Fall Spirit: Part 2

A surprising Sunday off of work for me quickly became a celebration with home fall festivities!!


Carving station....



My boys getting their creative vibes going for their jack-o-lantern creations!



Pumpkin coloring/carving


Z Chefs' fall evening menu: grilled sirloin and shrimp, roasted sweet potatoes, fresh green salad, and roasted pumpkin seeds. Alfresco!

16 Candles

Bitter-sweet 16....my little brother Tanner aged a little more this week! Bittersweet for those of us around my sweet bro that see how fast time has gone and how he has surpassed being a boy and quickly becoming a man. Sixteen years ago you came into my life, such a surprise and such a delight! I have many snapshot memories of you being a tiny infant with your cone shaped head, our 1 st Christmas together, babysitting you when I was in high school.....you are a wonderful, strong, and talented young man! Happy Birthday Tanner, hope all your wishes come true!

Tanner's Crew.....
My Dad and Claudia threw Tanner a surprise party, with the help of his friends!


My baby sis, Bella, and I


Surprise!!!


Make a wish! (Tanner and our Dad)

Bobby Fan!!

I am a huge foody follower to my favorite chefs. I am addicted to his shows, anxious to eat at one of his restaurants next summer, when we head to NYC for vacay, and can nearly recite his biography.....I am a Bobby Flay groupie!

I was so excited to hear Bobby was promoting his newest cookbook at Kierland Commons. My wonderful husband purchased his book the night before and he and Landon braved the crowds , while I was at work. Unfortunately, Bobby's fan club had saturated Kierland and the wait was estimated to be approximately 4 1/2 hours for an autograph. Four hours can be an eternity with a toddler, he braved the line for as long as they could, but had to throw in the towel. To my our rescue, my mother and father-in-law offered to wait in the line for my much needed signature!!! Slightly jealous that Scot was able to be there for Bobby's Q and A session, Pop and Mom (my in-laws) met and got a photo op with one of my cooking idols!

Where a kid can be a kid!

The Children's Art Museum is a household favorite excursion. The museum grows with Landon an Landon grows with the museum. We are guaranteed to have a blast when we go! We introduced our fav place to Landon's BFF, Carson, and his mom, Lindsey. We were so excited to show to take them room to room.....

Our morning, turned into afternoon, and time quickly got away from us....


"Look Mom, I made it fly!"


"I need this!"


Taking turns at the check-out counter!


Artists at work


Hiding in their fort!


"Catch me if you can!"


Sweet boys!!

Outdoor Culture

One of Scot's and my favorite things about Arizona, is all the memories both of us have growing up here. We are now getting to share those memories with Landon and recreating our own childhood times into our wonderful and hilarious family moments!

An impromtu road trip led us to Sedona.....

Without much of an agenda or plan we did the gentle hike to Slide Rock. The crisp water, on the verge of freezing, and yet Landon was able to con his Dada into taking him down one of the slides. Without a swimsuit in sight the boys stripped off their shirts and BRAVED the icy rapids!

"How do I get down?"


"We're goin' in!"




One last look from Scot......the things we do for our boy!

Dried off and starving.....what next? Rainbow Trout Farm. I will be the first to admit that I LOVE fish, seafood, and shellfish, however, I want no part in catching it and killing it. I was willing to shove it all aside and fish with the boys. Scot was quite eager to give me a full fishing experience. Great.

Gathering my pond water....yep, I got a full experience!






Fish #1


Fish #2...weighing at 4 1/2 lbs and 21 inches long.

Dinner!!

Ok, so I have to admit I had a blast fishing, because I'm the one who caught both fish. Yep, me, the anti-fisherman, caught the largest trout the owner had seen in years. We grilled our fish minutes after being caught and I must say they were DELICIOUS!!

Fall Spirit

The air is cool, the season fall,

Soon Halloween will come to all....

Halloween decorations fill our home, pumpkin scent fills the air, Halloween costume ready for trick-or-treating, pumpkins waiting to be carved, this season's baking is on the go, pumpkin patch event scheduled, and tonight we plan on "Boo-ing" our neighbors with treats! (http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Start-the-Halloween-Boo-in-Your-Neighborhood)

Oh, how we love this time of year!

Say "Cheese"!

Full face shots of Landon...nearly impossible to capture! Armed with my camera on my hip, while shopping and dinner at Kierland, I caught a perfect image on our boy! This photo speaks volumes of his adorable essence.

Carrying the new stuffed puppy and lollipop we purchased at Peek....
The sales girls at Peek were completely smitten with him! How can you not be? His laughter and playfulness is contagious!


A rare family photo op!!

Home Depot

The first Saturday of the month we have been heading over to Home Depot for the kids building expo. Our lil' man has such a great time, engulfing himself in tools, wood, nails, and glue. He loves his handmade projects and showing them off at home!


Dad's got this all figured out!


Trying to make sense of these directions! I didn't take wood shop in school!


Landon stays so focused on getting his project done!






His masterpiece!! The buckets and buckets of glue were Landon's finishing touch on his football holder!

Teppanyaki!

Friday night out....teppanyaki with our friends, Clint and Lindsey and Landon's BFF, Carson!

Carson's not too stoked about all the flames!

BFF's! These boys are so cute together. They have similar dispositions....both so sweet and kind!

Lando participating in a magic act!