Better Pumpkin Options

I blogged about a negative pumpkin patch experience the other day. I had would hate to just leave you with just Pumpkin Patch negativity, so I will take a second to share with you some Pumpkin Patch positivity.  Memphis has the cutest little nursery that I think is called The Little Red Barn.  We call it that at our house and all seem to know what we are talking about and I am about 95% sure that is its actual name – but if not, it’s the only little red barn nursery in town that I am aware of so that should help you out a little.

Its little and darling, every where you turn is the perfect spot for a photo-op.  There is a huge variety in pumpkins and gourds and their prices are super reasonable.  They are also local so if you are into that sort of thing, you can feel really good about your purchases.  One other little perk is that the Farmer’s Market is right next door so you can stock up on fresh jams, jellies, local honey and seasonal veggies and fruit.  We typically go a few times a year and they are so sweet to just let your little one spend a good hour playing in their pumpkins – even if you walk out without spending a dime.

But the pumpkin patch that is probably dearest to my heart would be found in the middle of nowhere Tennessee – Honeysuckle Hill Farms.  Someone asked me the day how long we’ve been going and without giving it much thought, I think I said something like “Oh a few years”.  I just happened to be looking through pictures the other day and saw this:

This is from our first visit to Honeysuckle Hills…….I guess it’s been quite a few years now seeing as that baby is long gone!  Some families have their annual 4th of July, Easter or other annual family tradition – one of mine is Pumpkin Patch with Nene and Papa.  This year, Dad and I set our dates early….to guarantee that he had the weekend off and to get our date on the calendar before life took over and booked us up.  I was really proud of myself for securing our weekend and writing it in ink – when I realized about 2 weeks later that our school’s Fall Festival and the kids’ last soccer games of the season were on that same weekend.  It was going to be tough……and a little bit ridiculous…….but I was convinced that we could make it work.

So the whole fam piled in (including Cybill and her gigantic kennel) and we made that familiar drive “up north” to Nashville.  We were greeted by Nene and Papa and even Uncle Chris and Aunt Shannie were waiting for us in the kitchen.  In Memphis, it’s still summer time, but as soon as we pull into the driveway at Nene and Papa’s it immediately feels like fall.  The trees have changed, the smell of bonfires is in the air and we pack warm clothes.  It’s our version of going “upstate” and then we will put on our shorts and head back to the Delta.

We had a magical time at Honeysuckle Hill.  Each time we go there, we seem to discover a new area that is our favorite.  One year it was the giant slide.  We probably spent a good hour and a half watching the kids go down that thing, their happy squeals making me laugh each time they went down.  Another year, they spent forever jumping on the big “Corn Popper” half buried trampoline thingy.  This year, it was the swings:

I call this photo, “Negotiations”

Panning for precious stones:

Reese was very into his precious stones and he and Nene spent a long time identifying them

And the corn crib:

Being buried in corn seems like an awesome idea when you are 3

Corn Angels

Though they never get tired of visiting the farm animals:

Milking a wooden cow

And we were very proud of Mattie Belle for scaling this rock wall like a natural-born spider:

Coming down

Our day ended with dinner, oven ‘smores (it was way too cold for the bonfire we intended to have and for the record, the oven works great for a quality ‘smore) and the discovery of the Back to the Future movie trilogy and pumpkin spice flavored marshmallows.  Yeah, you read that right, pumpkin spice flavored marshmallows.  Your mouth doesn’t quite know what to make of them, but I would definitely recommend giving them a try.

Flannel love with Uncle Chris

Our plan was to get up bright and early (for a Sunday) and head back home.  We were going to be a bit late for the Fall Festival, but that was going to be fine.  We a nice little breakfast and then headed out-of-town, it looked like we were going to actually do this! I was going to manage to squeeze everything into this overbooked weekend, and I’ll be honest, I was feeling a little bit proud of myself.

Pride definitely goeth before a fall.

