Butcher-a-Pumpkin Day!

Hey Y'all,

Just can't keep up with life. Well, after we got the pumpkins, we had to do something with them. Of course, natural instinct, cut them open and carve the lifeless husks into scary pictures, right?
Yum, pumpkin innards.

Uncle Eeeeeeeeeeeeennnnn (aka Ian) likes them too. I think he threw a handful in his mouth when we weren't looking.

Uncle Ian carved "Go" into his pumpkin cause he was rooting for the Oregon Ducks. I helped him with finer artistic points.

Now shave a little here, carve a little there. It's delicate work.

Finished results . . . Nice!!

One picture with me in the foreground so you can see that the pumpkins we picked were large :)

I may be in my PJs, but going to bed just seems wrong after some good carving.

Mom made some pumpkin pies.

On Halloween itself, Gramma helped me work on my monkey face.

And, I came to our door to get CANDY!!!!

How many pieces can I take?

Then I went around the neighborhood with my friend Ethan (aka Harry Potter).

Mom kept following us to the doors, but we had it all figured out on our own. Here Ethan is checking whether anyone is home.

We made a good haul on Halloween. Thank you Gramma and Grampa for coming up to visit!

South 47 Farm to Hunt Pumpkins!!!

We went to an urban farm nearby to get pumpkins last month. When I was a kid it was more of a mystery, but now that I've been around the farm a few times, I know the drill.

We started with a little hay bail riding.
What do you think, can I pass as a local?

Now, where did I put that pumpkin?

Here's my buddy Foster. He's a professional pumpkin lifter. This was a mid weight for him.

Now, after warming up, do you think Foster can lift this one?

Dad and Auntie Naynay picked up a couple of pumpkins for us all. We went big this year.

I helped too. . .

And, I played in the mud. Dinosaur boots: kid tested, mother approved.

And, we saw the tractor ride come through, so we waived.

But they wouldn't stop for us. Oh well, let's go see the animals!

But, I need to have a quick melt down first.

This guy didn't move a lot, but he always had a nice smile for the pictures.

I like feeding GOATS!!!!!

Auntie Naynay give professional horse feeding lessons.

And at the end, we took a family portrait. I like this one.

Oh, come on Mom and Dad, really?

I Make Cake

I don't know about you guys, but I love cake. Over the years, I've been learning to make it myself.
Now, it's important to taste the batter before baking the cake. It's too late to change things once its in the oven you know . . .

Finished product, yum yum. . . . The sprinkles really add to the taste.

Oh yeah, the whole reason for the cake was to celebrate Uncle Ian's birthday.

We made sure we got the University of Oregon's colors (Go Ducks!) into the cake. I think it is a pretty color palette.

Monster Rave in Glenview Illinois

Hey Everyone,

We were in Chicago in early October to visit Oma and Opa. Opa had a little tune up (surgery) and we wanted to see how he was doing, plus get face to face with the family overall and make sure they were keeping it all on the up and up. . .

We got together with Mom's friend Kim and of course Jack and James. Now, Jack has this thing about shirtless Thursdays, and I think we visited on Thursday . . . (just kidding)

Jacks little brother James can't walk yet, but he does manage to roll around and get in the game. He managed to tickle Oma's feet and had her on the run.

Did I mention that Jack is "Super Chill&Happy Baby"?

At one point Jack was accessorizing. We managed a lot of activities in our visit, including a trip to the Kohl's Museum.

Party!!!!

For those of you that can't make it out, my shirt says, "I'm Kind of a Big Deal" :)

When I'm back with Oma and Opa, it seems like some of the rules magically disappear for a while. Can anyone say Dove Bar?

See food.

Opa was helping me eat some pretzels too. I didn't know how much better everything is with butter.

I can't wait until the next trip to Chicago where I can learn another cool food combo. It's all so European :)

Rocket Scientist in the House

Alright, slowly getting current with the summer activity :) In this special edition, I'd like to give a cross-country shout out to my buddy Zan. We didn't take a lot of pictures cause we were busy having fun. But, let's start with some couch time just chill-axing. . .

Did I eat something spicy, or did I make a present? You decide.

At one point, while I was taking a nap, Dad and Zan went out to meet a friend named Dan for a day downtown. This is a picture of them down on the waterfront by the aquarium.

Zan got a real kick out of this game that I like to play with Dad. We call it trust falls. Ready, set,

Fall!!!

Thanks for visiting Zan!