Autumn

Here are some pics of the changing leaves. Such beautiful foliage in the fall:) I heard on the radio that is completely unmanly to use the word foliage so I'm trying to use it as much as possible just to be cheesy!

So I took this amazing video of Jude dancing to a Michael Jackson tune last night. He was going crazy and he even busted out his new move of the somersault! Unfortunately the video has "disappeared" and is no where to be found. I'll have to get another one though because it is stinkin' hilarious! (unlike the poo he decided to leave on the carpet and the pee puddle on the wood floor right after his bath the other night...NOT hilarious!).

Until then here he is in his somersault position

The Bugs...

Well I have to say this fall has blessed us with some tremendous weather. I was reminded the other day that last year our first snow came on October 10 and it didn't let up until April. Oh man. I had repressed that! Anyway, along with the great temps and mild wind...have come the bugs. Some days it was literally too buggy to be outside! Now we have had a great multitude of bugs all summer. I don't know why. I'm not a bug scientist. But I do know that it started in June with the mosquito. Millions arrived one day and it just wasn't worth being outdoors! Then it was the little yellow butterflies. Those were pretty and I felt like Cinderella singing in nature with the little guys fluttering all around:) Next, the fly. We have battled those all summer. Even Jude gets in on fly swatting (not sure he's ever actually got one yet!). But this fall came the Asian beetle. This thing is disgusting. There have been days that the minute you go outdoors they swarm you. Plus they bite, don't fly away when you move, and stink. And they get in the house like no other bug has yet. Maybe they are just trying to survive the changing weather, maybe they have a personal mission to make my house gross, I really don't know. All I know is that these guys, along with a few big black flies and box elder bugs, have become my enemies. I vacuum basically on a daily basis just because otherwise there are dead and alive bugs ALL OVER the windows and sills (our back porch is a buggy tornado!), and all over the house too. We (or I should say Gil) are doing all we can to prevent these suckers from getting in. Caulking, tightening stuff, other things (??). Everyday Gil comes home with a new idea for how to stop the bugs. Tonight the idea was to go up into the attic and start vacuuming (where I don't dare to go and where there are too many to imagine!). As he was doing this tonight he discovered a couple other friends...bats! Now, funny thing is I'm to the point with the bugs that I feel like welcoming these black furry creatures as friends (they eat bugs right!?). So now there is that to deal with (Gil's job again!). As for me, I guess I'll keep on a keepin' on with the vacuuming. Oh, and another bug on the rise out there, the Caterpillar! It just doesn't end...

Here are some attempts to show the bugs.

Here is another story altogether. So on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I teach Jude and I have developed a routine. He gets up at 8 or so, has breakfast, plays a little, then we go outside to do chores and play. When we come in around 10 it is time for me to get ready and for him to watch Sesame Street. This kid LOVES TV (as I've mentioned and as long as it's a kids show--how does he know that already?). And he really likes Sesame Street, so it works out usually. One morning he was being particularly quiet and when I went out to check on him this is what I found. The booster seat I purchased recently at a garage sale, and that we keep in the kitchen, was moved up onto the coffee table making a perfect little seat from witch to view Ernie! I snuck up to take this picture. He was really into it and didn't even notice me! Thank goodness for Sesame Street:)

Pumpkin Pleasure

Gil was out cutting up a dead tree the other day and it spontaneously combusted! Okay, so it just started on fire from a spark from the chain saw. It was weird though and smoked for over 24 hours!

Here is our 2010 pumpkin produce. A few watermelons and butternut squash are thrown in too.
Here is the lovely centerpiece I made from some of them.
A few others I threw in the decorative jar from our wedding that previously still had Christmas balls inside...I need to get with it!
Jude is starting to enjoy coloring. He really enjoys it actually. So much that he wants to eat the colors! That is the problem. He also thinks it is fun to see how many he can hold in his hand at once. He really doesn't get it...but neither does his mom because I was encouraging him to color the phone book!