We were just a little bit on our way when the boy asked to play the iPad. But where was the iPad? After pulling over and thoroughly searching our car, we finally found the iPad……at Nene and Papa’s.  We agreed to meet at Kroger for it to be returned…..too bad we didn’t pick the same Kroger, that would have made the drop-off so much easier.  And too bad Papa didn’t have his phone with him so that when we realized we were probably not at the same location, we could have let him know just where exactly we were.  Eventually, we found each other though and set out on our drive……about an hour and a half later.

We made it to the Fall Festival just in time to eat a funnel cake and for Mattie to win a fish and then it was off to soccer….which by the way, wasn’t our last game after all.  Mattie didn’t even have a game, I realized after she changed in the car and we had practically thrown Reese out of the car at his field to get to hers on time.  And Reese ended up having his last official game the following day, but considering how he played the following day……..this probably should have been considered his last game of the season. * Unbeknownst to us on Monday, Reese was playing soccer with a 102 fever…..oops.  Mainly he just kinda stood there with a very confused look on his face, too winded to even hi-five his teammates.  But that’s another story for another day.*

Best soccer coach ever!

It may not have turned out completely successful, my planning may have failed us a bit.  But we made it to everything that was on our agenda and really, if truth be told, I think the weekend would have been a success if it had just consisted of this moment right here:

Sad will be the day when they are no longer around to spend a day in the country, playing in a giant box of corn.  Thankfully, that day doesn’t seem to be on the horizon anytime soon.

I’m Not Telling You Where To Go, But I Don’t Recommend Here

I went back to Kroger the other day to get more Pumpkin Pie Pop-Tarts, but they were all gone.  Brandon tried his best to convince me that the bare shelves could only be explained because all of East Memphis must read my blog……..nice try Love, but I’m pretty sure only Mumsey and Auntie Ang out in California read the blog that day and neither one of them do their grocery shopping in the Mid-South.  Thankfully, he just so happened to have picked up some Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream, which with a few chopped nuts added, definitely did the trick as far as after dinner snack goes.  I like to have pumpkin treats on hand from late September through November and then move directly into peppermint. I don’t know how he knew to get new ice cream (Cybill and I had finished the other carton a few nights ago while he was at work……and yes, you read that right, I shared the ice cream with my dog.  She had her own spoon.  Don’t judge and by the way, pumpkin is very good for dogs.)…..I guess we just have some sort of telepathy going when it comes to ice cream.

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We are fans of the pumpkin patch here.  Well, apparently we are pretty big fans of pumpkins in general, so a gathering of them is just going to blow our minds.  There is a church just around the corner from our house and every fall, they have a little pumpkin patch set out amongst the trees in their parking lot.  The kids and I walked over there the other day with Cybill, trying to get her wiggles ( I mean evilness) out.  the kids immediately ran off to frolic amongst the gourds, which I totally expected.  And it didn’t surprise me when the dog ran at top speed to join them.  I don’t know exactly what I was expecting from her, but when she headed right to the pile of itty bitty pumpkets, it was like watching a cartoon.  You know the kind, when there are a bunch of marbles spread out all over the ground and some unsuspecting character walks into disaster.  Legs fly up in the air, marbles fly all over and arms whirl about like they are taking off. Turns out that’s exactly what it looks like when a puppy prances onto a thin layer of tomato sized decorator pumpkins.  I quickly made a mental note never to bring Cybill to a pumpkin patch ever again.  She had to run, at top speed,  to smell every single pumpkin – like each time she saw a new one, she was seeing them all for the very first time.  I felt even worse that after I had brought my crazed dog to wreak havoc on this little fundraiser pumpkin patch, I didn’t even buy anything.  We were just out for a walk and I hadn’t brought my wallet along with me – do you usually bring your credit cards or cash when you go out to walk the dog?  I feel like I should go back, like I owe them a purchase.  But at the same time, I kinda never want to go back again.  I am ashamed of my dog.

