Making Memories.

Once upon a time, a little girl and her Daddy would take a pair of his jeans, one of his old shirts and a bunch of straw. We would stuff the pants and shirt with the straw and then add a head and wig from Mama's beauty shop under a crazy hat and set it on our front porch. We would walk around the front of the house a million times to admire our work. Grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

Today, I miss my dad and his crazy scarecrow-building fun. And though I haven't tried to build a scarecrow since I was a little girl, I have tried to create similar memories with my own kids.

We fully embrace this time of year -- we visit pumpkin patches, pick out costumes (agonizingly sometimes) and make apple cider. We buy candy (my picky kids insist we have some chocolate...) and candy corn. We decorate. We carve. We giggle.

And we watch scary movies -- the really scary ones, like "Mickey Mouse's House of Villains!" ha

Couldn't resist the screen shot of Huey, Duey and Louie...that's what we called the triplets when I was pregnant!

And we trick-or-treat with our best friends.

(Dad and the boys watched Twilight Zone while we went around the neighborhood!)

And we have some sweet family time. Making memories. Counting blessings. Having fun. Maybe next year, we'll build a scarecrow....

Pumpkin Patch Time

The temps dropped. Ok, only from 100 to 93, but still. So the kids and I knew it was time for one of our favorite fall activities, pumpkin picking!  Last year, my crew and I found a little  patch of heaven  way out here in the west when we visited the MacDonald's Ranch Pumpkin Patch. On that visit, Cowboy Ron and his buddies lifted Benjamin and his 300 lb. wheelchair onto the hay ride so that we could go out to the pumpkin patch. It was a sweet sweet day!

Claire was too old to ride but couldn't resist spending time with the horses!

We weren't expecting that this year. Benjamin had already said he didn't need to ride the wagon. He was worried about those guys having to lift him. And with Grammie joining us for this year's pumpkin picking visit, I knew if we had to split up we could.

Cate loved riding!

So we meandered through the rest of the activities first. Letting little Cate enjoy the horses and the petting zoo.

Every cowgirl needs pink cowgirl boots, right?

And getting some fun pictures with Grammie! She never knows what to expect when she visits us -- but she enjoyed our little wild west pumpkin patch, too!

We were so excited to share our day with Grammie!

You gotta love a hay maze. And just fyi, if you can't figure it out. AND you are five. Well, then no worries, just climb right over.

In the hay maze.

 Finally, it was time for the hay ride and the pumpkin picking-out. When we got in line and told the cowboy we were ready to ride, he called one of his co-workers over.

"Ron, these people need your special wagon!"

Our dear Cowboy Ron had remembered us. And this year, he had found a wagon with a gate that the wheelchair could drive up.

We were pulled by Cowboy Ron driving a quad and telling us the best stories ever!

Benjamin and Cowboy Ron!

Cowboy Ron helping Benjamin off the hayride.

Cate, however, wanted "real horses" to pull her wagon so this cowboy put her right up on the seat with him! So sweet!!

Uh. That's my Mom. Grammie was in the full swing of fun! 

Cowgirl Grammie!

We finished up our visit with some shaved ice. And yea, it is a good look for Halloween! (I assure you it was strawberry flavored....not blood!)

Thank you MacDonald's Ranch and Cowboy Ron -- for blessing us again with your delightful Pumpkin Patch! We will be back!

Little Patch of Heaven

Today was Pumpkin Patch Day! I love going to the Pumpkin Patch. I love the colors, the celebration of Fall and just being with my kiddos outside our normal setting...with a camera. Today, we visited MacDonald's Ranch for our annual pumpkin patch day and it really was a little patch that reflected heaven for us!

There was a petting zoo, horses, and roping "hay cattle"...the girls were loving it but the boys....well, the boys were just being the wonderful sports that they are. They posed for the occasional photo or 20 and didn't complain about the sun, the dirt or the giggles (we had two other little girl friends with us so the giggles were abundant!). But they honestly, were not getting to do much.

When we reached the Hay Ride portion of the visit, I honestly had no idea what was in store. Because this was our first time to MacDonald's, I did not know how this ranch worked so did not realize that you HAD to ride the hay ride to the pumpkin-picking-area. So when we reached the gate, I asked the cowboy if they by any chance, had an accessible-wagon. I was half-joking.

Cowboy Ron did not even bat an eye. He said, "We'll make it accessible, ma'am."

Now, I need to tell you that my boy's wheelchair weighs 280 pounds. I know this because we weighed it at the pediatrician last week. My sweet boy weighs about 80. That's 360 pounds total. That's important information to the story, my friends.

