Spring is Flinged!

We took full advantage of the gorgeous weather this weekend by spending 80% of it outside.  Whether at the playground, at a BBQ or a Spring Fling, we fully embraced the warmth and luckily, the over-abundance of pollen in the air did not affect any of us (yet).

Saturday morning started out with a quick trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house where James played with Lucy and Ella in the back yard.  You may not believe it, but our Lucy is not always a fan of other puppies - especially when they take the attention of Grandpa away from her, so we have slowly been socializing these two lovely ladies.  After 3 successful puppy play dates, we are in the clear. The girls had a blast playing and running and James had an even better time watching them.

Later that day, after a much-needed nap, we headed to the annual Little Rocky Run Spring Fling.  Apparently, this event happens every year at the rec center just down the road from us. 

Never noticed it.  

So sad, but luckily, our neighbors clued us in and we had the chance to bring our little man.  We took it one step further and invited his buddy Rafa to join in on the fun. 

I have to tell you, it was a pretty awesome Fling!  There were pony rides and a small petting zoo, a moon bounce, face painting, an Easter egg hunt AND a real live bunny ready to pose for pictures.  Who needs to go to the mall and pay when you can do it at the Fling!  Of course James was petrified of the oversized bunny, but that didn't stop him from stalking the poor thing...at a safe distance of course.  Rafa does not suffer from the same bunny-phobia that James apparently does.

The boys also participated in the popular Easter egg hunt.  I'm not so sure the boys knew why they were gathering eggs off the ground, but they both seemed to enjoy doing it!

Since the Fling took place at the rec center, the boys also had the chance to play on the playground and James NEVER passes up the chance to go down the slide. 

All in all, it was a great Fling and a great way to kick off Spring.  Later that day, we headed over to the Newlands to break in their new deck with a BBQ.  James was so cute trying to keep up with the older boys - especially Conner.  They both thought is was hilarious to tackle me and use me as a trampoline.

Happy Spring!

Baby's First Halloween

I've never really been a huge fan of Halloween.  I mean, when I was a kid I loved it - who wouldn't?!   Getting dressed up and collecting candy all night long?  When you are little, that is the dream!  But as I got older, the excitement waned.  Not only was it frowned upon to trick or treat after a certain age, I started to feel pressure to come up with a costume that wasn't lame.  There were a few good years here and there, but overall, I would rather stay holed up in the house and pass out candy to the little ones dressed like Batman and Tinkerbell.

This year, that all changed.  Having a little one brings back all the magic of Halloween - even if your little one is only 8 months old!  James' first Halloween began last week at the party Willowcreek Academy threw.  All the kids were dressed up and even some of the staff joined in on the fun.  James dressed as Sheriff Woody from Toy Story and he could not have been cuter.  Too bad he fell asleep and missed most of the party!

On the actual day, James had more Halloween fun.  He dressed as a skeleton during the day and got LOTS of compliments on his oh-so-scary costume.  :)

Due to some unforeseen circumstances (aka spit up), James changed into his Sheriff Woody costume for trick-or-treating.  This time he was bibbed as to not ruin this costume.  We did a little photo shoot before hitting the streets - he was more interested in eating the camera case than smiling for the camera. :)

Because we have the greatest neighbors in the world, they invited us to join them as they walked the neighborhood for candy.  We bundled Sheriff Woody up in his carriage, tucked in his trusty steed Bulls Eye and hit the road.  

The neighborhood kids had some AMAZING costumes this year.  Nate was the powerful Voltron, Connor was an adorable Thomas the Tank and Ariana was a beautiful princess.

Everyone had a great time walking around, collecting candy.  Thomas the Tank needed some assistance up and down the stairs, but luckily there were many adults around to assist!  The men of the street may have had more fun than the kids this year - they had their own kind of candy to make it through the night!

Ed was his usual self and showed more interest in collecting candy than the kids did.  He carried James' pumpkin around and made his way to each door to get his coveted treats.  I think he may have knocked over a kid to get a full sized Hershey bar!  :)

Some of our neighbors went ALL OUT and decked our their houses.  We saw ghosts hanging from trees, a HUGE Grim Reeper, a smoke machine and a clap-activated demon.  Well done Little Rocky Run residents!!

We had a great time trick-or-treating and I think James' really enjoyed himself.  The best part for him was that we were outside in the dark and he got to stay up later than normal.  Ed and I already dove into his candy loot - it's not like he can enjoy it for a few more months!

Happy Halloween!!!

Tanjoubi Omedetou!

Thank God for Google or else I would not have been able to say Happy Birthday in Japanese.  Why am I saying Happy Birthday in Japanese?  Well, earlier this week, our friend Chris Newland celebrated his birthday and let us share it with him at Sakura - an awesome Japanese Steakhouse out here in Fair Lakes.

We were joined by the whole neighborhood crowd and had a fantastic time.  We managed to squeeze 14 chairs around the hibachi table and were entertained by our chef who cooked us a delicious meal. The kids were in awe of the skills of the chef and even James got into all the action!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids LOVED the part when the chef tossed food into the air at them and they had to catch it in their mouths. James' favorite part was when he got to gnaw on Sophie...as usual!

I have mentioned before how lucky we are live next to such wonderful people.  We had a great time and can't wait until our next outing with our new friends.  And I think next year, Chris, you are going to have to share your cake with our little guy.  Happy Birthday!!