Haunted Hike at Creasey Mahan

Saturday afternoon we headed out to Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve for their Haunted Hike--they had a great turnout and did a really nice job! The haunted trail was full of cartoon characters (and not scary), and Lewis enjoyed running along the trail and getting candy along the way. They also had booths, a hayride (with a long line...we skipped that), and an area with bigger inflatables (we skipped that, too),

Mom and Dad decided that morning to come down and join us, so we were glad they were able to go. We also met up with Tonya from Mom Group and her son, Carlton, and husband, Bo. The weather was perfectly fall-like for most of the time--then it really chilled down while we were eating dinner. I was glad because I'd worried that Lew's costume would be too warm, but it was just right. :)

 Dada with Lewis the Lion

 Roar! 

 

 The tail! Oh, the tail...

 

 Checking out a (fake) spider 

  :)

 

Lewis says, "Hi, Carlton!" 

Along the haunted trail, they had one inflatable that Lewis could run around in--I wasn't sure how he'd do, but he loved it! He could have stayed in there for hours--we had to have Kevin go in and get him because he couldn't/wouldn't leave on his own. :)

 

 

 

  

  So much fun!

 Running ahead on the trail...

  

He was skeptical about some/most of the characters. 

 And excited to find a few construction trucks next to Bob the Builder. 

 Not sure what to think. 

 Ride 'em, cowboy!

(The bull was taxidermy-ed, in a bucking stance.)

 Who the heck are you?

 

 Halloween 2012

 Raptor Rehab had a booth with 3 owls on display, so we stopped to talk to the girl for a bit (and learned quite a lot!). 

 Barn Owl

 Eastern Screech Owl

 Great Horned Owl

Her name was something funny like Hagitha, and they call her Hag. She's apparently not that friendly, and I think the girl said she's 16-17 years old. So, an old hag. :)

 Carlton, kicked back and relaxed watching the Barn Owl. :)

 What a fun afternoon! 

 Thanks again for coming down, Papaw and Gramma!

We have plans to get to the zoo for their big Halloween Party one weekend this month, too, so Lewis will get to wear his costume at least 1 more time.

Goodbye, Tomatoes...I'm Not Sure I Ever Want to See You Again

I slaughtered the tomato plants this morning. To say it was satisfying is an understatement. :) They'd slowed down production the past few weeks, and the cherry (tomato) plant was starting to block the sidewalk where the garage's side door is. It was time. :)

A few last shots of the cherry (hiding the 2nd tomato plant somewhere in there), in all her glory:

 

 If you can't tell, she is planted on the left end and has spread allllll the way to the right end of the raised bed.

 Mighty root ball (of the cherry)

And after the slaughter:

 

 Lewis, helping me scoop the dirt out, one handful at a time, onto the patio...

Three lawn bags full

I really hope all of the rotten tomatoes that dropped don't try to come back next year. I'm not sure that I want that many tomatoes ever again.

All that's left now is a sweet bell pepper plant. I thought those were a 'summer' thing, but they've just shown up over the past month or so. I guess we'll taste them soon and see if they are any good. I would say the garden's successes were tomatoes, zucchini, and basil (and maybe bell pepper). The failures were peas, green beans, and strawberries, all of which were shaded out by the cherry tomato plant.

Throw Pillows (almost)

Way back, even before we chose our new couch, I bought fabric to make some throw pillow slipcovers for upstairs and downstairs. I'm pretty sure I bought the 4 pillow forms OVER a year ago, possibly/probably more. The arrival of the couch finally kicked me into action, so today during nap (and after--thanks, Kevin!), I finally made them, almost.

I swear I read the tutorial well and bought the amount of fabric the lady said to, but somehow (probably my faulty cutting skills, that's how) I ended up a bit short. I had enough to complete 3 of the 4, but I need to go back and buy 1 more foot to finish the other half of the back on the 4th one. I tried to piece together my scraps to make a FrankenPillow, but it was looking really sad after the 3rd piece was sewn together and as I was pinning a 4th and 5th piece. It was a mess.

Here are the 2 upstairs on the new couch:

 

They overlap in the back and can be easily removed for washing. I'm going to see if they stretch out any further--if they do, I might take them in another 1/2 inch all around to make them fit the pillow a bit more snugly.

Here is the tutorial I used, though I omitted a lot of her extra steps (no zigzag and no trim).

The New Couch is Here!

And we love, love, LOVE it! It is so comfortable (I mean soooooo comfortable) and so roomy--enough room for us and Lewis and the dogs to have a space to sit/lay at the same time. And it arrived 2-4 weeks earlier than promised! The coffee table is a tight fit, so I need to find something a tad smaller, but I anticipated that when we made our decision.

