Fall happenings--Sham WOW!

We've been trying to pack in a lot of fun with the kids before our next pair make their grand entrance. As I recall, we were fairly housebound for the first month or so with newborns so we're now going places we won't be able to go for awhile.

In October, we went to the zoo, the pumpkin patch, and the state fair. The zoo is huge so we only got to see about half of it before kids and mommy ran out of gas and needed to head home. At first, we were tempted to rush from exhibit to exhibit, but that just frustrated Alex and Sasha. For the millionth time, we were reminded that the kids should lead the kids' experience and we should just follow and enjoy their fun. If you ask Sasha and Alex today what they liked about the zoo, they will probably tell you the best parts were:

• the animal rescue helicopter they got to sit in (they cried when they had to climb out)


• the gazillion acorns along the path perfect for lining their pockets


• the baby and the mommy elephant


• the "deer" (gazelles or impalas--not quite sure)


• the giraffe we never saw because he was "sleeping" (according to the kids)


• the POLAR BEAR!


• the free Zoo Bucket that came with their lunch


• the shuttle "train" that took us from one end of the zoo to the other

Here are some pics of the highlights:

The next weekend, we hit the pumpkin patch with our friends Megan, Drew, and Asher. Twelve dollars seemed a little steep for selecting one pumpkin but we quickly found it was a hay-bale, corn-maze, baby-goat wonderland for the kids. Once again, our expectations were a bit off the mark as we expected the kids to pick actual pumpkins. When let loose in the patch, both Alex and Sasha insisted that their choice was a green, runt of a baby pumpkin that looked more like a lime than anything else.

I confess that we pocketed the fake citrus and choose extra pumpkins behind their backs. Besides picking non-pumpkins we saw a lot of farm animals, navigated a corn maize (get it!?), took a hayride, and climbed over this haybale-drainage-pipe obstacle course.

We didn't get many good pics of the fair, but did enjoy some Turkey Leg and Funnel Cake. (Just doing our best to model good nutrition). Sasha did not dig the enormous drumstick, but Alex was a big fan and ate most of it himself. We saw some more baby animals (always a big hit) and narrowly avoided Nu getting suckered into buying a ShamWow. "But we saw how it works WITH OUR OWN EYES!!!" Um, no.

Halloween was awesome--great fall weather and lots of candy. Pink Butterfly and Black Bat were thrilled with the idea of wearing their costumes and getting candy from complete strangers. The grandparents followed them around like Flashbulb-Popping Stalkarazzi. Only later did we find out that Grandpa's flash wasn't working right and Grandma had her camera permanently set on 15-second-delay (designed for self portriats). After blinding 20 strangers with their unannounced picture taking, they had 4 decent pics at the end of the evening. Sigh. Luckily, Nu was able to get good pics to share:

Halloween Bedtime

How do you know when "The Three Little Pigs" is too scary? When you find Alex and Sasha in the same bed an hour later. Maybe together they can fend off the Big, Bad Wolf?

Multi Mini's

In T-minus 10 minutes, we will be a 2 minivan family. Would this license plate put me over the edge?

Presidential Debate Drinking Game

Here it is! The final presidential debate Drinking Game. I'll be loading up on milk, but you can pick your own poison and play along. I've ripped much of this off from. . .

http://davethenovelist.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/presidential-debate-drinking-game/

But I've made some changes to make it funnier.

TAKE A SHOT:

-When the buzzwords “change” or “maverick” or “hope” or "cronies" are used

-Whenever either candidate says “fundamental” or “fundamental difference”

-When someone says “I voted for or against” or “He voted for or against”

-When McCain refers to Obama’s “inexperience”

-When McCain stammers and looks like he might have a heart attack

-When McCain somehow works in his personal story as a POW during Vietnam

-When McCain refers to the moderator as “my friend” or the audience as “my friends”

-When Obama somehow works in his personal story of being raised by a single mom and his grandparents

-When Obama makes a smirk, shakes his head, and says, “Look…” as a preface to a statement or follow-up

-When Obama makes the case that McCain and Bush are one and the same or uses the phrase “more of the same”

-When Obama says “John McCain is right on this, but…”

-When either one lays claims to being “bipartisan” or working “across the aisle”

ECONOMY SPECIFIC RULES:

-When someone mentions the “Bailout” of Wall Street

-When someone mentions Wall Street and Main Street in the same train of thought

-When someone starts quoting dollar figures (for example: 700 billion)

-When someone talks about mortgages/foreclosures/homeowners

-When someone says the word "Fannie" without cracking up

-When either candidate explains what the heck the initials AIG stand for

-When someone dares to utter the R-word (recession)

FOREIGN POLICY SPECIFIC RULES:

-If anyone uses the words “surge” or “victory”

-When anyone mentions a particular nation as being a potential “nuclear” threat

-When McCain talks about Islamic Radicals/Terrorists

-When Georgia, Russia, Iran, Iraq, and/or N. Korea are mentioned

-Finish your drink if both candidates ignore foreign affairs in favor of discussion of the economy

Palin and SNL

Two of my new favorite Palin parodies on SNL. Notice the 2nd one mocks the debate and makes fun of Biden too. I'm so bipartisan!!!!

It's never too early . . .

. . . to impose your dreams on your unwilling children. At least, that's according to Nu.

Today, he announced that he and his brother would take the kids out to "train" them in their soccer skills. This is not the first time (or even the 2nd) that they have taken the kids out to a soccer field to drill them on the basics. To prepare his twin 2-yr-olds, Nu brought 7 soccer balls, a ball pump, cones (for running drills), and soccer jerseys for each of them.

Thanks to some friends' generosity, Alex sports Zidane's jersey and Sasha has Ronaldinho. He wanted to get them some cleats, but I convinced him that we could hold off for a few more months. The kids were excited to play some soccer with daddy. They were eager to bring their own soccer balls. They played enthusiastically. . . for 10 minutes. After that, they were lured away by snacks, leaves on the ground, butterflies, their water bottle, and pretty much anything else that crossed their line of vision.

Alex was particularly fond of the soccer ball pump and tried to "fix" all the soccer balls in Nu's bag. When asked if she would like to play some more soccer, Sasha said, "No. I want to eat." Conclusive confirmation of her mom's genes--as if we needed it.

I came along to provide snacks, enjoy the beautiful day, and to ensure they weren't pressured into sprinting tests. Alex was more participatory than Sasha and demonstrated some impressive ball-handling skills. Sasha can run pretty fast and enjoyed running over (not around) the cones. In the end, Dad and Bro gave up and played some soccer themselves while the rest of us ate our sandwiches in the shade.


Sasha: "How long do we need to hold this pose?" Alex: "My cheeks hurt, daddy."

Palin Debate Chart

Note: I make no claims as to Palin as a good VP candidate. I just think this chart is really funny!Props to Anna and Nu for sending this to me. Well worth the time lost at work.