommy is going to start by giving everyone a little hint. If you have been out of college for an extended period of time, do not think you can wine taste all day and proceed to go out on the town after. It just doesn't work well. Especially the next day. Moving on......

Prior to wine tasting, Aunt Erin needed her hair done, Grandma needed hers cut (yep, Mommy cuts Grandma's hair on occasion) so it was only right for Keegan to get in on the action. Isn't he a pretty little thaang?

The crew went in a different direction this year and hit some new wineries. This was the first. The second had a wedding going on..it was pretty but the wine tasters may or may not have worn out their welcome quickly.

Ok, this is not exactly wine but it was decided that too much lunch was eaten and it was soaking up all the wine. So, something a little stronger was needed to really get the fun started. Let Mommy also explain this was a saloon. Apparently. There were oak tables to sit at and when you walked in you could have heard a pin drop. However, the rumchata shots...or horsechata at they called them....were excellent.

Picture of the whole crew!!

Following the wine tour was a chili dump at the Petersen Plantation. No pictures and you probably know why. By this point pictures were not a priority. A special thanks to fabulous Aunt Debbie for driving AND for the awesome wine glasses! Until next year girls.....

Pumpkin Patch '12

These pictures are from last weekend....like 7 days ago. But Mommy has new pictures to add from wine tasting this weekend so thought she should share these first. So....here they are!

Giant pillow jumping!

Mommy added this one because Jace is pouting and it's funny. It wasn't funny at the time but it is now.

Bean and Mommy on the hayride. She had obviously already gotten into the candy (Lexa, not Mommy. Well, most likely Mommy too but that reference was to Lexa).  The hayride was Lexa's favorite part of the day. She kept saying, "I REALLY like this!"

Petting the pigs. And just as Mommy uploaded this pic she remembered they forgot the hand sanitizer afterward. And then ate popcorn. Luckily these pictures are from 7 days ago so apparently they are not sick. Darn Mommy and her cleanliness. Or lack thereof...

Grrrrr. He really got into the role.

Awwwww.

Can Daddy breathe? Well, if you will recall, these pictures were taken 7 days ago (not sure if you had gotten that point yet) and as of now he is still with us so the choke hold must not have been too terrible.

Listen. They really are thrilled. Really. Who wouldn't be with fancy pumpkins such as these.

The End. Check back soon for wine tasting fun!

Can't. Forget. This. Conversation.

So, Mommy has caught on to the fact that the absolute best discussions are right before bed snuggling with Jace. This was a recent conversation:

Jace: Can you marry someone in your family?

Mommy: No you can't do that. Why, did you have someone in mind?

Jace: You.

Awwww. So the conversation goes on and Jace decides that he can marry his friend Abigail from school because apparently she says, "Jace, marry me" daily. (His words, Mommy is just the reporter).

Jace: I think I wanna have 2 kids, a boy and a girl.

Jace: No, actually I think I want 2 boys and a girl baby. They are easy to take care of.

Mommy: What about when they turn 2 like Lexa...do you still think they will be easy?

Jace: Of course!

Mommy: How are you going to buy things for your babies?

Jace: OH MOMMY, I have $110!! 

Love that kid and his pure honest little heart. 

The Domestic Goddess Strikes Again.

The Domestic Goddess is out in full force again. Making caramel apples. And Mommy is not too proud to admit that these apples were made using those circle sheets of caramel you just drape over the apples.  She is also not too proud to admit that she had previously bought a kit in which you had to actually add ingredients and like stir and stuff. But then she saw the circle sheets and EASIER! So yes, Mommy's domestic side shows it's true colors again.

It literally took 2 minutes to make these. Now, Mommy can appreciate in some instances it is the journey and not the destination. Such as in 1/2 marathon training. But really, in making caramel apples it is just about the destination. In other words, eating them.

Bubba hasn't been feeling so hot lately. Jace and Lexa have been very good about giving him extra love. Maybe not space but definitely extra love.