Out with the old, stained, uncomfortable, hole-y (thanks, dogs), faded, nasty couch and chair: 

 

Though I hated that chair, it did serve a purpose in blocking Lewis from climbing through the bottom sections of the wood wall. :) He's doing okay without it.

In with the new (and the flash is making it look shinier than it is in person...):

 Hello, lover... 

 Peter, finding his 'spot'

 

 Lew approves (even though his walk-around-the-table-space is tight)! 

Peter, still deciding which corner he likes best. :)

Kevin gets the award for making the first stain on it--I found melted/smushed Hershey's chocolate bar where he ate chocolate with graham crackers last evening. Busted!

Invasion of the Butts

We had guests this past weekend--the Butts (all 7 of them!). It was a full house, but we had a very nice visit. We had a campfire Saturday on which we cooked hoboes, corn on the cob, and s'mores. After the kids went to bed, we adults stayed up and talked around the fire--it was perfect sittin'-'round-the-fire weather.

Around midnight, we headed inside to go to bed, and Peter and Hattie barked. They were in our room with (a sleeping) Lewis, and they woke him up. We tried to sneak around and not wake him further, but he just stood in his Pack-n-Play and stared at us. Eventually he started yelling out, so we grabbed him and pulled him into bed with us (to avoid him waking up the entire house). From midnight to 5am, he laid with us, mostly awake. I think Kevin and I drifted off to sleep a few times (as Lew probably did, too). Then he would suddenly stand up. Or try to crawl over Kevin. Or pull my hair. Or say 'Vroom Vroom' or 'Hattie' or 'Mama' over and over, etc. JUST when we'd think he was asleep, he'd make some other noise or one of the dogs would get a (SO LOUD) drink of water. He didn't fight when we pulled him back to lay down. He finally fell asleep at 5:08am, and I awoke at 8:30 to the sound of one of the Butt boys crying. Sooo, we're all still working on a sleep deficit--I think we're just about caught up now.

Sunday we headed out to Henry's Ark (petting zoo)--it was a beautiful morning for it. I forgot that Kendra has a fear of birds, and there were SO many damn birds, chickens, ducks, emus, etc. everywhere. I think there were a particularly large amount that day. It was pretty funny watching her trying (and failing) to keep her cool in front of the kids. We saw the animals and handed out our carrots, and then we headed back for lunch and naps. The girls and I carved a pumpkin during naptime, which was fun, and then they all headed out just before dinnertime. Crazy busy compared to our normal lives, but we're so glad they came and we had a great time!

 Fun with Play-Doh

 Norah on the Gas, Lewis on the Wheel

 Kevin and I 'Babysitting'

Kevin told Tony and Kendra that we could watch their kids while they ran to the store (it was really fun and no problem at all--it was just funny that he volunteered us to do so), so he and I were in charge of 6 at one time (their 5 plus our 1). The 2 older girls were inside in the basement, so we really just had to keep the younger 4 safe and happy and out of the campfire that we were simultaneously trying to get going. It was crazy there for a little bit! :)

 Kevin and Jenson

 Norah and Lewis

 Loving her long, beautiful hair!

 Buddies

 Lew, checking out the goats at Henry's Ark

 

 Pumpkin Carving with Sophie (Lily and Norah, too)

 Messy Hands

The pumpkin seeds were so good (roasted with olive oil and salt). I have another pumpkin for our house, so I'm excited to get to eat those seeds again soon! 

 Edison

He liked sitting on the air mattress, and he really liked it when Lily and Norah ran and jumped on it to make him bounce. He, like Lewis, is a big fan of cars. He would roll them around and say 'Wheeee!'

The big hotspot in our basement on Sunday was the teepee. Many, many children were trying to all play inside at once. :) Kevin took a couple of pictures:

Jenson, Norah, Lewis 

Blurry Lewis, Jenson, Norah

Norah has a pretty heavy/probably kind of dangerous in that particular situation, Maglite flashlight. Oh well! No bumps or bruises.

Side Note: Lewis DOES currently have a black eye from, of all things, a roll of crescent rolls! He was getting in the fridge last week (his new favorite thing), and Kevin heard him cry out and walked in to find him holding his eye with a package of crescent rolls on the floor. Poor buddy! :)

I Made Hooded Towels!

After streeeetching Lew's baby towels to the limit, I realized that he needed bigger ones. We have a couple, but I wanted to try to make a couple more. I used this tutorial, and it was perhaps the easiest thing I've ever made. It literally took less than an hour to make 2 of them (you cut 1 hand towel in half and use each half on 2 full-sized towels). So now he has toddler-sized towels, just in time for the colder months. :) Easy peasy.

 

Warm and Snuggly (with room to grow)