Thanks, Tonka!

While we were at Target hunting for a birthday present for a little boy, I was looking for a little something to entertain Brody in the shopping cart.  He loves cars and trucks so I swiftly grabbed up a Tonka truck since we were on that aisle.  My hand immediately reached for a green pick up truck that had buttons on top to push and hear noises.  I really didn't look too closely at it.  There were red firetrucks and yellow construction vehicles, but my hand automatically sought the green one.  Before I handed it to Brody, I happened to glance at the truck more closely and saw a sticker badge on it.  Upon further inspection, I saw that the badge said U.S. forestry.  Well, you know I had to buy this little $5.99 truck for my little guy who is the son of a forester.  Our daddy works for the North Carolina Forest Service, but it just feels nice to see a company like Tonka recognizing the importance of this profession alongside the other "manly" professions like firefighting and construction.  Protecting our nation's most valuable and important natural resource is a pretty important job after all, and I know our daddy doesn't often feel his work is fully appreciated.

I just love this little truck.  Yes, we have been listening to the truck sounds a lot this weekend.  

Tonka rocks!

Looks pretty similar to Daddy's work truck except his has a mechanics body with water pumps on the back for fire control. 

Someone is very proud showing off their truck. 

I just love the little truck sounds he makes.  He loves his "Tuck" a lot!

That's the face of sheer happiness right there.

On another note, some of you might like to see some of Brody's picasso artwork on display:

I found this going up the stairs this morning.  Brody had beat me up the stairs and decorated them for me.  Yes, that's toilet paper.  We are lucky the roll was almost empty. 

And I just love watching him slide down the stairs on his belly.  He's a fast little slider. 

Signs of Fall

It is hard to believe that today is the last day of September, but when I look out my window or step outside, the signs are there -- cooler weather, leaves strewn on the ground, and just the smell of fall.  The stores are also filled with the signs.  Of course, my favorite store, Target, is abundant in lovely fall goodness.  My husband absolutely hates that when we walk in the door, I am automatically going to spend 10 to 15 minutes perusing the goodness of the $1.00 bins.  Oh what treasures I always find!  Evan and I enjoyed putting out some of our fall and halloween decor this weekend.  No pumpkins yet, but we'll be hitting the pumpkin patch soon to find some of those treasures.

Our jack-o-lantern mat was a lovely Target find from a few years ago. 

Our fall flag has seen many happy years with our family.  

Yes, the witch (I guess that'd be me) is in.  It is supposed to be in the ground, but she didn't feel like digging in the dirt.  

Evan enjoys putting these window clings on the window every year, and who could deny a child this little moment of joy? 

Admiring his work.  We made sure to spell the words backwords so they'd be visible the right way from outside.  

Evan was very happy to have Grandma with him to admire his work. 

Evan loved this little banner we got from Target.  I could probably make my own but not for $1.

His new halloween candy bucket makes a nice addition to the fireplace. 

Our leaf strewn deck is a less desireable side-effect of fall.  It just means a little extra yardwork is coming and that we'll have some fun jumping in leaf piles in a little while. 

I think if I was a resolution making person and was going to make one resolution for the fall season, it would be to remedy this disastrous situation:

My desk is littered with junk mail to be gone through and Evan and Brody school stuff.

Daddy's disaster area is littered with printer ink boxes, tools, glue and papers needing to be filed away.  *Sigh*  There is just never enough time in the day. 

On the bright side, I just packed up three bags of baby clothes, blankets, burp cloths, and bibs to pass on to our future nephew, Grady, due in just a couple of months.  Eddie's sister, Naomi, is expecting a bouncing baby boy!

