Fall Carnival Fun

The babies watch the older kids on the rides...next year they'll be with them!

Katelyn watches DJ...she is "too tall" to ride the train, but she was a good sport and waved to him as he rode.


K had a blast on the rides!



And this how parents deal with carnivals and screaming kids!!


DJ and Katelyn join us on the carousel. Brady loved it as well!



Daniel, Katelyn, Brady, and DJ at the pumpkin patch at the entrance to the carnival.

Every fall, a local church hosts a fall carnival. There are all the carnie rides and a pumpkin patch and the kids have a blast. They have awesome food and good beer and it's a fun time for all. We joined our good friends The Craig family for an evening of carnival fun!

Brady's 2nd Trip to Pumpkin Patch

This was Brady last year, at a make-shift Pumpkin Patch the day before Halloween (one of those sleep-deprived, overwhelmed new mom days--oh shoot!! we have no pumpkin patch pictures...get in the car...we need to find a pumpkin patch). I found a church that had literally a handful of decent pumpkins left and the sweet lady there helped me gather them up and stage a photo opportunity. This year, we would get an early start. This year we would find a decent pumpkin patch and have better pictures. And we did :-)

Caught Brady standing on his own...he let go of the pumpkin and stood for a while...no steps, but we're getting there!!

Brady is obsessed with pushing things and he started pushing our friend's wagon through the pumpkin patch. Our friend doesn't look too thrilled about this!!

He got a ride in the wagon and LOVED it!!


Loving playing with the small pumpkins!!


Brady and his buddy Ryan.

Brady and I enjoy a morning out with our Mom's group from church while Katelyn was at school. A mom in our group recommended this pumpkin patch in Oviedo and it was great...BIG improvement from last year :-)

Checking out the big pumpkins.

Trying to get a group pic of all our kids...easier said than done!! And look who is STILL in the wagon...he wasn't about to give that up!

M.I.A.

Oh, the drama!! A tiny cut on Katelyn's arm and she kept crying and complaining about it for days. This child knows how to milk an injury!!


Brady found Katelyn's hat and took a liking to it. He crawled around with it on for quite a while...so cute!


Having fun together at home :-)


Our sweet house guest, Nala, a bull mastiff. She stayed with us for a long weekend and we absolutely loved her!! Bryan's friend from work, Chris, watches Bacino for us and we gladly returned the favor by having her here. Talk about a lovable lump! She didn't really move much and was just so sweet with the kids. Katelyn took a liking to her and Nala did follow her. A sweet moment was when K was sitting at her table in her room, coloring a picture and Nala was standing next to her, watching. Katelyn said, "I love you Nala. You're my best friend."

Long time, no blog!! Need to catch up on all the happenings going on around here. October has a been a crazy month!! I'm going to do a lot of catching up through captions...it's a good way to get up to speed.

u2 concert con't

Bono arrives...first song is Breathe. Couldn't believe my eyes.......


Here's Bono on the bridge.


Bono is back on the bridge. It was record-breaking heat this night...sooooooo hot and humid and we were outdoors in a stadium, and Bono wore black jeans and black leather jacket...he must have been roasting!


Adam right above us!!


Adam (bass player) right in front of us. He was so cool (and has aged so much!).
Enjoy this short video Bryan took of the concert:

A Dream Come True

I know it's hard to read, but this is the Facebook announcement that I had won the "front row inner-circle" tickets to the U2 concert in Tampa on Friday, Oct. 9th. I heard on the radio that they were starting a contest...all you had to do is become a fan of this radio station on facebook and you were automatically entered to win. On Monday, Oct. 5th, I received a message that I had won and called the radio station to arrange a ticket pick-up. I'm pretty sure I was just in complete shock. U2 has been my absolute favorite band since junior high...I received the cassette of "Joshua Tree" for Christmas in 1986 or 1985 and I fell in love. I've also had a massive crush on Bono since then...our "love" has lasted for over 20 years :-) I have every live concert dvd they have released and every CD. I saw then live for the first time in Chicago at the Popmart tour...I think it was 1996?? We had okay seats, but it didn't matter to me...I was finally in the same room as Bono and the boys. I could not believe I was actually there. Five years later, I saw them in Chicago again. Our seats were a little closer and at one point in the concert, the lights were turned on in the arena and I swear Bono and I looked at each other...just for a brief moment (this has been a source of much teasing and doubt by my friends...BUT I know the truth :-). Six months later, after 9/11, we saw them in Tampa. My sister Ali, her husband Rob, and I had the worst seats...second to the last row, very end of the arena. I remember Garbage was opening the concert and we could barely see them. Ali accidentally spilled her beer and the beer ran down the step and got the person in front of us wet. Ali panicked and we just left our seats before she could turn around and get upset. Luckily, Rob had connections and his company was in one of the suites, so he made a quick phone call, and we were instantly upgraded and allowed inside the suite. Awesome!! Another great concert, with an amazing finale that honored all those killed in 9/11. I didn't think anything could top that...then I won these tickets.

