Pumpkin Patch

Better late than never, right??
I finally managed to coherce get Tom to come along to pick the family Bennett pumpkins.
Usually I get these things done weeks in advance as the worry of finding one the night before Halloween just seems to stressful for my delicate soul...and this year I was right!
We had to go to a couple pacthes to pick two out.
The first patch had about 10 pumpkins left...all were bigger than Ava, so that was a no go.


Although we did manage to get a couple cute Sears like pictures of the girls. I think this should be our Christmas card!



Then we made it to another patch that still had some decent pumpkins left, but it seems half the city was there as well. There were workers directing traffic and helping drivers park in the parking lot. It was pure pumpkin patch craziness! We managed to find 2 pumpkins and escape relatively unscathed.
But you bet that next year, I'll be hitting the patches a good 3-4 weeks in advance to avoid that craziness again.

Sisterly lerve

Just awwwwww for sisterly love.
(and then back to whopping each other over the heads a mere 30 seconds later, but at least I caught this on camera, right?)

Signs of Fall...

Around here, there really are not very many signs of fall. No leaves all over the ground to crunch on; no red, orange and yellow trees to "oh and ah". Really, it just gets cooler...and everyone puts up their Halloween decorations, so I know its that time fo year, well, that and the fact that its cooler, so we can play outside once again.
Florida's Signs of Fall.



Playing in the "tickle grass" by our house. It's pink!!



Swings!

Return of the signs...

They're baaaack!
This was the latest in the world of the mystery signs.
Makes you go hmmmmm, doesn't it??




My apologies for the fuzziness, but I tried taking a picture through the window as we were driving by. (do not try that at home kids!)

In the land of Gators...

You must go visit the Alligator Farm! So that's exactly what we did today!
Tom, the girls and myself packed up some snacks and the small entourage of "stuff" that we seem to take with us everywhere and headed to the St Augustine Alligator Farm.


As always, there are lots of gators and such to be found here (and we know it well as we have a family pass).
First we were greeted with the Gator Welcoming Committee. Complete with big ol' gator grins. (although it was about lunch time, so I am thinking they were eyeing up a bite size Ava).



We saw the usual suspects, which includes the creepy albino gators-


The funny looking crocodile from India-


And of course more gators looking for lunch!


Now because we were with Tom, he comes armed with about $10 in quarters so he can start a feeding frenzy! They have machines all over the park that you can put in a quarter and get a handful of food to feed the alligators. The girls love to do this, and Tom loves to cause meyham, so we did.
(I just watch in horror and hope nobody falls in)


When I looked a little closer, I noticed a big, and I mean snap off your hand big turtle under the gatorness trying to get his share of food. (can you see him?)


We also saw "Maximo" the 15 plus feet gator! He is huge! SO big, I couldn't get all of him in the picture, unless I moved back half a mile (as I had my zoom lens).


And of course Maximo's distant cousin.


We also made friends with the rather large Kimodo dragon (again, i think he was looking for lunch too).



We also took in some of the other wild creatures the Alligator Farm has to offer.
Some big and creepy vultures, definately looking for a snack.




A beautiful bird whose name I have forgotten. but I can tell you they are found in Africa, should you ever get the chance to go there.



And about the ugliest bird ever. Its a Marabou stork and he looks like an ugly old man.



Plus some other rather funny looking critters, that I decided were cute enough to take home.
All in all, another fun day!!

If we were The Simpsons...

I did this last year. There's a site called SimponizeMe.com.
They will take a photo of you and turn it into a cartoon character. It's supposed to be what you look like if you were a Simpson's cartoon (which was and may still be one of the funniest shows out there).

I just came across these on my computer and they were just too funny not to share...in fact, I think the cartoons are pretty accurate (sorry Tom)! They even portrayed Lulu the Wonder Cat as the grumpy ol' fart of a cat that she is.

Doh!

Mysterious signs

Literally. Not metaphorically. Every week or so a newly hand painted sign has been staked into the ground on a busy median by the interstate. I am guessing its supposed to make us drivers think about how the world seems to be falling apart. Although I think the signs will end up making all the gawkers crash into each other as we crank our necks trying to read it while driving by.

I am starting to find these signs intriguing and thought I'd start documenting them. You know, cause as crazy as the signs are, its crazier being the lady trying to take a picture of them from my car!
Anyway, I missed taking pictures of the first two...and you'll thank me for that. One sign was something about Marxism and communism (terms I haven't used since first year sociology). The other was something about selling the American Dream for $250,000. Obviously some very strong point of views going on here.

Well, I managed to capture the recent ones this week. They will either make you go "hmmmm" or just giggle like a girl.

Integrity

Redistribution


I can not wait to see what the signs have to say next time! It makes for an interesting drive to preschool each day!

Happy Birthday Zach-man.

Haha! I found a way to wish my baby brother a happy birthday and totally embarass him at the same time! Woohoo!
Isn't he cute? "Smackery, Smack, Zachy, Zachman" turns the big 1-4 today!
(dude- that's gettin' old!)
And although we don't get to see him as often as we'd like, he's a pretty cool kid to know!
Happy Birthday Dude!

Concentration

These crack me up. Notice Ava's ever-serious look on her face. It never fully goes away. I am very interested to see how she is as an adult. Even now at 2.5 years, she already seems more like an 80 year old woman. (and a cranky one at that).