Fun with a New Friend

Last Saturday, Mommy took Evan to meet his new school friend, Alex, for some jumping fun.  Evan had been coming home everyday for the last week telling us about playing with his friend, Alex, and that Alex's birthday was that week and that he was having a birthday party at a cool place called Sky High that has these big trampoline "rooms" for lots of jumping fun.  I explained carefully to Evan that I was so glad that he had made a new friend but not to get disappointed if we didn't get "invited" to a birthday party because the school year was just beginning, and most parents would not know enough about the other kids at school to invite them to parties.  Apparently Thursday was Alex's birthday, and his mom took cupcakes to the class for the occasion.  On Friday, the teacher e-mailed me and told me that Alex's mom really wanted Evan to join them for the fun.  It was just a small affair, and she wasn't planning a big elaborate party.  Evan and I decided to head over and meet them on Saturday.  When we arrived, I walked Evan through the place to see if we saw his friend, and of course, he had to go to the bathroom.  He didn't see his friend so we walked back to the front.  I went ahead and checked us in so he could enjoy some jumping fun.  When we turned around, Evan saw his friend, and they ran to meet each other.  I just love boy love!  Alex's mom said that most of the other friends and family she'd ask to come had to cancel on her so it was just Alex, Evan, and one of Alex's neighbor friends.  I actually think they had more fun in such a small group.  It was a big place, and they were constantly going from one jumping area to the next.  Talk about a way to wear a mama out!

Checking out the big trampoline. 

Following his friend. 

Getting some air.

He was constantly on the move.  Apparently, he preferred running more than jumping on the trampoline.  I think he liked that it gave him a "spring" in his step.  Ha!

Still running.  Some of the bigger kids were doing some cool jumps and tumbling.  

Another "room" had these big foam pits to jump into. 

Big jump!

He looks so small in there.

I got in there to play dodge ball with him.  I had no clue what I was doing!

Enjoying a cool treat after all the hard work.  Seriously, this is great exercise!

After their hour of jumping, they wanted to play some arcade games.  Ugh, those games were all a dollar each!  I think that's ridiculous for only about 2 minutes of play.  Evan and Alex shared a ride on the motorcycle. 

He had what in mommy's tummy?

So apparently when boys get together, they like to talk about crazy stuff.  After soccer practice tonight, we went to eat a late dinner with the Smith cousins.  Cousin Lanny decided he wanted to ride with Evan since we now have room for him in our new car.  That is totally a plus to having a bigger ride!  They sat together in the very back so I didn't catch a lot of their conversation, but when we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, they were apparently talking about pets.  Evan was saying he used to have a pet snake.  I was like, "In what past life was this, Evan?"  No snakes will ever be allowed in my house let me tell you!  He was laughing and being very silly.  Then he said he had a pet snake when he was in Mommy's tummy.  Um, what?  I was like "No, there was not a snake in my tummy.  Ever!"  So I told him I did have a monkey in my tummy named Evan.  Ha!  But really, don't kids have the craziest imaginations?  He has never witnessed a birth, but I couldn't help but wonder if he might have been referring to his umbilical cord as a snake.  He has seen his and Brody's 3D ultrasound pictures.

What do you think?  Does this look like he's playing with a snake to you?  He did have a lot of cord that kept getting in the way of his 3D ultrasound pictures.

I don't think so.  I hope he doesn't think one of these will ever be welcome in my home...

Evan's Second Soccer Game

Last Saturday, our Panthers played their second soccer game of the season.  It seems that the first soccer game was not a fluke, and our players truly had their game on again.  Even little Hankster scored three goals.  His mom and dad were unfortunately unable to stay for the game because they had another engagement, but we took Hankster with us to eat lunch at Chick-fil-a after the game to celebrate.  I also like to call him "Hankapalooza."

My little soccer champ

So determined.

Here comes Hankapalooza!

What a kick!  He even lost his shoe!  

Coach Mike leads a team cheer to start the game. 

Go Panthers!

Evan, Reid, and Olin prepare to start. 

The Panthers have the ball.

Coach Mike instructs son Olin on the strategy.

We played Evan's sweet little pal Daniel's team.  Daniel was in Evan's preschool class last year and just adores Evan.  We really wish we would have put them on the same team.  Daniel may be small, but he was quite a champ out there and scored several goals. 

Evan and Olin head back onto the field after a break. 

He looks ready.

One of Hankapalooza's awesome goals. 

Evan throws the ball in.

I love seeing him in action.

That's my boy!

Like a champ.

Goal! 

There he goes again.

Getting their pep talk from Coach.

Evan's cheering squad.

Our favorite soccer player

Evan and his buddy Hank make a great team.

Good game, blue and orange!

After the game, Evan and Daddy taught Hankster how to play wii.