See. 

The finished products! They did have to be put in the oven for 5 minutes. You know to melt the caramel. So there were actual steps to their making. AND, Mommy did not burn them!!

The End!

This is why Mommy burned the cinnamon rolls. Again.

Mommy, Jace, and Lexa discovered the fun of experimenting with photobooth on the computer last night. They spent a good half hour snapping funny shots and laughing hysterically. Then Mommy remembered she was baking. 'Burned' may be an understatement. But these pictures were so worth it!

Buddies.

Mommy is short on pictures from recent days so she is just sharing a couple of Jace and Lexa's BFFs.

Bean and Lilly. They love each other dearly. And are 2 peas in a pod. 

Jacer, Lexa, and Amiya. Waiting for FOOD after church. Amiya  and Lexa are buddies but lately she and Jace have been hitting it off.....love connection...maybe! They would be cute together and Mommy would definitely be a-ok with the in-laws!

That's all. Short and sweet. Kind of like Lexa.

Halloween Hike

Jace and Lexa went on a Halloween Hike this week. It went through the woods where they met different animals (people dressed up) who talked, sang, etc. At the end there was cookies and hot chocolate. And of course face painting. Because what Mommy doesn't want their kid's face painted at 7 pm. When they have to go to school in the morning.

Bean in her Halloween get up. This may be as good as it gets this year folks. She declined wearing her bumble bee costume for the hike (about 10 minutes before it started). This being after 2 weeks of 'how wonderful it will be to be a bumble bee' talk. If anyone thinks Mommy is shelling out another $20 for ANOTHER costume they are crazy....Seriously, Lexa is not winning this one. To Be Continued......

Mommy took a picture of Lexa so she had to take one of Jace too. FYI, he is  VERY excited and willing to wear his halloween costume. And yes, he is going as spiderman again this year...not a St. Pats student.

Aren't they sweet holding hands and walking together....

Mommy isn't gonna lie....she knew treats were part of the deal. That may or may not have helped convince her to buy the tickets.

Showing off their face painting. Luckily they ended up being pretty simple and most was off on the pillow by morning. Just the way Mommy likes to clean them up....let it rub off on the bedding and call it a day!

Lexa cuddling with her Mommy. Rare but very much enjoyed. She may have even quit talking during the taking of this picture....rare, but very much enjoyed.

Color Run 2012!!

Mommy is going to give you a hint....if you want to have some serious fun, do the Color Run! It is referred to as the happiest 5k on the planet and Mommy can assure you that this claim is true. Mommy ran with cousins, aunts, and friends. With Fabulous Aunt Debbie being the support person (a.k.a. phone/bag/camera/etc. holder). These pictures are in no particular order because they uploaded in the wrong order but Mommy didn't think you would want her to waste 1/2 hour of perfectly good afternoon rearranging and organizing. 

Post Race...you can see the cloud of color smoke in the background. So much fun but slightly claustrophobia inducing.

Post race shot at the first bar the group came too. It was decided that a pre race shot may be needed next time. Just to help keep the group in rhythm...since dancing is not on the short list of Auge talents.

Pyramid! Talent.

Snow angels (or color powder angels?) at the yellow station.

Mommy and Tracy enjoying themselves. Kinda.

That's all for now! Now go sign up for a Color Run!!

Installment #2

 Just a few more pictures from Jace and Lexa's photo shoot.

Mommy knows this isn't a stellar picture. But it is just so Lexa. Trying to talk her way out of something.

Installment #1

Jace and Lexa had their pictures taken tonight. It was a slightly different set-up as the photographer charged a smaller fee to simply take the pictures. She then immediately put them on a cd and handed it over to Mommy...unedited. So, Mommy has spent the better part of the evening working on editing. These are installment #1. Don't worry...there are about 50 more worthy of editing. Rest assured you will probably see most of them!