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There is another little pumpkin patch near our house, but this one is in the Target parking lot.  We went there last year and enjoyed poking around.  It’s a big tent, set up at the furthest point in the parking lot – nothing big, but they have quite a variety and its very enticing, with the giant inflatable jack-o-lantern waving overhead.  This is the 2nd year that we have been lulled in by the cute set-up, the festivity of it all……and then walked out of that canopied farm feeling a little confused as to why people who seem to hate other people and joy,are making them living this way.  Last year, we picked up a few pumpkins and the kids took the complimentary train ride. (that right there should have been my red flag to just leave, you can’t have a train ride in the barrel train without purchasing a pumpkin.  I asked if I could just pay for the kids to have a ride because Reese seemed to think that his life would only be complete with a ride through the Target parking lot in a barrel being pulled by a John Deere lawn tractor.  I could not pay for a ride, but I could pay for a pumpkin…..but only one kid could ride per pumpkin purchase.)  As we were walking out the car, the older man who had just so kindly driven my children around as he blew into a wooden train whistle seeming to have the time of his life, suddenly took on a whole different attitude when we were approached by a woman frantically driving around asking people if they could spare a few dollars so that she could pay the locksmith to come unlock her house.  The story was a little sketchy, but at the same time, I have been that woman who was locked out of her home and the locksmith insisted on being paid upfront.  And when all your money and atm cards are in your purse in your house that can be a problem…….anyway, I gave the woman a few dollars and that sweet old man gave me an earful about what a terrible thing I had just done.  After he was finished with his tirade about what a worthless person she was and how I was what was wrong with this world because I was feeding the problem, he topped it all off by calling the woman a very unsavory name that tempted me to hurl the pumpkin I had just been forced to by in order to get my kids a parking lot train ride, right at his head.  But I didn’t….beause I was raised better than that.

We went back this year.

I bought 3 small, decorative pumpkins, one for each kid.

The kids were asked if they wanted to ride in the train and without even responding, Lila went and planted herself in the car – ready and waiting.  Reese said in a very stoic, somber way, “I think I might like to ride in the train.”  Mattie refused to have anything to do with the train.

I will admit, this doesn’t exactly look like a kid who is a barrel of laughs

Lila loved the train and Reese looked like the whole experience was killing him just a little bit……..but a mother knows when her kid is actually happy.

This one on the other hand, had enough fun for all of us

It’s possible this body language could be interpreted as unhappy

After the ride, I gathered my pumpkins and children, and proceeded to tell the engineer thank you.  There was no “you’re welcome” or even a grunt and “come back”.  Instead, he only said, “What’s wrong with the boy? Grumpy kid ain’t he?’

I think he just had a lot on his mind during this contemplative barrel train ride/

You are lucky Mister, you are so very lucky that I respect my husband. I respect my husband so much that I will not throw three very small, but very hard pumpkins at a stranger and then possibly get arrested, which would result in the hubby being called to come down and bail me out or at least get the kids.  Because I respect him, and respect the time of the patient he was seeing……and also because my children were watching me…..I just smiled and said something about people showing their joy in all sorts of way.  But parking lot pumpkin patch, we will not be back again.

You have lost us and we are good customers to have.  We are willing to spend a lot on seasonal gourds that will do absolutely nothing except sit on our front stoop.

Boo Parking Lot Pumpkin Patch.  Should someone steal all your merchandise in the night, vandalize your gigantic inflatable pumpkin or unplug your electricity or plumbing for your RV…….it will not be us, but it will definitely be karma.

Pumpkin Spice And Hair

First, not because it’s so incredibly exciting but more so because I will likely forget – I wanted to share something fabulous that the family and I recently stumbled upon.  On Monday, the Bird and I were at the grocery store stocking up on important things like almond milk, six different varieties of Cheez-Its and $1.99 a lb Gala apples and I spotted something.  And without even a second thought, I put it right in my cart – WE HAD TO HAVE IT.  I have never been one to shy away from spur of the moment decisions.  Impulsive could possibly be an accurate adjective to describe me, but it doesn’t usually pertain to my purchasing habits.  When it comes to that, I typically over analyze things and really prefer to make my grocery purchases with a coupon or when there is a little yellow tag underneath the normal price that states that with my Kroger card, it will be on sale.  I cannot be swayed by fancy packaging or marketing and I typically stick to my list.

