How 'bout a pumpkin?

For the last 5 or 6 weeks Madigan has been asking for a pumpkin (thanks Walmart for having them out SOOOO early). It got even worse when Daddy told Madigan that he would carve her pumpkin into Dora. So, we finally gave in and went to the pumpkin patch on Saturday. Here's a picture of us on the hayride riding out to the patch. Thanks for smiling, Madigan.Choosing the pumpkin was no easy task. We had to inspect them ALL.
Some looked good but were too heavy...
Others were too green or too dirty or not big enough to fit Dora's huge face on. Finally we found one that satisfied all requirements so, of course, we had to take a picture in front of it.
After riding the hayride back to the main area, we tried to get some fall pictures.

Umm... what am I supposed to do?

This hay isn't the most comfortable thing I've ever sat on...

Seriously, just take the picture so I can go play...

Now this is fun - how come he doesn't get in trouble when he sticks out HIS tongue?

We threw in this picture especially for Pa and Gramps and their ongoing red tractor/green tractor feud.

We did finally let her go play. They had hay tunnels, swings, slides, and an area where the kids could pet animals. Madigan was a big fan of that.


Petting the cows...It was a great pumpkin patch adventure. But, the fun didn't end there. The next day Madigan and Daddy started the big task of making the Dora pumpkin.

She was in awe...
But the awe wore off with time and her two year old brain got a bit distracted. "Hey, look at these little pumpkins. I'll call them baby pumpkin, little pumpkin and tiny pumpkin..." And eventually, she gave the project entirely over to Daddy to watch the fish in the pond. :)She was, however, thrilled with the final result. Way to go Daddy!All in all, a great weekend that has gotten her even MORE excited about Halloween. Just wait until she finds out about the real joy of Halloween - the candy!!!

And because it has to be done, I want to leave you with another video. As most of you probably know, the World Series ended tonight which means we are now without baseball to watch for approximately 5 months. :( Madigan says her goodbyes...

Goodbye baseball. We're counting down to Spring Training. Good thing we have things like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to pass the time...

Blue Angels

No, I still haven't gotten the disposable camera developed from our Oklahoma City trip. Yes, I still plan on doing that and making a post about it. But until then... I'll entertain you with our adventures from last weekend.

We went to the air force base to watch the Blue Angels. They were AWESOME! I had never gotten to see them before and I was very impressed. Madigan, on the other hand, thought they were a little too "yowd" (that's loud for all of you who can say your "L"s).

Here's how we started...

This was during the show...

And this was her begging me to let her go back to the car...Of course, once it was over she thought they were the coolest things ever and it's all she's talked about this week. Here are a few pictures Ted took.

Numbers 1 through 5 - #6 was getting ready to buzz over our heads and scare us half to death

Believe it or not, there are FOUR planes in this picture

Two planes about to collide as Top Gun music played in the background - how cool is that?!And yes, 2 of these planes are upside down

We had a great time. Thanks to Joy and Philip for the invitation. I think this will be an annual event for us!

Madigan Explains

Last weekend, we went to Oklahoma for a friend's wedding. We had a wonderful time, but somehow we managed to leave our camera at home. So, we bought a disposable camera. The problem - now I have to finish taking the rest of the pictures and get the film developed before I can post them. How did we function before digital cameras ? :) So, that post is still a little ways off but in the meantime, I wanted to post a couple of pictures from the last few weeks and a video that we found funny.

A few dress up pictures

I think she would have made a good flapper

Here's a picture of Jenna and Madigan at small group waiting for someone to request a song.

And now, Madigan will enlighten you with the her knowledge of the baseball playoffs and the reason the Cubs' curse lives on. (If you can't understand what she's saying, look below the video - I'll provide the transcript)

Daddy - "Hey Madi, who's playing baseball right now?"
Madi - "The Feeeees (Phillies) and the Dodgers and the Rays"
Daddy - "And who else?"
Madi - "And the Red Sox"
Daddy - "Yeah, and who's not playing?"
Madi - "The Cubs and the Rangers"
Daddy - "Why aren't the Cubs playing anymore?"
Madi - "Because they're not winning" (Duh)
Daddy - "Why aren't they winning?"
Madi - "Because they're not playing" (Seriously...)
Daddy - "Where did they go?"
Madi - "Home"
Daddy - "Why did they want to go home?"
Madi - "To see their mommies and their daddies"

So there you have it Cubs fans. The curse continues because your players wanted to go home and see their mommies and daddies. While it's sweet, I'm afraid you might be in for another 100 years with that mentality... :)

A Grand Visit

Weekend before last, Ted's parents made the long journey to come visit us (Madi) for a few days. We had a wonderful time and Madigan reveled in the nonstop attention. "Man, these people think EVERYthing I do is funny!"

On Saturday, we decided to go downtown and check out the farmer's market. While there, we discovered a world of fun! This summer a lot of renovations were made at the River Market and they added a wonderful playground for kids...and big kids. It has tunnels that go under the walkways and up through the rock structures. Madigan and I had a great time "exploring"! There's also a really cool slide, which we discovered was also a really FAST slide. Here's a picture of me (having just flown through the slide) turning to try to catch Madigan who was speeding down behind me.

I zoomed in on that picture here - check out the pigtails and the expression. Fortunately, I broke most of her fall and she thought it was funny. (whew!)
They also have a neat "water pad" where water sprays up at random places and times. Madigan didn't want any part of this, which I was pretty grateful for considering we didn't have her a change of clothes. Here's a cute picture of Madigan, Grandi and Gramps at the playground. We also stumbled upon another fun experience while downtown - a kid's culture fair at the Library. Heifer had a booth there, so Madigan got to pet the goats with Daddy.
Isn't this cute?She liked this water a LITTLE bit better...
Picture in front of the cool bridgeAll in all, it was a great downtown adventure. But, the fun didn't end there! Since Grandi and Gramps weren't able to come for Madigan's birthday, we celebrated again and she got to open some more presents. (No wonder she still doesn't understand when I tell her it's not her birthday anymore). The biggest hit by far was the tea set that sings "I'm a little teapot" when you tip the teapot over.
Since Grandi is so cool, she even let Madigan drink REAL tea out of it during their "tea party". But Madigan wasn't satisfied until everyone got a chance to play tea party...Don't even think about trying to get out of this Daddy...They also brought another really cool gift. This rocking chair was Grandi's when she was a kid. She and a friend re-covered it with Noah's Ark fabric. The rest of the weekend, Madigan moved it from room to room so that she had access to it at all times.
And, as you can see, she's not the only one who liked it! Jenna thought it was the perfect size. We also celebrated Gramp's birthday while they were here. I won't tell you what number this was for him...
This last picture was just really too cute not to post. Here are Gramps and Madigan discussing a book - I can only imagine how that conversation went.Thanks to Grandi and Gramps for coming to visit us. We had a wonderful time and loved spending time with you both!!