Yosemite in October

Monday we headed to Yosemite because neither Vic nor Virginia had ever been. The water was once again gone from the waterfalls, only a mist coming from Bridalveil falls. Virginia already has plans to head back up there when she comes back in June for Clara's dance recital -- the waterfalls should be in full force then!

Momok and Popok with the kids.

The 'Fat Man' and my Little Man

Clara brought along her camera this time. Here she is getting Momok to pose for a picture.

My siamese twins...for some reason this is getting to be their signature pose.

Momok and Popok in front of a Giant Sequoia

Posing with Momok and Popok

The kids and I

Acting silly

Clara and Momok hugging a tree

These are the roots of a fallen Giant Sequoia

I love the color of the bark on the Giant Sequoias

Posing at Tunnel View

Bridalveil Falls, mostly dried up.

The river bed was dry

Half Dome

Our picnic

Just after we sat down, 8 deer came to join us for lunch. They came right up to the fence near our table. One jumped to our side near us. Others jumped the fence further away and we all held our breath as they ran across the busy street leading through Yosemite. 2 stayed behind to munch on some grass.

AMAZING!

Pumpkin Patch

Sunday we headed to the Pumpkin Patch. This year we visited a new pumpkin patch because it was closer to home, though I think next year we'll head back out to the one we visited last year. Still, we had a good time picking out the perfect pumpkins.

They had wagons at the pumpkin patch that were the perfect size for the kids to pull, and the kids did a great job sharing that responsibility!

Here we are ready to go in search of the perfect pumpkin!

We picked a big pumpkin to carve and a little one for Clara to take in to preschool for their Halloween party.

Stopping for a picture with Momok.

Sometimes when I'm trying to get both kids to look at me for a picture, I'll ask them where my nose is, then snap the pic as they look in my direction...this time they showed me where their noses were instead!

Picking the perfect pumpkin is hard work for a little guy!

The kids and I did the hay bale maze, though we skipped the HUGE corn maze.

There was a tractor pulled hayride too.

Clara's a turkey!

Gobble, Gobble!

Don't we make a cute 2 headed turkey?

That pumpkin has a motion sensor that makes it laugh and jiggle when set off. I showed the kids one night how to 'scare' the pumpkin by jumping in front of it and wiggling around. Clara took it a step further and will scare it by wiggling her bottom at it...and she just HAD to show Grandma! I don't know about that girl sometimes.

Even Clemson is in the Halloween spirit with his bandanna!

We haven't gotten around to carving our pumpkin yet, but I'll be sure to take pics when we do!

Momok and Momok's Visit

Chris' parents came to visit us last week and stayed the full week. We had a lot of fun with them. Here's a sampling of pics that don't really fit under any other heading. Jonathan called both Grandma and Grandpa, "Momok" this time, we had to listen really hard and determine through context whether he was speaking to Momok, Popok or Mama.

Last Saturday night we arranged to meet them as they came into to town at a restaurant to grab some dinner. After dinner we came back to the house and it didn't take long for the kids to get Momok playing Batman with them.

Jonathan showed Momok his car driving skills...watch out NASCAR!

There's always time to veg in front of the TV.

The kids loved wrestling with Popok in the recliner before bedtime.

Jonathan ran quality assurance on the things coming from the kitchen.

One of Jonathan's favorite things was to climb up in the recliner with Popok and about 6 matchbox cars. Then, while sitting in Popok's lap, he drove each car off the front of the chair. He'd get down and throw them back up into Popok's lap one by one and then climb back up and start all over again. This kept him occupied for long periods of time.

We had a great visit. We went to the pumpkin patch and Yosemite, and even celebrated someone's birthday :) Momok and Popok got to come along to preschool and dance class. It was a good week!

New Babysitter

A couple weekends ago, the kids and I headed to Uncle Larry and Aunt Sandi's for a visit. It had been quite a while, and Clara had mentioned to me earlier that previous week that she missed them...so off we went!

