Carving Jack-o-Lanterns...scary stuff

So, we got home from a long weekend, and realized - it's the last weekend before Halloween!  We have these pumpkins sitting out back that needed to be carved.  So we carved.  It was a huge mess but lots of fun.. After we were done, Taylor wanted to go see her "orange thing" and we ended up letting her sleep with her lantern in her room.

AJ kept wanting to touch everything, stick his hands in the pumpkin goo, and rub it all over his legs... YUCK

The kids were totally entranced by the carving and gutting of the "orange things"

Every time we looked away, AJ was grabbing the pumpkin tops and throwing them on the ground.  I wonder what that translates to when he's an adult...

AJ loved playing with the scooper and splattering me and Taylor with goo!

Taylor is at this age where she doesn't seem to ever want to smile normally.  Every time we try to get her to smile, we either get a half wink or this weird hugely open eye look.  It's hilarious to watch.

Here it is again...her "smiling eyes" - Such a nut!

The best way we can get her to smile for a picture is to quote commercials.  Sometimes we say to her "moisturizing and comforting" or "knobby knees" or "skinny minnie" or "it's a bonus".  No idea why these things make her laugh so hard, but I know I like to watch infomercials, so maybe it's genetic.

Here we are, final product.  Taylor's pumpkin has 4 eyes and a sad mouth.  It was a lot of fun, in the past, we had bought the pumpkins and not bothered to carve them.  Also, it's impossible to find a good pumpkin carving knife.. maybe I just don't know what to look for.

Clam Bake and a visit to Steve and Si's!

We had a very long and busy weekend!  We went down to visit the family for a clam bake.  If you're not sure what a clam bake is... it's a big metal bucket with sea-food, potatos, corn, sausage, cooked over an open flame. It looks like this:

Nicky loves these kinds of foods, and I don't.  I go mostly because it's a great excuse to see everyone and to hang out with the family.  We had fun, Taylor and Aunt Star went to the swings 4 different times over the course of 5 hours.

Katie and Gary have been wakeboarding constantly, like literally 3+ days per week.  They just bought a new car to tow the boat.  It's very nice and seats 7 or 8 people comfortably.

For some reason the rocks were a huge hit with both Taylor and AJ.  Not sure what was so appealing about the rocks, but..yeah.  Lots of fun hanging around with everyone!

After the clam bake, we headed over to Steve and Si's house to hang out for the night and the next day.  It was great to see them again.

Ben is really funny, very thoughtful baby.  He makes great eye contact and you can tell the wheels are turning.  Wish I knew what he thought of whats going on around him.

You're doing it wrong!

We went to the park and AJ was showing off how good he is at standing up!  He turned 11 months old yesterday, and he took his first few steps this week.  He'll be walking in no time!

After all that standing, he fell asleep on the swings!  So funny to watch him as he slowly fell asleep!

Good fun, and a busy weekend.  I have some more pics from when we got home, they'll be in the next post!

Apple Hill and some other cute pics

So I'm kindof a slacker at updating as often as I would like.  Over the weekend we went to Apple Hill, then to Blaze's birthday party, followed by a trip to the gym.  And that's just Saturday.  Sunday was grocery shopping, park and gym.  So anyway, here's the update!

We had heard lots of great things about Apple Hill, and we finally made it out to see what everything was about. Let me say, it was really a great time.  Lots of neat farms and things to see, and lots of yummy food to eat.

We started out, just about 9am at one of the farms rumored to have excellent apple strudels and apple pies.  It was really fun, they had this pumpkin stand that no one was using and we got some cute pictures of Taylor selling pumpkins.  We tried to get her to say "$8, take it or leave it bub!".. she did it, but we didn't manage to catch it on camera.

After that, we went to the farm called Rainbow, where they had some neat animals in the form of a little petting zoo, and a short nature walk.  AJ really loved the animals, loved petting and feeding them.  Taylor was more shy, except when it came to the pigs, where she couldn't get enough of them.  She also got to ride a pony!

Next up was Lunch (no pics), and on to the farm that was for the grandparents.  I encourage anyone who is going to apple hill with grandparents, go check out Bill's farm.  I can't remember the name but it starts with "Bill's".  Lots of neat flowers, windmills and some cool apple treats.