But I plucked those pumpkin pie pop-tarts right into my basket like they were the whole reason we were there……..and they were free.

I will admit, I am a sucker to all things pumpkin,spice and fall flavored.  The main reason I have kept Cybill around is because she is the color of pie crust.  She is currently driving me crazy, but if I picture her as a four-legged apple pie terrorizing my house and family……its a little easier to tolerate.

Back to the pop-tarts

They are fantastic.  They are like a poor man’s pumpkin pie, a little pumpkin pie to go, and though I have no proof of it – I really feel like they are probably a little less bad for you compared to an actual slice of pumpkin pie.  I highly recommend that you get yourself your own box, if not for breakfast, as an after dinner snack.  Also, Gala apples are on sale at Kroger.

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Reese has been asking to get his hair cut lately.  Actually, he’s been asking for a hair “transformation” for quite some time.  Back in his high Batman days, we were always catching him perched up on the sink attempting to slick back his curls to look more like Bruce Wayne.  He doesn’t like his hair to be messed with, combed, touched or really even looked at.  It hasn’t been until just recently that he has decided that maybe his curly coiffe isn’t so bad. I think that has something to do with him being one of 3 little guys on his soccer team that all have very similar hair.  But he still wanted a change.  He asked me all summer for a new haircut, but I made up excuses…..”You’re head isn’t used to not having all this hair Reese and you might get sunburned. How ’bout we wait until after summer so we can start the new school year with new hair.” Then I just started ignoring him.  Then we got Cybill and suddenly every waking moment that I was in my house became a defensive game and things like my boy’s hair really didn’t matter at all anymore.  But then about two weeks ago, he became very persistent again.  Especially after Lila got her hair cut.  Come on mom, it’s just hair.

I made the appointment.

I woke up two nights before, absolutely panicked about what I was about to pay to have done to my boy.  I talked to my friends, getting their take on things.  It made Christal nauseated, Stephanie was encouraging and even sent me idea pictures.  This one was our favorite:

I can totally see a note coming home from the office at school informing me that we had violated the dress code

I even told my mom what I was going to do ahead of time.  I never tell me mother what I’m going to do before I do it, if I think she will disagree with my decisions in the least.  I have no problem doing what I get my mind-set on doing, I just don’t like to tell her until it’s already done.

Wednesday at 4:00

That was our D-Day

I told people what we would be doing so that we would be accountable for it.  We committed to it.  I even confirmed my appointment when given the chance to back out.  My son was going to get a high and tight pompadour to go along with his skinny pants (he is the only boy in his class who wears skinny uniform chinos) and love for craft ginger beers.

This man is very pretty

My children don’t really stick up for each other, at least not in my presence.  I kind of hope that none of them are a match for each other kidney or other organ-wise because I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t donate it anyway.  That whole sentimental thing of “A sister is a best friend forever” or other such sibling sayings currently does not apply to my children.  On a good day, they will tell each other that I have arrived at school.  But usually it is a contest to see if one of them can slip out of the building without the other detecting that they have gone and hopefully mom won’t pay attention and we might leave the other one there…..forever.  Every morning that the other one comes downstairs for breakfast, you can see the joy leave the others face as they were hoping siblings were all just a bad dream.

But yesterday, Mattie stepped up.  There was a Baughman haircut on the books for 4:00. But then Brandon broke down and said that he just couldn’t do it.  He really couldn’t believe that I was okay with it, but he just couldn’t do it.  Reese has the rest of his life to look like a grow-up, and every single morning when he wakes up its harder and harder to find the little boy in his face.  When he’s 10, he can pick a hairstyle.  But we only have months, weeks, days left of him being 7.  Even as I have typed this, 7 is slipping away. But Mattie graciously stepped up yesterday and took Reese’s place in Nan’s hair chair.