Because there was no ramp. Cowboy Ron hollered (and we were on a RANCH, so I really do think HOLLER is the correct terminology here!) for two other cowboys and before I knew what was happening, these amazing men were lifting Benjamin, chair and all, onto that hay ride wagon. Right. Up. On. The. Wagon.

We could not have been more delighted. All of us. Benjamin kept thanking Ron -- who rode with us. I couldn't decide whether to cry about this over-and-above kindness or just be delighted and enjoy the ride! (I opted to enjoy...)

Benjamin and Mason stayed on the wagon trusting their sisters to pick out the perfect pumpkins. Cate struggled with that decision...she frankly, loved them all!

But then as we climbed back on the wagon, Ron got down and went to the pumpkins. He returned with a funny-colored, bumpy coated, heavier-than-usual pumpkin for Benjamin.

Benjamin had apparently pointed it out and told him he thought is was cool. I agreed. Leave it to my Benjamin to pick the different pumpkin -- I even said as much, pointing out that it was kind of a "special needs pumpkin".  And then Ron told us that a lady earlier today had requested just that kind of pumpkin. She said they were her favorite for making pies because they had more substance and were sweeter on the inside. And I had to smile -- because that pretty much confirmed it for me -- it was definitely a special needs pumpkin!

I'm pretty sure Ron must be a special needs cowboy. He definitely had more substance and was sweeter than any cowboy I have ever met.

And tonight when we counted our blessings, he got counted at least five times!

Signs of Fall

Fall arrives in the desert in a variety of ways -- oh, our leaves don't change into beautiful colors and drop to the ground -- but Fall in the desert has a myriad of signs all its own.

For one thing, the light does change colors -- you can just SEE Fall in the colors of the sunset. Breathtaking.

Next, the temperatures drop out of three digits. And prompted by this change, desert-dwellers begin coming out of their air-conditioned homes and swimming pools to hang out in the beauty of the desert! Oh, Fall is a lovely time in the Valley of the Sun.

I love this sign -- our summer was anything BUT carefree so we are all looking forward to a new season without surgery, without such intensive rehab (there will STILL be rehab but it is so much easier on my boy today than just weeks ago even!), without being mostly home-bound as our dear Mason healed.

We took the cue from other desert-dwelling friends and spent Friday outside, basking in the sunshine and the colors at a local farmers' market (though Claire was a bit disappointed not to meet an actual overall-wearing farmer there...).

The kids favorite part -- sampling all of the salsas, jams and jellies! We came home with quite a variety!

Check out the giant Gila Monster!  It is actually a slide...but Cate had to be convinced it wouldn't eat her before she was willing to try it -- and sliding is one of her all time favorite activities!

I don't know what this new season will bring.  I can not guarantee that it will be as carefree as I want/hope/pray it will be. But I do know that we will get through whatever it is the same way we made it through the summer -- by thanking God for our blessings far more often than we complain about our challenges! (And possibly by sampling every salsa and jelly made in the Valley!)

Marshmallow Memories

Because I was receiving complaints that I hadn't posted pictures in a few posts (OK, just from my mother and kids...but they count!)...I have to share some ooey, gooey, sticky cuteness with you!

Temperatures in the desert have finally dropped out of the triple digits...and while I love anything that comes in triplicate (hee hee), I am rejoicing in cooler nights and the fun that brings! The big kids had such fun roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores at their school's Outdoor Ed that they wanted to share that with sweet Cate. She loves marshmallows (considers them a major food group!) but had never experienced the wonder that is a s'more. So, we lit our little backyard fireplace, unbent some wire coat-hangers (Hey! That's how we did it when I was a kid!) and had some serious fun!

It took Cate a minute to get the hang of it...she would roast, then eat the marshmallow right off the stick. Finally, she let me put one inside the cracker with the chocolate. Yummy. But apparently, she is a purist. After a couple bites of that, she put it down and went back to eating them straight off the stick!!

Won't you come join us? We have a few extra coat-hangers...and everything is more fun with some friends thrown in!

Fall's changing colors...

Well, we live in the desert. The trees are few. The fall foliage even less because the few trees we have stay the same year round! This is our third Fall without changing colors...so I decided to help it out a bit...

The highlights that I love, coupled with the strong desert sun and over-abundance of pool time chemicals had turned me blonder and blonder...and not a lovely shade...more a "yellow hair" look. Yuck.

So, a stressful week sent me straight to my hairstylist (all ya'll who know me, know that ANY stress sends me straight to my hairstylist...a definite side-effect of being raised by a beautician!) where I said "Do it!" and she asked if I was sure...and I said, "Quick, woman, quick! Before I change my mind!!" (Lots of exclamation points included!)

So...here's the final product...I still miss the leaves changing colors...but this helps a bit...


Blessings, ya'll!