Ryan & Emma Say...

LET'S GO PHILLIES!!

Fabulous Fall!

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year (second to Back to School, of course) - FALL! It's my favorite season and encompasses my favorite holiday - Thanksgiving! I love everything about fall - the cool air (well, it's a bit warm this year), jeans and sweaters, the smell of fire places and burning leaves, and most of all, the smell of my yummy fall candles - apple pie, pumpkin and spice! I even love raking the gabillion leaves that blanket our yard. There's something peaceful about being outside in the crisp air, chilling with my Ipod and raking line after line of leaves. That is, of course, until I hit the hill in the front yard or the blisters start forming. But I digress...

I've finished my Halloween decorating and this year, I tried spraying my pumpkins with lacquer. They have quite a shine to them now, but more importantly, I am hoping it will keep the squirrels at bay for a while. There's nothing worse than buying lots of pumpkins only to have them rotting with decay after the squirrels have feasted on them a few days later.

Enjoy the changing leaves and the smells and (hopefully soon) cool weather and fresh air!

Field Day!

Ryan had his first experience with Field Day recently, and as a volunteer mom, I got to witness the excitement. Typically this event is held in the Spring, but because of the new school being built, they have had to switch it up to the Fall. I got a few shots of Ryan at the different stations in between manning my own - the SPOOKY SPIDERS (it must be karma). Poor kid wasn't feeling well (unbeknownst to me) and when I went to gather him after, he was burning up with a fever, a headache, and chills, OH MY! But my trooper toughed it out long enough to down a few tylenol, take a quick nap and and bring his A game to show his Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop how flag football is played later that night. What a boy!

May the Force Be With You

We were thrilled to be able to help Thing 3 celebrate his 4th Birthday a few weeks ago, and the kids were very excited about the prospect of dressing up and running amuck with light sabers in, *gasp*, the house!!! Probably not as excited as Aunt Kim was...

We all had a great time and while it was pretty great to have Darth Vader attend the party, the highlight of the day was Yoda. You almost had to see it to believe it but man, he was impressive! Kudos to Geoff... I think a tryout for Ace of Cakes is in order!

My mini Darth and Princess Leia

There's one in every crowd...

Learning to become a Jedi

Here comes the cake, practically walking in on it's own! A masterpiece that took many hours, lotsa fondant and a boatload of patience (I'm guessing). But made with 100% love!

The Birthday Boy and the best birthday cake ever! I can't wait to see what Things 1 and 2 ask for!

Darth's in the house!

RANSOM

I hAve YOuR YodA.

LeaVe ME 1 BiLlion dOlLaRs BY tHe BiG TrEE, ANd a cAse Of diET CokE, aNd ThE FuNnY gReEN MaN wILL bE RELEASEd... wItH hIS eArs.

DonT TrY aNytHinG CraZy oR We WiLl eAt hIs RiCE KrISpie pArtS aND FoRCe FeEd YoU 18 POunDs oF fONdAnt.

Here Today... Gone Tomorrow

It's been a long time coming, but we finally had the tree in our yard cut down. The tree that, every time there was a storm or strong wind, would send me running to the kids windows at 3AM to make sure it was still firmly in the ground and not coming through their bedrooms. The same tree, that, many moons ago, we tried to save by "treating" with a special foam, only to add to the damage. The very tree, that, when it finally came down, spilled out what looked like soil (but was actually decay) and the biggest grubs I have ever seen in my life. Think Vienna Sausages.

Along with tree removal, we also had a full day of tree pruning, which provided much excitement for the kids in the neighborhood. Ok, and me, seeing as I nearly had a panic attack when I saw how much they were trimming. Guess I wasn't used to actually seeing my house, since I really haven't in the last 7 years. It was well needed and overdue but wow, next summer our house will be HOT! Enjoy the madness!

BEFORE:
This is THE tree before. It's been turning colors and losing it's leaves since Spring. Also note the crazy Ivy eating the pointing out of the side of my house, and the thriving green shrubbery that accompanies it. Make a mental note... you won't be seeing that later either.



This is the tree, mid removal.

And here is the trunk that was hacked off at the top, then brought to the ground. I nearly captured it on video and when I say nearly, I mean I was able to record the second it hit the ground. Stunning footage, of which I will spare you. Blame my dying camera battery, not my keen eye.

It's not everyday you look up and see some random man scaling your tree like he was Spiderman.

Weeee, doesn't this look like fun? Playing with chainsaws at high altitudes.

AFTER:

So this is the aftermath. Tree is gone, replaced by a pile of wood chips. Notice there is no plush greenery. If you are taking trees down, why not rip out some bushes as well? But now Byron has a clean slate for the Spring, so I can't complain. I can, however, put in my request for Black Eyed Susan's and Sunflowers! Also notice the invasive Ivy is halfway gone from the brick and hard to see, but no longer a vibrant green as it's drying up and dying! Sure, he killed himself in the process but how great will it look when the rest of it comes down! Oh honey....