We kicked off this Halloween season last Wednesday evening with a visit to Edmond's annual Storybook Forest at Lake Arcadia. It's such a neat family event that's geared for the smaller kiddoes who aren't all that interested in being scared to death. They have a trail through the woods with several storybook themes set up and places to trick or treat for candy. Outside of the trail they have about a dozen campfires set up for families to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, or just sit for a bit and warm up by the fire. They also have games and hayrides but we had to skip those this year because it was getting so late. Grammy came along with us and we were also joined by Nicholas' friends, Kacee, Aiden, and Silas. We missed Max, who couldn't make it, but we'll make up for it next year I'm sure.
Now I have to take a minute to talk about the costume. Nicholas has been really interested in anything having to do with space for months so the decision on what to wear was really not much of a decision. I found this one in a magazine and instantly knew it was the one for him. It came with a pretty hefty price tag but I'm glad we decided to make an exception this year because it has been totally and completely worth it. After two long months of waiting the time came to suit up and this kid was literally squealing with delight. I'm very proud that he managed to be so patient because we didn't start off too well, as you might remember here. But, that's all in the past and we're definitely getting our money's worth. More Halloween festivities to come soon!
Doing a moonwalk...
I was so excited about this year's costume that I made a little something for myself too. The back of my t-shirt says "Mission Control". Nicholas really liked that we were a team and so did I!
I really have no intention of bringing anyone down today, but I have to share this story with you. It’s very moving and it means something special to me in spite of how gut-wrenching it is to read. One of the photography bloggers I follow has always been very open about the loss of her child a few years ago. His name was Gavin and he died of whooping cough when he was only a few months old. I remember the first time I read his story and how the tears were running down my face in streams. Well, Gavin’s 2nd birthday passed this week and she wrote a few different posts about the pain of trying to get through it in one piece. In one of them, she had a link to the blog she wrote on his first birthday, complete with several beautiful pictures of him the day he was born. When I read her words last year they pierced my heart like an arrow, and this year was certainly no different. The moment you hear them in your mind you feel them reverberate in your heart and soul. You want to run home and hug your child as tight as you can and never, ever let him go. I don’t ever, ever, ever want to take for granted the precious gift that I have of being able to share in his life every single day. I get to stroke his hair, tickle his sides, hold him tight, kiss him goodnight, and hear his little voice proclaim "I love you, Mama". For that I am infinitely thankful and lucky beyond measure. These are a few of the words that I found so beautiful and inspiring. I can't get them out of my head and I will always remember them for times when I need a gut check. I hope I am never guilty of not appreciating the miracle of my son. What a touching reminder to savor the little moments you share with your children.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Had I known your days were numbered, I’d have stopped and counted every breath you took.
Had I known how quickly the clock was ticking, I’d have lay awake nights simply to watch you sleep.
Had I known the fleeting presence of your mortal life on the vast radar of eternity, I’d have put the world on pause to hold you against my heart.
-Natalie Norton
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I know I'll be hugging my baby a little closer tonight.
Wow, what a weekend! We hadn't been to visit my brother and his family in Branson for a few months so when Nicholas was out of school for Fall Break last week, we decided to load up and head out. And it couldn't have come at a better time because there were two very important celebrations coming up. The first was a party for my grandfather's (Pop) 90th birthday! His actual birthday is about a month away still but with all of us in different places we took the opportunity when it came. I feel so thankful to have my Pop so happy and healthy at such an amazing age. He is truly the heart of our family and he is fiercly loved by each of us. Nicholas absolutely adores him and watching the two of them together fills my heart with such happiness. But the party didn't stop there! Kami and Jake's 8th birthday is coming up on Halloween so their party was Saturday afternoon. Jeff and April put together quite a little shindig, complete with a giant inflatable slide that my son went totally cookoo for. (I might have to remember that for his next party!) The whole weekend was just perfect and just what I needed. My neices and nephew (Alli, Jake, & Kami) are terrific kids and so much dang fun! They are so sweet to Nicholas and he is especially fond of all Jake's toys. I can't tell you how many times I heard "Let's play in Jake's room!" And of course, no trip home would be complete without Aunt Julie. She always drops whatever she has going on and comes running when we're able to visit. She was the icing on our triple birthday cakes this weekend!
We got Pop to talking about all sorts of things Friday evening and it
gave me the perfect opportunity to take some candid pictures of him.
This one is undoubtedly my favorite!
Oh, this kid...
Lined up for a pinata smackdown!!
Playing with Star Wars Lego's. They look like a tiny
toy nightmare, but we might have to suck it up and get him
some anyway because he couldn't get enough.
And I love that no matter how old we get, we always find a little time to act like children.
Best part is that Julie was trying her best to be totally sarcastic and it turned out to
be one of my most favorite pictures of her ever!! That'll teach her.
And, we're not done yet! Up next we have a little video of Nicholas giving us an impromptu concert Saturday night. LOVE IT!!
And just to give you an idea of how totally and completely exhausted Nicholas was from 3 days of non-stop play, he fell asleep at 7:00 last night and slept until 8:00 this morning. That was a definite FIRST!
As you might remember, Greg and I got Nicholas a bicycle for his 3rd birthday, totally convinced that he would love it and want to ride it all the time! Well, we were wrong. It has sat in our garage, virtually untouched since the day he got it. This irked me to no end because I knew if he gave it a chance he'd fall madly in love with it. So, I patiently waited because I knew the time would come. Well, that time has come......finally! We headed outside after dinner last night all prepared to give it a go. We put his helmet on, all nice and secure. Then we got the tire pump out to put a little air in the deflated tires, which got him really excited. Give him a mechanical job to do and you have one very happy boy. Then without further ado, he jumped on and started pedaling like he'd been doing it for years. He was so proud of himself and I was smiling from ear to ear watching him pedal up and down the sidewalk. I think he finally understands what I've been trying to tell him all this time and I'm hoping there are many hours of biking riding in our future!!
In case you can't hear, he stopped here because he didn't want to drive through the mud up ahead. He was asking me to carry his bike over it. Smart thinkin'!
We took a little road trip this weekend with Mimi & Papa down to Saint Jo, Texas to visit our cousins Shelly, Bill, and Tyler. Each year, Bill hosts a golf tournament/reunion for his side of the family and they are always nice enough to invite the golf-loving Jaggi's (minus one member - me) to join the celebration. This group is always a hoot to be around and we all thoroughly enjoy our visits with them. Bill's mother, Doris, manages an amazing little hotel called the Texas Kings Hotel, that sits in the town square and is a really, really neat place to see. It's in a historic building and they have all the rooms decorated to fit the Old West theme. While everyone was out playing golf Saturday morning I was able to convince Nicholas to let me take some pictures of him in front of the stores. He only cooperated for about 10 minutes but it was just long enough for me to get some really great pictures. I love them so much that I'm thinking I might use them for this year's Christmas card. With that in mind, I debated on whether or not I really wanted to spoil the surprise, but I just couldn't resist.
(Got to love the storm trooper shoes.)
Nicholas found some of Tyler's old toy guns to play with. Always a favorite.
The third place medals which Greg's team scored!
What this picture fails to show is the crowd of about 30 standing right behind him on the other side of the couch. Everyone was laughing and carrying on but somehow it didn't phase him one single bit.