Her hair kind of felt like shag carpeting. And after a summer of beach, pool and that week at Campmeeting where she lived in the lake, it was actually quite overdue.  Between you and me, I think she loved every minute of it and seemed to feel very fancy when she arrived at soccer practice fresh from the salon.  I was worried that this $25 haircut I was planning on was going to turn into a $95 Lego set when he fell apart at my announcement of no man haircut.  I braced myself and sat ready to negotiate.  But all he said was, “Okay, do you think Ms. Nan will buy some oranges from me?” (The kids’ school is selling citrus fruit right now.) From the boy who threw a complete foaming at the mouth fit on Friday over a miscommunication, who has been known (in the past) to wet himself in public because he was so upset about something – I was completely unprepared for this.

But I took it.

And as handsome as he would probably look with a metro-lumberjack “do”, I will take this little head of hair for as long as I can.

*And Mattie’s hair feels like hair again, we found two rogue bobby pins in it, and she didn’t cry when I brushed it this morning so I think yesterday was a success*

For the record, I did trim it at home later last night, but there were no razors or clippers involved and he still slightly resembles Richard Simmons so all the grandparents can breath again.

I Want To Be Celebant and Live in The Sea When I Grow Up

I learned some incredible news recently, news that leaves Brandon and I breathing a little easier.  Turns out, are you ready for this………that there are over 1,000 people in this fine country making their living as a mermaid.  And though it seems to be a pretty small job market and their career spans a fairly short window……my daughters can now both grow up to be the mermaids that they have been aspiring to be.

I’m completely serious.

We find google searches in our computer history all the time for things like, mermaid tails, can really go in the water mermaid suits, and how to swim like you have a tail.  And I’m not going to say which daughter it was, but one of them got really upset when her parents didn’t let her buy an $80 mermaid outfit to wear on her beach vacation this year and even throwing a slamming door fit when these same parents may have got a case of the giggles at the idea of her flopping down the beach because she wouldn’t be able to walk. Straight faced and furious, she yelled “You’re laughing at my dreams!” Actually Sis, we are laughing with you, you just haven’t started yet.

Use your imagination

So touche’ Mattie Belle, you win – long live your mermaid dreams.  We will front you the $2,700 for your custom silicone tail and those Mermaid classes we say you reading about in L.A…….just promise us you’ll at least finish up your education here on land first.  Just like I tell Reese, write down what you’re wishing for and if when you’re 18 it’s still your dream, we will see what we can do.

I love those little legs, but she would make a lovely siren perched there on the rocks

I can totally see it now

Personally, I think the other daughter is just using her mermaid-ness as an excuse to get others to do things for her.

Example A) Me: Birdie can you please put your dress in the hamper for me?

Birdie: I’m sorry, I can’t (she says as she is sitting on the floor playing with her blocks)

Me: And just why can’t you?

Birdie: I just can’t

Me: I think you can…..(getting a little annoyed)

Birdie: I can’t (she says wide-eyed and innocently, almost pleadingly)…..then takes my face in her hands and

whispers, “I’m a mermaid”.

Of course, mermaids can’t walk which means there’s absolutely no way they could be expected to put away their clothes.  We get the mermaid excuse from that one fairly often around here.

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Back when I used to work as a Disabilities Consultant for Head Start, I had a little informal evaluation that I went over with both the parents and the teacher of a child, just to get a rough idea of where the kiddo was at with their developmental skills.  One of those questions was, can your child dress themselves.  The next question was, “Can your child dress appropriately for whatever the season/ weather is?”

They can make coffee

They read on a junior high level (well, one does)

Even the little one makes her own peanut butter sandwiches

And the boy is more informative about last nights games then watching sports center, but it appears that they may be delayed in other areas:

Just a little yard work with Dad, in my off the shoulder Chanel-inspired swim suit…..in October

It was cool that day, compared to our typical 90 degree days…..but 76 degrees hardly seems beanie worthy

Can they dress themselves? Check.