Soon after arriving, we learned that Uncle Larry and Aunt Sandi had gotten a new dog, and the kids were thrilled with what came with the dog...his crate.

The following week, Chris asked me about this email Uncle Larry sent to him:

"Torie went to Chick-Fil-A over the weekend, so we got to watch the kids for a while. Don't worry, you can see they had plenty of food and water, although they really need to work on their bowl eating skills. Here are a couple of pictures. Hope you are doing well and staying safe."

Maybe I should get a crate for the kids...uh, I mean Clemson :)

No Cavities!!!!!!

Clara went to the dentist for the first time ever today!!!! She did great. She sat still, followed direction, and was VERY brave. The dentist said, "no cavities, perfect dentition, perfect alignment...can't make any money here." How great is that?!

Here she is at the start of the appointment. She even sat still for x-rays, and they didn't just take the typical bitewings. They took a complete series to be thorough, which is closer to 8 different x-rays. (When I worked, I was lucky if I could get most kids her age to sit still for just the 2 bitewings -- and I was better than most with kids). I'm so proud of her. She said the prophy angle (polisher) was a little scary to her at first, but I didn't know it until she told me after the appointment. She was fantastic! I'm so glad her first visit to the dentist was a good one.

Here she is with her loot: an over-sized toothbrush, a bracelet, and a sticker...not to mention a beautiful shiny smile!

Jonathan came along to watch, as an introduction. The dentist, assistant, and I all briefly tried to get Jonathan to just sit in the chair (in the upright position) today. He said, "NO!" when asked if he wanted to, and not wanting to taint his view of the dentist so early, we all just left it at that. Then the dentist suggested that I sit down in the chair with him in my lap...and "everyone in the chair would get a special prize". Jonathan was OK with that plan. It was only after receiving his prize that he finally decided it was OK to give the dentist a high five. The dentist said 2.5 years old is the typically the earliest the kids will go in the chair. I expect it to be longer in Jonathan's case, and as long as I don't see any cavities in his mouth, I won't push it. It's much more important to me that he has no apprehension about going to the dentist.

Clara walked around all day telling EVERYONE that she went to the dentist this morning. She was so proud of herself, particularly of her bravery (she takes being brave for Jonathan's sake pretty seriously). Tonight, during our bedtime talk about the day, I asked her what was her favorite part about going to the dentist. To which she replied, "All of it." She is definitely my kid!

The Weekend in Pictures

Clara's been getting to that point again lately where I can tell she's in need of some one-on-one attention, so I suggested a slumber party Saturday night...except, then she wanted Jonathan to join us. I tried to convince her it would be a great time for just us girls, but she told me, "Jonathan likes slumber parties, too." How could I argue with that. The only problem, Clara's still in need of a little extra attention. The slumber party, while a special time for us all, did nothing to help with the behavior that comes from a child in need of a little extra attention. Hopefully, Momok and Popok can help out with that next week when they get here.

The kids got set up with the blankets, pillows and popcorn...ready to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks!

Well, maybe not quite ready to watch...

Sunday morning, Batman made an appearance at the breakfast table. (Notice the blue headband he wore). Who knew Batman liked yogurt?!

Ahhh!!!!....It's Batman!

Sunday afternoon, I made it into Jonathan's room before he woke up from his nap (he's usually awake and waiting on me). Sunday he was sleeping sideways in his crib...it's moments like this that melt my heart. Look how peaceful and comfortable he is!

Not too much going on around here lately. Just 7 more weeks until Chris comes home, though I think this deployment is finally taking a toll on all of us. Chris says he's ready to be home and we are all certainly ready to have him here with us. Tomorrow is Clara's first dental appointment ever (I know, as a hygienist I should know better than to wait so long). She's excited and hopefully does well, as Jonathan will be along to watch as an introduction. I'll let you know how it goes!

Ghoul-night

Well...not exactly ghouls, but how cute is this?!