A church story:

Bringing Jude to church is (dangerous, scary, brave, torture, exhausting)...an...experience (there that sounds slightly positive!). This is how a Sunday service typically goes: Jude is sitting on my lap, Jude is down on the floor, Jude in getting into the diaper bag, Jude is trying to run down the aisle, Jude is standing on the pew, Jude is yelling (that was the first 5 minutes). This continues until either Gil or I take Jude out and run around the hall with him or (if available) sometimes to the nursery. As you might have figured out Gil and I get very little listening done and very much entertaining of a one-year-old in if Jude is with us in church. This past Sunday was even more fun. We had the pleasure of sitting with our good friends and their little guy who is about 4 months older than Jude (and has an entirely different temperament!). Eli sat still and quiet and occasionally wanted a snack or a toy. Jude did his normal church behavior (which is pretty typical all-around behavior) only every time Eli had something he didn't have he yelled, "ME!" (That's his new thing--"me"). So Eli got to share his fruit snacks and goldfish and coloring book and toy truck and about everything with Jude. I don't think our friends quite knew what they were getting into with this boy! We made it through almost the entire service, however Gil did take him out when it finally got to be too much. I can only hope for the day when Jude will sit quietly during church...but I am afraid by that time he may be 25 years old!

Preparing for Winter

This past weekend we had 'The Great Wood Split.' Gil's parents came up for the weekend and my parents came over too. We got a good start on Friday which was good because Saturday was miserable and cold! We didn't get it all done, but we did alright. Man, burning wood is hard work! Now we are just crossing our fingers for a mild winter. Usually the first snow of the year is kind of exciting. This year I think I'll curse!

The dads/grandpas

The proud woodsman in front of his stacks
This was my job, running the tractor gears. Seems easy, but it wasn't!
Gil and Jude at the Outdoor Expo in Ponca.
Grandma Carolyn holding on to the wild man.

Oldies but Goodies

Here are a few older videos. Jude using a spoon himself for one of the first times. He LOVES using forks and spoons, and refuses to let me feed anything to him. He still struggles with it, but gets very excited when he gets it right.

The other is of Jude chasing Babbs around when she was living in the house. He also LOVES to play with (aka torment!) the pets.

video killed the photo star

All three of these were taken today. Jude and I had a long day together, it being the first day Gil has been at work from 9 am to 10 pm and the first day the two of us have been home alone all that time since last spring. So I took some videos of this crazy kid. He really does crack me up. There was about a million other things I wish I could've captured on tape, but I guess it's my privilege as his mother to witness them all each day!!! I love that about being a mom. The first one show him dancing to "Word World" music, his absolute favorite PBS song. The other is him spinning, one of his new favorite things to do. He will randomly start spinning and then trying to walk. Really makes me wonder about the things he'll try for fun as he gets older! The last is from cookies tonight. I didn't get it on the video, but he can say cookie pretty good. It's an important word to him! One of the moments I was unable to get on video was him crouching down into a big pot I have and then trying to get the lid on himself. It was cute! Ok, enough of this nonsense! Good night!

Estes Park, CO 2010

Gil, Jude, and I took off for the majestic mountains of Colorado last Friday afternoon for a quick little end-of-summer vacation with my family. We drove separate from the rest of the gang since Gil had to teach on Friday. We arrived at midnight and stayed until Monday morning when we hit the road again. Despite the LONG hours in the car, we had a relaxing time and saw amazing sights. Jude thouroughly enjoyed his first vacation (he plays, falls, and lives hard!) and even traveled well. Here are some pictures to highlight our experience.

Mountain.

Having a picnic lunch. This is the best picture of the most people I have. Hope someone else got a better one. Emails please!
Gil and I at the "top"
Gil letting Jude feel the icy cold mountain stream.
Elk.

Jude and Ashtyn played like fools. It was so fun to watch them. Ashtyn loves saying "Jude" and Jude is getting pretty good at his own version of "Ashtyn"

We stayed in a fully furnished vacation home that was just perfect for us and so cute. There was a Daniel Boon hat on one of the coat racks that Jude just loved!
The kids exploring the mountains from the top of the Rockies. Looks like Jude spotted some elk! (He also later fell off this platform and came home with a cut below his eye. Like I said, he goes hard!)

And here are some at home pics

Jude with his new "car"

Jude sporting his hunting gear he got last year for Christmas. Fits perfect now and he is ready to hit the deer stand with dad this fall (NOT!)

(note to Alaina: So sorry we weren't able to make it to your house again...just so little time...someday! I love your state!)