A Happy Halloween!

I promised Halloween photos right???? Here they are! There are just a few here but I wanted to try out my new slideshow abilities (thanks to Christy for figuring out how to make slideshows and sharing her knowlege)! Enjoy!!!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I really enjoy Halloween, moreso than ever before since I have a little one. I know some people think Halloween is evil, but I don't think it has to be that way. Owen had such a great time this year. We spent Halloween evening at Granna and Pawpaw's house, and we had our first experience with trick-or-treating. Owen was done after about six houses. He seemed to like giving out candy better than walking around to get candy--I'm sure that will be different next year! On Saturday, we spent the better part of the evening at the Finley's annual Halloween bash which was fun as always. Owen was excited because he got to play with Eli, Christy and Burt's nephew who would have won the award for cutest cowboy ever. :) On Sunday we spent the afternoon with Nanna and Poppa where Owen determined that he loves playing in leaves. More photos to come, including some of Owen in his pirate costume.....

Our Cruise

This year Daniel and I were fortunate to be able to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise with several good friends. We left out last Monday, headed to Key West. We also went to Cozumel and Belize before docking back at Fort Lauderdale. The cruise was a blast, particularly Margaritaville in Cozumel (we went to two Margaritavilles). Snorkeling was awesome as well. There were tons of fun activities on the ship, which was awesome by the way. We had the chance to be pampered by the staff on the ship. Thankfully, we had fairly good weather for the most part and everyone made it back safely. No one got seasick (well, Burt got a little tipsy) and we had great food and fun! I will definitely go again sometime, although I think it will be awhile before I can leave Owen for that long of a period of time. I should not worry about him though, because he was well taken care of while we were gone...Here are some of the photos from the cruise!



Now, because I am posting two things in one....these pics are just about Fall, which I think is Owen's favorite season. We spent the afternoon riding the tractor today and he definitely had fun.

The Boat Ride

I should have posted this a couple of weeks ago but I've been busy so I'm a little late. We took Owen for his real first boat ride about six weeks ago and I was so nervous about having him out on the water that I actually forgot to take pictures. These pics are of his second ride, and they are much better than the first ones would have been anyway since he spent the entire first ride sitting on my lap with his eyes half-way shut. He really seemed to enjoy the second time around. He mostly likes driving the boat.

I think I like it....

Sittin' on the dock....

Helping Daddy drive...

The County Fair

This past weekend, Christy suggested that we take Owen to the County Fair. It was a GREAT idea! We sent Burt to walk in the woods and Daniel to fish on the lake, and we had a really good time. We had a free parking pass (thanks to my Momma) which made the day even better. Owen was so excited before we even got there, mainly about seeing the goats. He got to feed one, which he thought was fun and scary. He was not crazy about the camel or the horses. I think his favorite part was riding in the tractor/train. The driver was so nice and allowed Owen to get in the tractor for photos. As is to be expected, Christy got some great photos....

We will definitely go again next year!!!

WEEKENDS

Do you ever really stop to think about how you spend your weekends? Our typical weekend is a Friday night (and sometimes a Saturday night as well) eating and playing cards with our friends Burt and Christy--every now and then we get an extra person--this past weekend we had Joe, a friend of ours who works with Daniel. Joe was not available for photos. We drink ALOT of coffee, eat ALOT of oreos (or whatever the choice is for the week) and basically just laugh and have a good time. The thing I love about our weekends with friends like these is that they don't mind spending some time with Owen before he goes off to bed, at which point the card games begin. I got some FANTASTIC photos this weekend of Owen, Christy, Daniel and Burt. As you can see, we play dress-up and Owen gets to fix Christy's hair. I love these pics because they are honest, and I think they show the meaning of true friends and fun!

Nobody is immune from the cowboy hat!

Daniel--doing his Jacob the werewolf (Twilight reference, for those who don't know)

At the beauty shop

Stitches and Suitcases

For those of you who don't know yet, Owen had a bad accident at daycare on Thursday. He fell backward and busted his head on a bookcase and ended up having three stitches. Owen is doing great and I am okay (now I'm okay--I was not okay at first). I know it's gross but I thought it would be therapeutic for me to blog about it. Here is the photo of his stitches--right in the back of his head. We go back in a week to get them out.

In spite of his stitches, Owen is into everything as usual. I am so excited about our cruise that I've already started packing. Owen has decided that he wants to come too. He fits in the suitcase, so I don't see where that should be a problem! :)

Two Years Old? No way...

Owen had a wonderful birthday. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us for the party. He loves all of his presents, especially his lawn mower. For the last two mornings he has asked if he can "open his presents again". I will be posting some photos from the party soon--Christy took some great ones. Here are some pics from Monday, his actual birtday. It was hot as could be, but essential that we get the lawn mower outdoors so we could make bubbles!

A Birthday Event

Owen's second birthday is Monday, July 28th, but we are celebrating over this weekend because Daniel and I both have to work on Monday. Today my mom and I took Owen to the Creative Discovery Museum. One of the things I love about living near Chattanooga is that there is always something to do. Owen had a blast. For those of you who have never been to the CDM, it has some really cool activities for children of all ages. There's a dinosaur exhibit, an art area, a music area, the "Little Yellow House" (a very realistic and cool place for children under the age of four)and--Owen's favorite--the water works area. This month's special exhibit is "Clifford The Big Red Dog" but it was so crowded on the top floor where Clifford was that we didn't get too many photos. It was difficult to get him to focus on the camera because he was overwhelmed with all of the activities. He is already asking to go "back to the museum"!

Playing in the Little Yellow House...

Diggin for dinosaur bones...

Playing the drums (and some other interesting instruments)...

Catching a big fish...

Playing in the water (he would have stayed here all day if I'd let him)...

Getting REALLY tired and hungry....

My Little Monkey...Grease Monkey, That Is

Last week the axle on Daniel's boat broke (or whatever it is that happens to axles). Of course I can't keep Owen indoors just because of a broken axle, so we hung out with Daddy while he worked on it. Anyone who has observed our blog knows by now that whenever Daniel has a project, Owen is bound to be as involved as I will allow. This time was no different. Check out that greasy nose....
"Fixing" his tractor