A Devilishly Good Time at The Patch

Everytime the weekend comes up, I look forward to catching up on laundry... it never happens! I wish it were easy to just stay put and get it all done, but these boys need to be out of the house as much as possible while the weather is nice.

Saturday, Dominic's winless soccer team remained so. This was the first game after being reseeded and they played with only one sub available. They were missing 3 or 4 players for some reason. They played better defensively, I thought, but still no goals. Donovan, once again, couldn't wait to get out on that field during half-time to make his goal. He thinks that's the coolest thing. Yet, when big brother stands in the way to block his shot - well, he doesn't think that is cool at all!

This is what happens when you're

left alone at Grandma Gertie's house!

We followed up the afternoon with haircuts for the boys. Thank goodness! I wanted to get that done before Picture Day for Dominic at school. They look so much better... and lighter!

Sunday was Pumpkin Patch Day and Kyle's Birthday. We went with the cousins to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm again. We got too busy to go last year. This time we planned it at least a few weeks ahead of time. It's so much fun to see the faces on the kids as they explore their little world. It was surprisingly a warm day. We had a picnic lunch in the apple orchard, played in the 3-story treehouse, romped around the petting zoo, got lost in the corn maze and took a hayride out to the patches of pumpkins. The boys got dirty and worn out. Me too!

Donovan as Ewe B. Wooly, Dominic as Mayor Goatree, Bianca as Father O'Mule, Sydney as Howie Holstein and Peyton as Chief Hog

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Lastly, we went to have dinner with the rest of the family and celebrate Papa Gertie's Birthday. And that, I'll save for another post!

Happy 1/2 Year Baby!

Okay, so he's already passed the 1/2 year mark, but Devin had his well-child visit just this past Monday. Our lil' squirt is doing extremely well (ahem, I think we're on the verge of his first cold for the season). He received 4 immunizations (1 flu shot) and an oral vaccine for RSV. Poor, poor guy. He had a 12 hour delay on a reaction to those immunizations, which lead to a bath at 12:30 AM the next day. He's a slobbery, babbling bunch of fun! Can I get a drum roll please?....

Weight - 18 lbs.

Height - 27 inches

Head Circ. - 44 cm.

Stopping to breathe...

These days seem to blend together lately. Our last weekend was busy with soccer and Apple Hill one day and the Veggie Chase and Kyle Remembrance the next. We ended Sunday with a trip to the store, in which Donovan and I went inside to grocery shop while the others waited in the car. After loading up 3 bags of groceries, Rudy starts the car, only to hear "click.click.click." - dead battery! I thought for sure we'd have to sit there in the parking lot waiting for help, while eating the ice cream we purchased before it melted. But darned if the kind gentleman in the stall next to us ready to leave asked if we needed a jump. Wow! Really? Kind people really DO exist! (Not that I didn't doubt that, but it seems more and more people are rushed these days to be able to take time out for a stranger.) Perhaps it was the "minivan family" look that we possessed which tugged at their kind soul? So, with a jump start later from a kind man from New Hampshire (!), we we're well on our way....HOME. Swell, there's ANOTHER sit-down family dinner plan destroyed. Dominic and Dad worked on the car, went to get a new battery, installed it in the dark, whilst the rest of us got bathed and ready for bed. Did somebody feed the dogs?

Anyhoo... We went to the annual Sharing Parents Memorial during that afternoon. It was beautiful, as always. They ALWAYS play the most tearful songs. Meaningful, but tearful. And to hear poems and messages from those who suffer such painful losses is heartbreaking. Sharing Parents is a wonderful organization that has been formed from a group of people sharing a common thread. We think of Baby Kyle often and evermore so during the month of October. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Chasing Veggies

If you don't eat them, run with them! And if you do eat them, then good for you! The boys were pooped from yesterday's Apple Hill adventure. So pooped that Dominic was the last to get up this morning (even with his alarm ringing!). Daddy got up to go to work (on a Sunday?) for a few hours.

The boys and I geared up to run with veggies at the Veggie Chase 5k and Kids Runs. This was the first time doing this event for us and it was fun. Hopefully next year I won't be by myself and I can run too, instead of escorting my own little pea pod around. Apparently, this event is becoming more popular and each year is a learning experience for them. The turnout was awesome. Lots of kids and their families. I registered Dominic and Donovan, so they each got a T-shirt out of the deal. They ran out of race numbers when we got there, so they went without. We skipped the 5k and headed right to the events that I signed the boys up for. They each got to run in their age group. We all ran with Donovan, and then Dominic got to go by himself. The look of fear took over Dominic once he reached the finish line and saw a sea of people that didn't look familiar. The events were great for the kids. The veggies were hilarious running around in their gear. The kids were so enthusiastic to run pass them, bettering their chances to getting a medal in the end. All participants in the 5k got a medal. The group races got ribbons, however, they ran out right after the Diaper Dash set of kids finished. The kids enjoyed freebies from Jamba Juice and others, and spent even more energy in the bounce houses. It was a lot of fun, but would be more fun if I had that "parent-switch" option like they have at Disneyland, because there were times when I would have liked to have gone out with the kids to chase veggies, instead of pushing a stroller around. Next year maybe!

Baby, it's cold outside!

It's Harvest Time! The fall freshness is in the air and the urge to go to Apple Hill got the best of us today. Naturally it was quite crowded, but we were able to get to our regular stops without too much trouble... just a few extra minutes stuck in traffic. It was quite chilly and made for extra sales of hot chocolate and coffee. Dominic ate a record amount of doughnuts this time so a few more minutes running up and down hills burning off that sugar did him good. Devin was all bundled up most of the time and Donovan loved picking up any pumpkins we came across.

The boys were excited to bring out the "foot-jammies" tonight. I'm wishing I had some myself!

Fun Fellows

Street Vibrations and Devin Visitations

Rudy was feeling some sort of vibe and signed his mom and I up for Bingo Blowout in Reno (Sparks) this past weekend. His vibe lead us all to travel the distance, minus Devin. We missed the little bugger, but know that he enjoyed some Grandma and Papa Gertie time on his first overnighter away from his brothers.

The mother-in-law and I sat on our tushes for nearly 7 hours of Bingo on Saturday. We had a pact going in that if we won any of the games, that we'd split the pot. We got close to winning...honest! It just wasn't our day. Perhaps next time.

Speaking of vibes, Reno was infested with motorcycles while we were there for their annual Street Vibrations. I've never seen so much leather, scarves, boots and tattoos. Yeesh! Donovan really enjoyed seeing the "moyocycles" on the road as we passed them and sometimes they passed us - not so safely either.

So after dumping our daycare payment into the slot machines and on the craps tables, we made the trek back home to pick up our missing child (It was wierd not having him with us!) and take Grandma Avila back home.

Thank you Mom and Dad for watching Devin for us so that we could go play. Rudy says he's got to be 10 lbs. heavier from all of his bottle devouring... and the half-empty container of formula proves it!

Donovan and Dominic got back into the
Spiderman theme while we were at Circus Circus again.

Devin enjoyed the great outdoors with Papa and Grandma.