Time for a Halloween Rhyme

It’s the Cat in the Hat!

Embarrassing costumes? He knows a lot about that!

He’s a cat and he’s oodles of fun.

With his hairy helpers Thing 2 and Thing 1!



Even Horton made her debut on this eve in the Fall.

Because, after all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.

But she didn’t like the big hat and started to bawl.

 Then off she went with a grunt and a crawl.

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.

Be that didn’t stop us on that cold, cold wet day.

We took to the street to get good things to eat.

And looked to the sky for a beautiful treat.

The afternoon before there was a party to attend.

Our Things had a blast with their little My Gym friends.

Those things ran about with big jumps, bumps and thumps.

I don't know if anything next year will be able to trump.

But we will all be anxiously awaiting

Next Halloween and more celebrating!

Pumpkins and Patience

On a windy Spring day, the twins helped Grandpa plant some pumpkins.

All summer long they excitedly checked the status of their pumpkins from the first sprout to the yellow blossoms to the small, green balls and finally, bright orange pumpkins! I know a lot of people use a garden to teach their children the value of patience; unfortunately, this was not the case with the twins. They wanted to pick and paint their pumpkins yesterday! It's hard to drive home the concept of waiting patiently to toddlers, especially in an era of Dora OnDemand and pre-made Rice Krispie Treats. I remember waiting all week to watch my favorite cartoon (The Smurfs!) on Saturday morning. Not so for this generation. Forget Generation X, Y, Z or whatever letter is supposed to define this age group. I am hereby dubbing them Generation NOW: Cohorts of Instant Gratification. But I digress. Back to the pumpkins. . .

A few days ago, on a nice Fall day, the harvest was finally ready.

Grandpa helped them pick their pumpkins and they took them back to our house.

This year I decided not to paint or carve the pumpkins. Instead I had a variety of craft supplies that they could simply stick on the pumpkins. We also spray painted a couple of little pumpkins black and used some pipe cleaner and googly eyes to turn them into spiders. It was a big hit!

Shhh. . .don't tell Makenzie but if you look in the background of that picture you can see that Lexi stole her sister's sippy cup and was helping herself to a drink while Kenzie was busy bedazzling her gourd. Once again I present to you Generation NOW.

If you visit our house, this boo-tiful array of pumpkins will greet you at our front door. The twins are quite proud of them and love showing them off!

Thanks, Grandpa!!

More Hiking Adventures

Wind Caves in Logan
The destination was awesome! The journey? Not so much. This hike was dubbed one of the best hikes with children in Utah, but it was fairly steep the entire way and longer than the guidebook or the signage at the trail head stated. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 fruit snacks.


Fehr Lake in The Uintas
A great way to spend a fabulous Autumn day. Even the moon wanted to stay out and enjoy the scenery. (That is what the tiny white dot in the sky is, this picture really doesn't do it justice.)This was a short, fun hike for toddlers and preschoolers alike. Lots of bridges, steps and water to keep them interested. Rating: 4 out of 5 fruit snacks.

Maybe someday when I am feeling ambitious I will create another blog devoted entirely to describing and rating my favorite hikes for children 5 and under.

LOVE IT/LOATHE IT

LOVE IT: Baby polar bears!
LOATHE IT: My bi-polar toddler.

LOVE IT: Feeling the sand between my toes when I walk on the beach.
LOATHE IT: Feeling sand on my bare feet when I walk into the twins’ bathroom.

LOVE IT: A hike on any mountain trail.
LOATHE IT: A hike on my property tax notice.

LOVE IT: New episodes of The Good Wife and Modern Family.
LOATHE IT: Reruns from the aforementioned bi-polar toddler.

LOVE IT: Spending money on a break.
LOATHE IT: Spending money on new brakes.

LOVE IT: The leaves turning red outside.
LOATHE IT: My walls smeared with red stuff inside.

LOVE IT: Mini candy bars everywhere!
LOATHE IT: Mega calories on my hips and thighs!