Good Things

• Michael's birthday countdown is in full force-when did my baby boy get so big? I am loving it!
  

• I have a day off (!!!) on Monday so I can get to work on birthday party stuff!

• It is another beautiful day out today!

What is fall without a trip to the apple orchard?

I seriously haven't been on a trip to an orchard since 1st grade, but it just seems like such a great thing to do this time of year.

It was a beautiful day on Sunday (after the gray, drizzly day on Saturday-boo) so we decided to take advantage of weather and head out to the country on a little excursion. Fall is so unpredictable you'll never when you'll have another nice day!

Michael wasn't too excited to be sitting in the pumpkins although he perked up a bit later.

When we got home, I realized the poor guy had a tummy ache and wasn't feeling well. :o(

He did however, have fun playing in the corn pool, petting the goats, and going for a hayride pulled by a tractor. He sat so nice on my lap and watched the tractor wheels going round and round the whole ride! The farm was huge and you could get dropped off to pick your apples and pumpkins but we didn't get any that day.

We ended the day with a snack of cider donuts and apple cider for everyone. So delicious! Michael had sugar all over his face from the donut!

Cyclones Win!

Although it was a rainy and dreary Saturday in Ames, Cyclones beat UNI!

Michael was pretty excited even though he had to stay home with Grandma for the game. I'm sure they had lots of fun! Thanks, Mom for coming to stay with Michael on such short notice!



We were all under our tent on the concrete to try and stay dry during tailgating. The people who set up in the grass were covered in mud! I saw kids that looked like they had been rolling around in the mud-icky!

The tailgate was lots of fun with plenty of time to catch up with friends. The rain really held off and it wasn't too bad of a day! It was disappointing to have such a bad weather day after having such a nice week with temperatures in the 80's. Oh well-what is being a college football fan without braving some bad weather?

Just for fun, here is a flashback of tailgating during bad weather in 2006....





Notice that all the sane people decided to stay home for this one!



Freezing, but still enjoying a beverage!

Anyway...back to present day. It really wasn't that bad of a day!

Go Cyclones!

Jester Park Natural Playscape

Yesterday it was such a beautiful fall day out that we took a little field trip to Jester Park. It was gorgeous-the sun was shining and it was the perfect temperature out.



Michael had fun wandering around the playscape but what he wanted to do that most was play in the water!!



I wanted to go for a little walk too, but he was SOAKED so we headed home instead.





Today is gameday- ISU vs. UNI but so far it is raining! Hopefully it clears off before we head up to Ames to tailgate. Mom is coming down to watch Michael during the game so everyone is going to have a great day!

Go Cyclones!

Happy Friday!

It's Friday!

Funny how fridays have so much more meaning now that I'm working all week. They are the best thing ever!

This morning is my morning off so we are hanging at home while I get caught up on housework. I actually had a nightmare last night about laundry-it was piling up everywhere and I couldn't get caught up and I was in a panic.

Weird, huh?


It's finally fall and today is cool and crisp! It's been super warm all week so I'm happy for the change in weather.

Our hotel last weekend had the most beautiful light in this spot and the photos look so pretty. Michael looks so grown up!

Just a week and a half until his first birthday!

Z is for Zamboni

This past weekend when we visited Omaha, we were really there for Scott's hockey game. He is part of a really great team and they decided this year they wanted to do some traveling. A guy on the team had a buddy in Omaha, so they organized a couple of games for the guys.

Michael and I missed the first game because we needed to eat lunch, check into our hotel (Embassy Suites!) and run to Wal-Mart. Just a note to the wise: never go to Wal-Mart in Nebraska on a game day. Every single person in the store was wearing Husker red. It was WEIRD. In fact, every single person I saw in Omaha that day was wearing Husker red. Even dogs and people mowing their yards. It was like bizarro world.

Anyway, Michael and I caught the second game and he had a great time watching the guys skate around on the ice!





Scott came up to the glass to say hi and Michael had no idea it was him! His face was priceless!

I picked up some cheap toys at sale earlier that morning and they kept Michael entertained for a long time. He loved running all over the place and was making friends with everyone.

Scott's team had a great time playing against new opponets and bonding as a team. We can't wait until their next trip!

Why didn't anyone tell me this was a bad idea?

Yes, Lost. Why didn't anyone tell me once I started watching this I would be hopelessly addicted?

I am currently on Season 2 and I am loving Matthew Fox as Jack Shepard. Sooo dreamy.



I think this stems from my teenage obession with the show "Party of Five". Do you guys remember that one?

This was before the days of DVR and I would have to rush home from my flute and piano lessons (yes, dork alert) so I could watch it. If anyone tried to watch anything else at that time, I would freak out. I actually think sometimes the whole family watched it together in our living room-isn't that funny? Anway, I loved Party of Five and I'm glad I can still watch Matthew Fox in something!

So...any other Lost fans out there? What do you think? Who is your favorite character?

And now if you will excuse me, I need to go watch about 5 episodes in a row. :o)

Omaha Zoo

This past weekend we took an overnight trip to Omaha. One of the stops on our trip was to the Henry Doorly Zoo. I hadn't been there for YEARS and man has it changed. It is a huge zoo, and we were pooped after just a few hours there. Michael loved everything and didn't snooze the entire time!

Most of the time he was doing this:

There was a little garden area where the parrots hung out. It was so beautiful but those parrots are NOISY! The birds were so pretty sitting on their perches above the pretty plants. I loved the formal garden look-maybe someday I will transform my yard into something like that? You would never have to mow again!

The other favorite part of the day was the gorilla exhibit.

I could have watched this baby gorilla all day! I was so mad Scott made us leave after just a few minutes. This little guy was so funny, he was just like a toddler.



He was hamming it up to the audience when his mom came over, took his hand and drug him away. He was in trouble!

And just for fun...

On my Nikon it shows a picture of a sea anemone for the highest ISO on the selection menu. It is so funny because I always wonder what exact situation will you be in when you need a high ISO to take a photo of a sea anemone? I figured I better take my opportunity while it presented itself!

We had a great time at the zoo even though we didn't get to see everything we wanted. It will give us an excuse to go back next time!

Fall!

Michael and I tried to take some photos outside to use for his birthday invitation and looking back at these pictures really makes it seem like fall. What is it about them? The lighting? I am hating the early sunsets these days and it just makes everything seem so dreary.



I took about a hundred shots of Michael to try and get one that would work for my project, so these are all the outtakes! I thought I could bribe him by giving him a little mum to hold on to, and it is so cute that he wanted to hold on to it the whole time. He even took it back inside the house after we were done and continued to play with it. I think this kid has a future in horticulture! :o)

The purple fountain grass is so huge now-it amazes me how it just continues to grow and grow all summer long. It would be such a pretty backdrop for a photo if my model would just sit still! :o)

He looks like such a big boy in these photos it just breaks my heart. I am in serious denial about his birthday in just a few weeks...I haven't even done any planning for his party except for setting a date! I better get on that!

Show Us Your Life: Living Rooms

Today I am linking up over at Kelly's Korner for Show Us Your Life Friday's: Living Rooms.






A constant figure in our living room....our cat, Scampy. He is usually sunning himself by the picture window.

Our wall of photos. I would like to eventually add more to the display shelves, but I'm worried about them looking too cluttered. We finally added some different photos in the frames after four years of only wedding photos!

Itty Bitty frames of Michael.

If you would like to see more of my home, feel free to look around! Here is a cool photo I did of the entire main living area: Main Living Area.

Happy Friday!