5 Little Pumpkins

Click the video on the right first and then the video on the left for the rest. It took 2 takes to get the whole thing in. She didn't have a nap and the attention span was nonexistent, lol.

Nana has this thing she does with the kiddos around Halloween and they all absolutely LOVE it. It goes:

5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one says, "oh my its getting late"

The second one says, "there are witches in the air"

The fourth one says, "oh we don't care "

The fourth one says, "lets run and run and run"

The fifth one says, "now I'm ready for some fun"

(CLAP!) Out went the lights!

woooooooooooooooooooooooo

...and the 5 Little Pumpkins rolled out of sight

Pumpkin Carving

We decided to carve our pumpkins last Saturday. It was a beautiful morning and we even managed to get in some pictures before the yuck weather came through. These are home grown Dawson pumpkins too, from Adam's mom and dad. Grace thought it was great fun. Sydney and Dooley did too :)

Flavor Fruit Farms

We took our second annual trip to Flavor Fruit Farms today. A little different from last year when there was no one there! It was crazy busy with a TON of fun things to do. Matt and Jenny joined us for the little excursion.

Grace loved the animals of course and she put away a donut like it was her job. She really liked the funny little white pumpkins. Just like her: one of a kind!

Even at two little Miss G is still quite shy. I keep waiting for the "stranger danger" to pass but it just doesn't. And its' not just strangers but people she knows well! It is just such a funny thing to me since she is so crazy at home and around her people. Also because I tend to be pretty outgoing so it is hard for me to relate. I just wish everyone could see her true personality instead of her clinging to mama- lol. I have read a little about this shyness in parents magazines and such and it says the best thing to do is to just let them warm up to situations in their own time and never force them to interact if they aren't ready.

It was a wonderful Sunday. Good family fun at the pumpkin patch, a nap, and just hanging at home. Doesn't get much better than that :)

The "Wooden" Anniversary

Friday was our anniversary: October 9th, 2004. We have been married 5 years!! The traditional anniversary present is "wood". There are so many jokes but I just won't go there :) Hahaha.

We sent G off to Grandma's house on Thursday night so we could celebrate. We went to AKA Sushi in Jackson (oh so fab) and then to see "The Informant" with Matt Damon. It was a great night out. Even after 11 years together we still love to talk , or just be together and quiet, and we have always made each other laugh. I really think the secret of a happy marriage is laughter. Adam is and always will be my very best friend and closest confident. I love that no matter what he's got my back.

I worried that when we had Grace our relationship would change. And I think in some ways it has, but for the better. Together, we are weathering the storm that life can be at times and coming out a little bit stronger.

OBX or Bust

(I took way too many pictures so a slideshow for your enjoyment...)

The last week of August we took our one and only family vacation to The Outer Banks of North Carolina. We have been planning this trip for about a year and we were sooooooo looking forward to it. Hurricane Bill gave a us a little scare but it ended up being an awesome vacation.

You know the first time I went here I was about 6 weeks old. My mom has been going here since she was a little girl and we have continued on the tradition 50 some years later. Crazy to think about, right? This place is full of wonderful memories for me and I am so glad that Grace gets to experience it now too. This is Adam's 5th trip and I think he loves it as much as we do! The women and children fly while the men drive with all the stuff. We rent a big house on the beach that has a pool and hot tub. This year it was Scott, Nicki & fam, and my mom and dad. Unfortunately, Mark, Laura, & fam ended up not being able to join us this year.

The daily schedule goes something like this:

Wake up: drink coffee and watch the sunrise over the dunes
Mid morning until lunch: BEACH!
Lunch time and naps for the little ones
Adult swim at the pool during naps
Little ones wake up and swim in the pool
Happy hour starts around 4 (actually it gets earlier and earlier as the week goes on- lol)
Dinner
Kiddo bedtime
Hot tub time
Reading, fishing, and generally lazing around until bed

Such a good vacation. I literally didn't know what day or what time it was all week. It was WONDERFUL!!

Some memories from this year:

~Grace having a meltdown before getting on the plane about wearing shoes
~Me and Ally rocking out to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA"
~Luke being grumpy at the beach for the first 10 min EVERY day
~Sand crabs in the pool
~Seashell necklaces
~Our fresh tuna and swordfish dinner
~Nicki and I spending 3 hours in the hot tub
~Adam and my dad each spending $10 on a fishing licence and never catching a thing
~Me telling Luke to walk at the pool and him walking at a snail pace
~Grace running in and out of the surf
~Family pictures on the beach
~Grace looking at Luke one day and saying, "Nice Suit Lukie!"
~My dad burning himself to a crisp the 1st day
~Grace thinking she can swim by herself and yelling "MY DOOOOO!!!"
~The kiddos playing together on the bunk beds
~Luke crying the entire flight home and explosive poo
~Rollin in our mini van

Traverse City

My girl Grace and I spent the last couple of days in Traverse City. My cousin had a wedding shower so my mom and I decided to make a weekend out of it. Took the day off Friday and stayed at The Grand Beach in Traverse. Never a dull moment however. As we were trying to leave I was packing up the car and had it running because it was so hot. Grace was playing inside the car and I was just happy it was keeping her entertained. I close the back hatch and she proceeds to lock herself in the car. Not in her car seat. I freaked out of course because the car is running and she is loose in there!!! I am frantically yelling at her and looking like a wild monkey as she calmly sits in the driver seat looking at me like, "what mama?"eating all my gum as fast as she can. I called 911 and told them the situation. Finally I got her to push over the unlock button and was able to get her out before the police got there (and probably arrested me for being an IDIOT).

Anyway, Grace loved the beach and the pool. It was a great warm up for Hatteras in less a week. It was great to see this side of the family. We spent Saturday night and my grandpa's cottage on Fife Lake with my aunt, cousin, and her three boys. They had a good ol time in the lake and with each other.The shower was really nice, Rachel is going to be a beautiful bride. She is getting married on our 5 year anniversary October 9th so we will have to go up a little early for the wedding and make another weekend of it.