PUMPKIN CARVING!!

Okay, so the first few were a little botched, but we soon figured out which parts to actually cut out, and which parts to leave. I love this time of year... pumpkin patch, the farm tour, pumpkins galore and chilly weather (good for big fat-hiding sweaters!!) The girls, as usual, have been having a lot of fun with picking costumes, going to parties, and carving pumpkins. Here are a few of our creations. Maddox wasn't too sure about the slimy gunk, but he did like the knives. Keeping him out of them was next to impossible.

Everyone is looking forward to the festivities tomorrow night!!

Mrs. Williams Class Party Fun!

Makena's class party was also exciting with mummy wrapping, ghouls, cupcakes and all! My beautiful bride of darkness was one of the cutest of them all I must say! Her best friends Madison and Morgan were chosen to be wrapped in the mummy contest.

Maiki's Class Party for Halloween

First party at the new school! Maiki's class with Ms. Ross set up centers for "graveyard making", skeleton making, mask making, etc. The kiddos had a blast and I'm sure there will be repercussions later from all of the sugar!

Brown Chicken Brown Cow....

Here is our little Mad Man, who enjoys singing, "Brown Chicken Brown Cow..." and dancing naked around the house. He will love this when he's old enough to understand. Ha!

Before I forget my sour patch kid can be sweet....

Mad Man was a little bored today...We went to Target and Goodwill.  Looked at monsters, skeletons, played outside, worked on colors.... but mommy wasn't good enough today.  He looked at me a little after lunch and said, "Girls home... I love them."  Of course, that was right before he was on to his next ghoulish little boy maneuver of hitting the dog, or something along those lines.  Just like the commercial...Sour, sweet, gone.  :)

On another note...Maiki found a little frog outside this afternoon and HAD to bring it in so she could take it to school tomorrow.  Before heading to bed, we all decided to check on the nasty little creature only to find, it was not in it's snug little cage.  So, the mad hunt was on...How the little guy got out, we will never know, but the antics of the three of us squealing when he was discovered hopping around in the living room was a sight I'm sure!   Needless to say, he was found, recovered and QUICKLY tossed outside.  School will have to wait another day for a Maiki show-and-tell!

Let the Madness Begin......

This is Maddox. He is also known as Mad Man, the Madness, Maddie (which Grandpa hates), Max and just Mad depending on the day. Today, he was Madness - full force. Don't let the sweet face below fool you.

Yes, this one is a glimpse of the REAL Mad Man. The one who started pooping in the big boy toilet today....

Yes, this sweet little face. Learning to poop should not be such a big task. But, for this little boy, it is just one more experiment in "What can I do to drive mommy and daddy crazy today?"

Yep. This is him - big boy Under Roos and all. Right after....

He pooped on the floor and drove his "dump" truck through the mess, much to his liking, and mommy's horror. Yep, don't mess with this one. He is my Sour Patch Kid. Love him or leave him. The Madness.

Tour de Farm 2009

It is fall indeed! Time for the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, 2009!! We had a great weekend touring all of the farms, or at least quite a few of them. Saturday we hit Pendletons and the Davenport Winery. LOVED some of the wine, but Mike didn't get to taste. (A great excuse for me to visit again on Sunday!)

Sunday, we hit an old favorite, Hammil's, another Winery we didn't like as much, Lawrence Landscape, the Chocolate place (can't remember the name) and the Davenport Vineyard again.

This is a GREAT and very cheap weekend if you ever get a chance to go. www.kawvalleyfarmtour.org. Happens every year in the Douglas County area. We had a blast and picked corn out of Mad Man's diaper the rest of the day!!

Maiki sampling some of the grapes at Davenport Winery
Fun at Hammil's in the mums...

Buried in corn... hey - it's better than sand any day!

My sweet, sweet girl.

My girl, Maiki.... she is the sweetest thing on earth. I am convinced of that. I often refer to her as my "forgotten child". She used to drive me crazy when she was smaller. She was even worse than the Mad Man (although Mike will never admit this). She would disappear and I could guarantee she was doing something that I used to see as destructive - glueing, coloring on walls, cutting something - often hair.

Now, as she gets older, and I'm seeing the little baby fade away all too quickly, I am realizing that she isn't destructive, at least not on purpose. She is just extremely loveable, and caring, and creative. My little caterpillar is turning into a butterfly right before my eyes.

This note made me both happy, and sad. She wrote me this note the other day. Makena was invited to a sleepover at a friend's house. Maiki, as usual, had nowhere to go. So, we stayed home and had another Maiki night. We watched scary shows, did arts and crafts, ate lots of junk. She loved every minute of it. So did I. No one was competing for the attention I was giving her, and it was heaven for us both.

She was upset she didn't get to go to a friend's, but this note is the result of the time she had with us instead. It broke my heart. I forget sometimes how much those moments mean to each of them, but most of all to her. She is very appreciative - but never demanding - of any time she gets to herself. She is my sweet, sweet girl.