Is it seasonally appropriate? That one is debatable

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It’s been a bit ago, but I cut Lila’s hair.  Wait a minute, I didn’t cut Lila’s hair Ms. Nan did – but I was the one who made the decision, the appointment and paid for it.  It was getting super long (for her) and was just precious when it was actually fixed.  But it was also baby fine, rather stringy and even though it is predominately straight, she has this one little spot of kinky right at the base of her neck which is rather tough to tame.  I decided that for the time being, Lila is a longer bob kinda girl…

The Sabbath before the cut, she slept in the pink foam rollers….first time and probably the last time for a long time

Before

After

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And last but not least, the word “spayed” has been thrown around our house lately.  Being of a certain age and certain gender, Miss Cybill has a surgery coming up.  When the kids have asked why we will be having the pup spayed, my response has been something simple like, “Well, she’s not going to grow up and get married or anything and we don’t need her to have any puppies.” Mattie is just learning about the reproductive system and we have been starting to talk about our “changing bodies”….I think if I were to tell her exactly what spaying entails, she might run away from home.  Thankfully, our answer, so far, hasn’t presented any more questions…….but it’s possible that we may need to revisit our explanation.

This past Friday night, while looking through an old photo album that had wedding pictures of some of our friends, Brandon asked me who we had betrothed Reese to.  We have decided that betrothing is way easier than actual dating…..just kidding….not really….maybe……one can hope.  Anyway, I reminded Brandon of our future daughter-in-law and though not complaining about our choice, Reese was quick to remind us that he would not be getting married.  “I”m going to live with you forever mom, get a job and just get spayed.”

What in the what?

“Like Crosby and Cybill, mom – I don’t want to get married or have kids, so I’ll just be spayed.”

We should probably do some clarification there, but for now, while he’s 7……maybe it doesn’t hurt anything.

Happy Tuesday and remember to spay and neuter your children.

Frozen

*So………it seems as though I didn’t push the blue publish box last Monday…….instead, this blog post has sat here all week.

It turns out my children weren’t the only ones happy to have Chris and Shannon back in Memphis.

Layla lovin’ on Uncle Chris

I’m not sure what kinda lovin’ they’ve been getting there in Nashville, but I don’t think it could hold a candle to what they got during their short visit back home.

Saturday night, we ladies headed for a night on the town.  I’m not sure how this has always managed to work, but just about everywhere I have ever lived, the Ice Capades (or Disney on Ice, as it later became) has come to town during my birthday.  That’s not to say that I always went……but still.  So when I saw that this year, Disney on Ice would be here at the usual time and they would be putting on a Frozen show, there was no question that we would be going.

Our tickets were purchased, naps were taken in preparation for a late and possibly life changing night.

And finally it was time

Mattie was quiet, but excited.  Lila was adamant that she didn’t want to go.  Try as we may, Aunt Shannie and I could not convince Lila that this was going to be a positive experience.  Eventually, she conceded to get into the car and drive downtown with us.  After a little prodding, She agreed to get out of the car…..prior to that she had told us she would just wait until we were finished and hang out in the parking garage by herself.  We had an issue with out tickets that I am just going to pretend never happened, but by the time we actually walked through the doors of the FedEx Forum, which was decked out in all its Disney Frozen glory – she was mesmerized and not going anywhere.  No parking garage for her.

This is the first picture I have ever seen where Mattie actually looks like she is my daughter…….Finally!

Our tickets were kinda weird, club level, and we found ourselves going down mystery staircases and hallways that we hadn’t known existed before.  At one point, we walked behind some curtains and were standing in what looked like the press boxes.  The numbers that were on our tickets were also on these seats, but since this area was completely empty, we got the feeling that maybe we still weren’t in the right place.  Looking back, I think we could have stayed there and no one would have noticed and it would have been neat to watch our show and give a commentary at the same time.  We eventually found the seats we had actually paid for and settled in.  The name of the show on our tickets may have said “Frozen”, but the real show was watching the little ones all around us – especially that one perched on Aunt Shannie’s lap who had no clue what was about to happen in front of her.