So that was Apple Hill! Great fun, lots of neat food and a fun place to take the kids.  Also, before I go, a few pictures and videos of kids around the house.  AJ is climbing things every chance he gets, and they're finally starting to play together nicely.

Back at work

So after my long 2.5 week vacation I'm back at work.  It's a strange thing to be back.  Before my vacation I was feeling frustrated and like I needed a change.  At least for now, it's sorta fun again.  I like it when my work is busy and challenging, and sometimes it can be those things that revitalize it a bit.  I have some new reps on my team who are learning to do their jobs, and I have to say, it's making for a fresh change that I think I needed.

We've started weight training in addition to our other routines.  I've realized it makes things more simple if we keep our routine basic and with lots of large group muscle exercises.  For example, our routine is currently: 2x per week, we do Squats, Bench, and Pullups.  Each exercise we do 2 sets of 12 at one weight, then 2 sets of 8 at a higher weight.  Very basic, easy to remember, and so far, we're loving it.

In terms of our running, we're up to 20 minutes straight, and closing in on the end of the current workout plan.  My goal for running is to run an 8 minute mile for 40 minutes.  It's a long way to go from where we are now, but then again, we've accomplished a lot so far.  One of my co-workers is going to be running/riding in a Biathlon in January, and we'll probably do it too.  It's sortof the natural next step in our progression, and sounds like it could be fun.

Aj has started feeding himself, just a bit.  He's at the clumsy stage where he picks up a goldfish, and tries to put it into his mouth, but instead it falls down his shirt.  It's very funny to watch, because when he gets it into his mouth, he looks up at us, all proud and happy to have accomplished it.  Taylor has started the "Why?" game.  I've been looking forward to this stage since we decided to have a kid.  I love trying to come up with answers to all of her why questions, and making a game of it.. Sometimes she doesn't even bother listening for the answer to one why before she moves to the next why.  My little scientist!

Nicky and I are looking forward to Apple Hill.. it's our first time, we'll try to take lots of pics

Staycation and the Zoo!

So over the past few days, we've been enjoying the vacation life.  Santa Cruz is fun, but it's more relaxing somehow, staying home, hanging out with the kids, running, lifting, playing racketball and just enjoying my time off.  Couple of funny pictures...

It's funny to watch how kids grow up to do the things their parents do, and here's Tay, playing a Blue's Clue's game on NickJr.

Something about the way the screen says "Experience It" and the look on AJ's face just caught me here.  He's getting to be a really cute baby, and his personality is very warm and inviting... Experience It!

Then today, Meme and Pops came down, and we went to the zoo!  Honestly it was a pretty terrible experience.  Taylor was going nuts, and I can't say I blame her.  Most of the animals are asleep, and they're usually way back in the cage where you can barely see them.  Some of the cages are empty, and most of the learning exhibits are broken.

So we left the zoo and headed back to the car.  We were literally on our way down the road when we drove past a place called Funderland.  We had a couple hours left so we decided to give it a shot... and it was excellent.  A complete 180 from the zoo.  Unfortunately the camera died, so I only have cell phone pics of this..

Taylor had a blast, AJ had fun, and we were glad to find something that was enjoyable NEAR the zoo!

I'll leave you with this last picture, I wish I could come up with a great caption for it, cause it's begging for one.  Feel free to comment with any caption ideas!

What a great vacation!

So Nicky and I are almost at our 5 year anniversary, and we took our vacation a little early, as that's when Meme and Pops were able to come watch the kids for a couple days.

We went to Santa Cruz and stayed in a hotel for 2 nights.  It was excellent!  We got to sleep in both days, stay up as late as we wanted, and eat at all the restaurants we haven't eaten at in a while.  Being in Santa Cruz reminded me of being in college again, walking around downtown, no responsibilities or chores to do.

It was easy to get a little nostalgic, missing the old times, but I realize what we're doing now is good too, just in a different way.  I don't regret the changes we've made, but it sure was nice to get a little blast from the past.

Also, Taqueria Villarta is still as good as it ever was!