Whatever she does, she gives it her full 100%. Whether its attempting to make a taller than she block tower or trying to avoid bedtime like the plague, she puts all her litttle big energy into it.
Again, its just one of the things that I both adore and fear in Ava.

Ava. Sweet Ava.

Stars

Yes, I am still here...been busy with bows, my babes and well, just life.

This is one of the things that I both adore and can not stand about Tom. When he gets a whim, he goes FULL OUT! (and yes, that deserved all capitol letters).
Well, there was a full moon this past week, so Tom decided to make an evening of it. He pulled out his honkin' telescope and set it up for the girls to see the moon.

The chaos lasted about half an hour. I tried to warn him of his plans when it was already way past the girls bedtime....but sometimes there is just no reasoning with small children and Tom. I managed to grab a few pictures of the girls enjoying the view before I went and hid inthe house while he dealt with the bickering over whose turn it was to look at the moon.




It really was a very cool sight. The moon was so clear and you could see all the craters and hills. Stuff like this always makes me laugh, as I am sure not too many people own such telescopes as this one. I suppose we could also add "night vision goggles" to the list of toys that most people do not have, but that's another story for another day.

Quite the predicament.

It's not even 9 am and I admit, I was heading out to the garage to get myself a Coke for breakfast. You know, the breakfast of champions! (I am in need of some caffeine after very little sleep and we keep the canned drinks in the fridge in the garage).
Anyway, while heading outside, I couldn't open the doorknob.
No, it wasn't locked, it was broken.
No problem,right? Just go around the house and open the garage door.

Problem.
The garage door opener is IN my car, IN the garage, and we don't have a keypad on our garage (but you can bet your bippy it's now high on my Honey Dew list).
Just get a screwdriver and open up the doorknob, you say?

Again, problem.
The only screwdriver in the house (and not IN the garage) is my little lady set that is too small to use around the doorknob.

Under normal circumstances, I would be freaking out. Tom is out of town, we have a few errands to run, and a day stuck at home with the girls makes for a reeeeeally long one. (one that would definately require a Coke or some sort of caffeinated beverage).
Luckily (well, as luckily as I am going to get), Tom is supposed to fly home tonight and it's Sunday, not Monday, or any other carpool school day...so I suppose if I am going to be screwed, then I got off pretty easy.

I will be spending my day trying to figure out a way to open the garage and wondering if maybe this is some way I am being told that I don't need a Coke this morning.


UPDATE: The caffeine Gods were on my side today! Tom made it home a little earlier than expected, managed to open my garage door so I could get me some Coke (of the cola variety) ;)
Oh, that, and he made it home safe and sound. Better day.

Snake! (take two)

Once again, we were lucky enough to find a snake in our yard. Now I am not too familiar with snakes (and in fact have mistaken worms for them), so I see a bright red snake and immediately assume its out to get us.
We found this bad boy trying desparately to get away from Tom.
While Tom carefully held on to him, I goggled the internets to see if I could decifer which snake this was. I quickly learned that it was only a red rat snake and was harmless to us. Well, at least he couldn't poison us with venom, but I am sure this 3 feet beast will be haunting my dreams for awhile.
Ava on the other hand managed to pet the "cute baby snake". (sometimes I have to wonder if Ava really is my daughter as you will never hear me use the word "cute" in the same sentence as snake).

Welcome home sea turtle!

While visiting Ohio in August, Ava accidently left behind her beloved sea turtle at our friends' house. Luckily to ease the pain (being our pain from listening to her cry about "where sea turtle are") Uncle Dan stepped in and surprised her with another stuffed turtle. This worked very well as Ava came to love her new Toby turtle and asked about sea turtle less and less.
Well, today in the mail, Ava received a package. It was her beloved sea turtle! I think time may have stood still for a moment as she hugged that silly animal like crazy. And she hasn't let go of it since.

Thank you Frank and Dixie for sending beloved sea turtle! Ava missed it.

Tube Sock Tuesday (no, seriously)

I told you I wasn't kidding. We are wearing tube socks every Tuesday at the gym! (I am sporting those hot pink rasta socks). Don't love 'em till you try 'em!
I think this photo could be worth quite a bit of money one day...especially with the guys sporting some mighty bright socks. Dude!

In other beloved "Y" news, the YFL challenge is under way. So far, so good. Not dead yet. I think our team has half a shot at doing half well. I suppose so with a team like the "Power Puffs".
I'll be tackling the individual challenges later this week, so I will be sure to post about them then (if I survive).

Eleven years, 4 months, 19 days and counting...

until Bryn could drive a real full size car. Ack! I shutter to think of that day!
Until then, I will just cringe as I watch Bryn and Ava drive around mere inches away from my car.
Even though I think my hair would be gray if I didn't color it, it's worth it to catch the laughter on their faces. (and yes, I am going to dress them the same until they tell not to anymore- just add it to the list of things they can tell their therapists one day). My Mom dressed my sister and me the same for years and so far I think I am normal...or at least give the initial impression of normal.





And I think this one may have some Christmas card potenial...I just had to play around with the black and white editing.


Of course because we were outside, there was lizard hunting...although I gotta say Ava's method is a little unorthodox. (she's more of a "hands on" kind of girl).


And this one totally captures Ava's ever serious little personality. If you look very closely, you'll she her beloved "sea turtle" in the bottom left corner. She carries him everywhere!