The lights went down, the music started and out came Mickey and Minnie.  This caused quite a stir with the little people all around us, and as the different Disney princesses and their princes skated out the excitement and squeal became deafening. But it wasn’t until Rapunzel, who has somehow captured Lila’s heart even though she has never seen Tangled, skated out that Lila kinda lost her mind just a little.  She looked completely confused, elated and mind-blown all at the same time.  But the best part was watching her give the tiniest micro-wave to her “friend”.  Not a big, full body, “here I am over here in the weird mystery club seats Rapunzel!” kind of wave.  No, this was definitely something Rapunzel probably missed, but it was very genuine to the little girl who gave it.  And since Rapunzel and Flynn Rider skated over to our section and waved right after Lila did, I have no doubt in my mind that my little lady fully believed that her gesture was received and reciprocated.

Elsa and Ana could have never made an appearance and I think she would have been happy.

And even though she considers herself a little mature for these things, between you and me, I think Mattie was pretty excited, too.

Our official show began, the ice skating one, too – and it was pure magic.  Disney did a fabulous job, but nothing could compare to watching the little kiddos all around us, many of them dressed in their “Frozen” costumes.  And when the first half was just about over, Queen Elsa had made her way up the mountain and was declaring her independence from everything back in Arendelle, the first few notes of “Let it Go” trickled in, I’m not going to lie, I cried.  The soundtrack was loud and filled the entire forum, but even over all that, there was no stifling the sound of thousands of little voices singing at the top of their lungs, what has become their anthem.

And I wasn’t alone, I glanced over at Shannie and her eyes where about to flood over, as well.  The mamas in front of us were handing each other tissues and the hipster dads two rows up were frantically rubbing their eyes as though allergy season had suddenly attacked at full force.  I had no idea at 26, how full my life would be ten years later.  And to think, back then I thought my cup couldn’t get any fuller.  I guess for my birthday next year, I need a bigger cup.

And after that emotional rendition of “Let it Go”, came intermission and Lila’s first taste of cotton candy:

It melts in your mouth!

I don’t think I’ve had a better birthday.  And it wasn’t just getting to experience that moment (or two hours) with my daughters, but it was also getting to share it with that lady next to me.

I have a very small handful of people in my life who though we do not share the same blood lines or DNA, we are family in every sense of the word.  At some point over the last few years, a commitment was made in our hearts, nothing fancy and no big party or ceremony to commemorate it but it’s just as official as the promise I made to my husband.  My heart-felt like it could burst seeing the amazement on my girlie’s faces, but it was seeing the love and enjoyment on Shannie’s face – that set the waterworks into motion.  It is a rare gift, one that I don’t think I deserve, to have people who have chosen to be those special people in your children’s lives.  Aunts and Uncles that don’t have to be.  Not only have they agreed to do the job, to wear the title and keep pictures of my kids on their refrigerator, but they have embraced it.  They say “I love you” to me, by loving my children…….and getting emotional at Disney performances.

Waving good-bye to Queen Elsa and the crew

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Our Sunday was bittersweet.  We knew that our time with Uncle Chris and Aunt Shannie was limited, but we were determined to make the best of it.  Gus and Cybill spent their remaining hours wrestling  – by the way, I need an older, giant dog to come over every day and play with this little lady! He was the best “nanny” to her and she stayed out of trouble and slept great all weekend long.  I wonder if there is a service where you can rent a Great Dane?

Gus seems to like the new kid

I love this Doggie

We got a little football watching in, because that is one of my son’s love languages.  Uncle Chris threw the girls around and Aunt Shannie gave out cuddles.  They were also able to go to the bigger kids soccer games, which was part of their vows when they broke the news that they would be moving away.  So far, you have stuck to your word Wilhems, soccer game – check, Kaylee’s birthday – check.

What do you do Sunday mornings?

Gymnastics in the living room with Gus-Gus spotting for safety

We have missed this soo much!

Who knew, Mattie is a fierce competitor

Mattie Belle Beast Mode

“Tell me about when I was a bitty baby Aunt Shannie”

So happy her auntie got to watch her win

And when the sun set on our weekend, I think we could all agree that it was one of best 3 days in a long time.

Too tired to eat her burrito….but that crown isn’t going anywhere!