A long walk to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa...we could see the spaceship set.

We've arrived at the inner circle....so close to the stage! Adam and Bono walked over that bridge several times.

Woo-hoo!! We made it!


Muse was the opening band...we both enjoyed their music.

Cruisin'

Our ship leaves Tampa.



Our first dinner in the Carnival dining room...oh, the melting choc. cake was amazing!!


Since we had such a good deal, we were in a bunk bed interior room. I was picturing us being in a janitor closet, but I was pleasantly surprised by the space and the beds were so, so comfortable. Loved the linens!




Gotta love the mandatory lifeboat drill!


Water park on the top deck...pretty fun slide!!


The Serenity Deck...our home away from home. Such comfy lounge chairs and NO KIDS. Two hot tubs also and you can press a button for a waiter. The casual rest. was just above us, so we would walk up the stairs and refill our lemonades or iced teas, bring down lunch, etc.

Docked in Cozumel on Saturday.



In Cozumel, we enjoyed most of the day at Chaankanab National Park, only 5 min. from the cruise ship. So quiet and clean. Lots of snorkeling!! And let me tell you, the fish are not shy! Very used to people and being fed...got a little to close for comfort!

One of the many snorkeling spots at Chaankanub. Water was the most perfect temperature and very clear.


We found this bar only a block from Carlos and Charlies...$1 bottles of beer!!

We love to cruise!! Guess it's in our blood, as both sets of our parents LOVE to cruise as well. Last spring, Bryan came across an awesome deal...a four day cruise out of Tampa to Cozumel for only $219. We booked right away and our friend Alissa and Bryan and Andrea joined us. We left Tampa on Thurs. Oct. 1st and returned Mon. Oct. 5th. (Thurs and Fri. day at sea, Sat. in Cozumel, Sun. day at sea). We cruised on the Carnival Inspiration, which was identical to the only other cruise ship we've been on, the Sensation. The weather was awesome all 4 days, very calm seas. Food was excellent and I loved our sweet waiter Torcado from India and our crazy maitre' d, "Super-Charged" Joseph who loved to put on dance parties at the end of dinner. So much time to relax and re-charge.
Can't wait for the next cruise!!

Current Loves

Brady LOVES hanging out on the dog bed in our bedroom. I really don't know what the attraction is, but if he disappears for a moment, he is almost always just sitting on the dog bed. Occasionally he also rolls around on it...again not, sure why. It's his favorite place in the house.




And Katelyn LOVES the Jonas Brothers, esp. Nick Jonas. Her favorite song is "Burnin' Up," and she's having a Jonas Bros. birthday party on Oct. 25th. Our friend Kelly got her these pj's as an early birthday gift and she couldn't wait to put them on!! They also brought her luck...she was wearing them when we stopped by a radio station (it was Pajama Day at school...I wasn't letting her just wear pj's out and about) and the receptionist noticed her pj's and gave her the Jonas Brother's Concert Experience on DVD. Let's just say that DVD has been playing pretty much non-stop since then!!

Who needs a playground when you can climb over and under the kitchen table chairs?? Brady loves to climb!!


Some funny comments/moments I don't want to forget:

Katelyn: In ballet, she calls 1st, 2nd, etc. positions "magicians." EX: "This is how you do 1st magician."
Katelyn calls her hamper, "hamburg." I crack up at this. "mom, I'll bring my hamburg into the laundry room."
The other day, after I mentioned something to her (can't remember what it was), Katelyn told me "you are downright confusing!" Where did she get that one????
Brady loves to dance to Miley Cyrus, "Party in the USA." He also LOVES having his hair brushed and if you say, "Brady, brush your hair..." he will pretend to brush his hair.
He has also discovered light switches and will point and beg to switch the lights on and off. When we arrive home, he likes to press the button of the garage door.