Will the real Cinderella please stand up?

Monday Night Fever

Tonight at bath time, the kids were coloring in the tub with bathtub crayons. I told Sam that we have to teach Lily how to write her name. So he showed her how to write the letters in her name and started showing her how to write other words too. He wrote big, cat, Dad, and finally, ball.
"Look, Lily. This is the word ball. This is how you write it. B-A-L-L. You know, like a disco ball?"
Ummm... I did not see that one coming! A baseball, a soccer ball, maybe a golf ball?

Where does he come up with this stuff?

Let the festivities begin!

Get ready for a barrage of Halloween pictures. Mario and Cinderella are going Trick-or-Treating four times this year. Gotta get our money's worth out of these costumes :) Right now we are two down and two to go! These are from the Children's Museum:

Gross but cool

Andy is very proud of his barfing pumpkin.

Punkin' Paintin'

We decorated pumpkins last night. Sam


and Lily painted a few.


Andy carved one


and Shanny made a crying ghost pumpkin.


I drank wine and supervised.

Soccer Time

Look at that goalie! He's ready for anything!

(Yes, he always wears his shin guards outside his socks.)

Obligatory pumpkin patch visit/ photos

Ridiculous hometown pride

I am sure you have seen these telescope-y things in towers, scenic overlooks, and at other attractions before. You can find them all over the country, even the world. Why does Katie care so much about these stupid things, you may be asking yourself. Well, because they have been manufactured by See Coast, Inc. for 50 years in.... wait for it.... wait for it.... Fairhope, Alabama!! I have seen these viewers in many foreign destinations (such as the botanical gardens in exotic Atlanta, GA, as seen below) and I always look down to confirm, yup! Made in Fairhope, AL!
AND, the owner of this company lives a few doors down the street from my parents!!
He has an awesome pier.

Good story, right? I bet you wish you could have the few seconds that you took to read that back, huh?

Seriously, on your next vacation, if you are out sightseeing, look at the bottom of the viewer/telescope/fancy looking machine (Despite my unfounded love and pride for these things, I still don't know what to call them.) and I will give you ten bucks if it wasn't manufactured in good ole Fairhope, AL.

You'll take a two-party out-of-state bad check, right?

Au naturel

After explaining to Sam that he has a make-up soccer game tonight instead of practice, he immediately refused to go. So, of course, I told him he is going whether he wants to or not. We argued back and forth a couple times and he started to pitch a fit. I said something really loving and motherly like, "What is your problem?" and, near tears, he shouted, "Mom, I am NOT wearing make-up to my soccer game!!"
It gave me a good laugh :)

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

The kids and I took our first trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this afternoon. That place is huge! We were there for several hours and didn't make it out of the Children's Garden. I think I will go back with adults next time so I can actually see the rest of the grounds (in about 15 years or so, right?). There were several kids' activities happening this afternoon.


Pumpkin bowling



A pumpkin toss



And face (or arm, in this case) painting

Some of our favorites

Here are some of the scarecrows we liked best at the Botanical Gardens (There were actually much cooler ones but these were among the few that didn't terrify Lily.):



SEC Sports Fan (I only picked him because of his Vanderbilt flag.)



Scarecrow made by the Morris Brandon Bees (where Sam and Lily will go to elementary school)



Sam's favorite: MarioKart