Fall Fun

I love California in the fall. I love that the weather is cooler but not cold, comfortable jeans and sweatshirt weather. We've had a rainy streak the past week where we've been stuck playing indoors so we've been trying to take advantage of the sunny, semi-warm, dry days. There are numerous pumpkin patches/harvest festival places to visit around us. Last weekend we thought it would be fun to get Luke out of the house and experience picking his own pumpkin. The place was huge with tons of activities for all ages - petting zoo, games, rides, craft booths, hayrides, pumpkin picking, etc. Unfortunately, it was also over-priced (in my opinion). Luckily for us, Luke had a blast just walking around looking at everything! He's a cheap date.

Photo op. by the pumpkins

Luke, Daddy and an enormous pumpkin

Climbing up and down the hay bale pyramid was free and loads of fun

Luke made it all the way to the top - with a little help from Dad

Walking through the pumpkin patch was a bit tricky, watching out for vines and rotting pumpkins - didn't stop us though.

I actually got in on one of the pictures, proving that I am part of these excursions

We ended up having a terrific time, wearing ourselves out and spending nothing more than about an hour or so of our time. Perfect Saturday afternoon adventure.

Every year the mom's group at our church has a costume parade for the kiddos at The Village - an assisted living community in Redlands. The kids get to dress up and "trick or treat" around the tables in the fellowship area while the residents are having coffee time. We went last year but Luke didn't quite grasp the concept seeing as he was only 6 months old. This year he had a blast! We were loaned a costume from friends from church - Thanks Odenbaughs!! At first Luke wanted nothing to do with dressing up. He was fascinated by the costume but didn't want to wear it.

So, Matt decided to model it, hoping that might spark Luke's interest. I think it just freaked him out more.

Fortunately, the day of the costume parade Luke saw all the other kids dressed up and was happy to participate. He made one of the cutest aliens I have ever seen!

Enjoying a halloween cookie

Showing me the pumpkin and little scarecrow

"Trick or Treating" by the residents' doors with Aliyah and Olivia - he couldn't wait for me to get the wrappers off the candy before stuffing himself... that might make for some interesting/colorful diapers in the next day or so.

In spite of having just absorbed a week's worth of sugar, he was pooped and cashed out on the way home- that's the telltale sign that he had a great time!

Goodwill

I LOVE thrift stores. I generally prefer to rummage through the racks at a thrift store versus face the crowds at a typically over-priced- loud- teenie boppin'- rude sales people- mall. That said, I don't always have the time or patience (particularly with Luke in tow) to be able to search through the racks at Goodwill hoping to score a great deal on something someone else no longer wanted. This past week I had some time to kill and stopped in Goodwill hoping to find Luke a Halloween costume. They didn't have any costumes Luke's size unfortunately but I was able to find a bunch of fall/winter clothes for him that I am particularly excited about (obviously, since I felt it was worthy of a post on our blog!)

I got:

3 sweatshirts

1 Fleece zip up coat

2 fleece sleepers

2 pairs of jean

2 pairs khaki pants

To make this even more impressive, all of the clothes I scored were brand-name... Levi's, Baby Gap, Old Navy, and in VERY good shape! All for a grand total of *** drumroll, please**** $16.00 (for those of you who don't shop for baby/toddler clothes I'll give you comparison... earlier this week I bought a warm sleeper for Luke brand new from Walmart for $7.00. If I had bought the same sleeper at Babies R Us it would have cost me about $15.00.) So, be impressed. :)

The DeBo's: Cliff Notes Version

I've done it again. I've completely neglected our blog. Sorry. I was kindly reminded by a good friend in church last Sunday that it has been a long time since updating. She was sweet enough to say she knows I'm super busy so updating the blog isn't going be top priority. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sarah, however that's not necessarily the case. Yes, we've been busy but nothing every other family doesn't also have to handle every day... keeping up with kids, work, house stuff, daily chores, etc. Nothing glamorous whatsoever. Oh it hasn't been all work and no play. We've had our share of fun as well, especially with an active, amusing toddler in the house.

So, here's the cliff notes version of the life of the DeBoer's lately...

Cliff Note 1. San Diego Zoo

A few weeks ago we went to the world famous San Diego Zoo. We had been given passes from our friends - Thanks again Schenkels! We met up with our friends, the Schenkels and the Wiers', at the zoo and had a GREAT time! It was pretty hot and involved a lot of walking but it was such a fun time. Luke definitely loved seeing all the animals and we all enjoyed the time with friends.

He didn't last in his stroller long, go figure.

He probably spent more time up on Daddy's shoulders- the view is much better from there.

Luke and his friend, Aliyah. They were SO adorable together the whole day

Cliff Note 2: Big Boy Haircuts

Both Luke and Matt were sporting some seriously shaggy hairstyles so we figured it was time to play barber shop. I've cut Luke's hair a few times already but I've always used scissors. This time we opted to try the electric clippers. We popped in an Elmo DVD and buckled Luke in his seat with a cookie or two and voila! No more shaggy hair. I think he looks so much older now which is both exciting and sad at the same time.

The DeBoer boys and their new do's

Cliff Note 3: Cuddle Time

Since Luke is on the move 95% of the time we try to cherish the moments when he will sit still long enough for us to cuddle with him. Luckily for us, one of his favorite things to do is read books so it's pretty much a win-win situation for us all.

Reading with mommy

Cuddling with Daddy

Cliff Note 4: Feeding the Ducks at Ford Park

Since Matt is away this weekend (in Denver for a home Broncos game - more on that in future posts) last weekend we thought we should get out of the house and do something fun as a family. We were thinking of going to a pumpkin patch and carving pumpkins but it didn't quite work out. So we grabbed the stale bread sitting in our pantry and went to feed the ducks at a park in Redlands. Luke LOVES watching the ducks. He kept pointing to them swimming around in the pond saying "Dus! Dus!" - we're pretty sure that's 'ducks' in Luke language.

Well, that's pretty much it for now. I'm telling you, our life is truly not that exciting. So if I get behind on posts again you probably aren't missing much. :) Thanks for tuning in anyways!