Busy Weekend

Claire turned 3 and we went to her birthday party. She was so cute. It was a princess theme and no, Landon wasn't the only boy there. lol

Claire licked her entire cupcake clean then when Abby wasn't looking her cupcake got replaced with the already cleaned off one and she started in on Abby's! It was hysterical.

Then we hit the park. It's a place that Landon and I enjoy. I was toting around the Eat, Pray, Love book that I've been waiting to start whenever I have a free minute or two but haven't seemed to be able to do it, a bag of bread for the birds even though there were none that we saw when we first walked around, and my camera of course!

I wanted to get a picture of Landon next to these beautiful flowers and this is the shot I got. lol Apparently they smelt too good! lol Funny boy!

This bench captivated me. When it becomes cold people forget about these seats that are waiting to be used. The autumn leaves are falling and color is now filling the vast green that cover places like the park. Benches are forgotten when it's cold, rainy, and when the sunset gets earlier and earlier. I love old, forgotten things.

Then we made our way down to the water's edge and Landon spotted some geese. He took off toward them and I told him that if he ran he would scare away the ducks. So he started tip toeing toward them. It was so funny. I laughed out loud at his antics. They are neverending and I love it.

"Daddy here! YAY!"

For months Landon and I have been praying for James to get home safely from his second tour in Iraq. So when it came to DAYS till he was back, Landon became extatic! He asked every morning and evening when we were going to the airport. Then the day arrived. I woke up before the sun was even up or coming up and Landon groggily woke up till my mom asked him while getting him dressed if he knew what today was... to which his eyes popped open and he sat up! "Today I get to see my daddy!" he practically yelled. lol When we showed up at the Seattle Airport, Tamara and Tyler were already there waiting. Landon played with Tyler till he heard me say that his dad's plane had landed. After that, when Tyler tried to get Landon to run around with him, Landon stayed rooted and said, "No I'm waiting for my dad." It was awsome to see them reunite after so long apart. Landon would not let go of his dad and I don't think James' smile could have gotten any wider.

So since we picked him up and spent some time together, Landon is always wanting to call his dad. But instead of me dialing the number, he wants to dial the phone number himself. So every time he calls his dad it takes a good 2-5 minutes to tell him all the numbers and make sure the number's correct before he pushes the call button. Then he proudly tells his dad that he dialed his number. He's such an independent boy with so much willpower and love inside. Last night he got out of bed after story time to tell me that we forgot to say bedtime prayers! I think that was my proudest moment of the day.

I love my spiderman loving, wanna watch Handy Mandy right out of dead sleep in the morning, "I'm gonna go fart in the dirty clothes" little man.

August and September

These last two months have seemed to slip by and thankfully I took some pictures to capture what happened during that time otherwise I might not have remembered. lol Been trying to spend time with family and friends. Going to football games is something that I have always loved and eating sunflower seeds while watching the plays is something new to me, but I think it might be a staple soon. :) My nephew plays on the JV team in Finley and sometimes on the Varsity and so Landon and I make it out there when it's a home game to cheer him on. This last time though Landon tripped while walking (which is a normal almost daily thing with him when he's going to fast and not paying attention to what's in front of him or under him) and cut up his elbow... which I didn't realize till someone told me I had blood on my neck! hahaha Yay! Especially with wearing the white cardigan I had on. lol Well we got it cleaned up and uncle bought him a licorice rope! No wonder why Landon likes him so much! hahaha I love the atmosphere around football and if they made a football team in the Tri-Cities for women I would be one of the first to volunteer. *dreaming of my Powder Puff days* :) This is Shelby (1/2 head), April with Logan, Wendy and Me.

Landon is Jeff's "buddy" and he loves to hang around him. Jeff always seems to have something that Landon would LOVE to eat or play with. :) So they are always close together when in the same room. I love the patience that Jeff has and the fact that he likes to rough play with him sometimes too. Landon doesn't get that too much with me... the last time he rough played with me I got hurt and told him to just rough play with the guys like Uncle Tom, Uncle Leon or Jeff. :)

This would be the bruise that Landon got when we were running the park together in and out of these parking things. I was running with Landon behind me and all of a sudden I hear the intake of breath and a thunk... that was Landon's head hitting the pavement after he tripped. Poor dude. Then a couple of days afterwards he ended up hitting the bruise on the side of my sister's coffee table while running in the house! I swear I am going to get his eyes tested asap.

Leah (my sister and daycare lady) took the kids to the Benton County Fair. They had a blast and here are some pictures of their day. I wish I could do collages like others do for their blogs, but I don't have the program to do it. So hope you are patient with the long line of pictures to follow...

Landon had a blast and didn't want me to wash off his spongebob that night at bathtime. lol He was so tired and had so much fun with NaNa and Leah and the kids.

This is my nephew Drake who is the cutest little thing. He is the most laid back, cuddly, smiley baby I know. I love his hugs and smiles. He and I have this thing that any time he sees me he comes over and plays with my earrings and necklaces. :) Thankfully none have been torn out or broken.

Misty and her family came over to go school shopping before school started and here is my favorite picture from their visit. :)

Linzey's first day of 2nd Grade! :)

Linzey went hunting with Alex and her dad and they came back with A LOT of trophies! :) She had a blast and couldn't stop talking about it for days.

This is a picture that Landon took of me and that I really like. It's funny. People don't understand that Landon knows EXACTLY how to work my camera... better than some adults who have used it. He knows how to take a picture, zoom in/out, review the pictures and turn my camera on and off while remembering to take off/on the lens cap. He definitely has given me a run for my money some days, but I love seeing his work from his point of view.

Ocean Paradise

The ocean has this calming effect on my attitude, my physical wellness, and my unvacationed self. I am so glad I was able to go to visit the ocean (however short it was) because it has a healing remedy. Maybe it's the combination of the seasalt in the air or the billion bits of sand on the shore that call to you or the neverending coast line that doesn't seem to end and is beautiful beyond description. We played in the sand, got splashed by unexpected waves while taking pictures, saw dead crabs, starfish, and lots of seaweed, and walked in the drizzle and rain that often times happens with the season this time of year. Even with the rain, Landon and I enjoyed every second the the coast to the point that there were MANY times that I had to drag Landon in to take a nap or because it was getting too cold and rainy. hahaha I love the ocean. I love it.

One of my favorite photos of Landon. It shows his determination to do what he puts his mind to. :) He is an amazing boy who has a kind hard, a pleasing attitude and the best smile that is contagious as all heck. I love him!

This is when it was so windy and he was turning in circles and laughing hysterically. When he turned toward the wind the umbrella would shut. Then he turned away from it and it would flap open and a bout of untamed laughter would erupt. I loved it. Music to my ears and definitely made my heart smile.

We had a blast and Landon was amazingly good. I bought Dominos and am addicted to it. It's a way for me to release my stress while using my puzzle solving skills while trying to kick someone's toosh (not always but I TRY!)! I find it funny because I can watch a movie while playing dominos and snacking on something as well as trying to get Landon to stay in bed after story time and my friend can ONLY play dominos. If he tries to do more than that I think his brain might errupt. I think that's why they call us Mom. :)