Walking the Plank

That's right, I said "walking". He doesn't go too far, but Jack is getting braver and braver and takes a few more steps every day. He seems pretty proud of himself after he has walked a few steps and is trying to do it more before dropping down to crawl at top speed.
Jack kind of has a crazy little gate. He lets go of whatever he is holding onto, takes a couple of normal steps, then a couple of little quick ones and then hurries, trying not to fall forward.Oh yeah, and he has pirate jammies.
Complete with a skull.

Clearly Jack isn't walking in this picture, but the rest of us were about to go for a walk. I just thought Wes's and my matching baby carriers were kind of cute.

Chili Supper

Last weekend AppleHammer Events hosted another great event at our family cabin in Parke County. Please see the May 3, 2011 blog for more details on the cabin. This weekend was all about the first Chili Supper and Lilly's first overnight at the cabin. The plan was for my Uncle Chris and my brother Wes to each make a pot of chili, everyone would bring something to share and that's about it. We'd sit around the fire, maybe ride the four wheelers and clear a couple of trails. Bryan and I thought this family friendly event might be a good time for Lilly to test out her new sleeping bag. As it turns out she didn't need it because she slept in Bryan's...with him.
There aren't many pictures, because as I mentioned, only Bryan and Lilly (and Papaw, Mark, Wes, Kristy and Samantha) spent the night on Friday night. I wasn't there to act as paparazzi.
Papaw and Lilly by the fire relaxing before bed. Lilly was very excited to camp and quite specific about what she wanted on her list: hot dogs and marshmallows. Obviously, I sent a few other things, but she cooked her own dinner over the fire and later sat in some marshmallows.
Rehashing the night's events with Daddy. From what I hear Lilly eagerly went to bed on her own cot, in her own sleeping bag. Then, took a couple trips to the potty, requested a few drinks of water, and later decided that she'd like to sleep in Bryan's sleeping bag with him.
Nothing beats coffee, or hot chocolate, by the fire in the morning when you are camping.
Too bad about the lack of pictures because there could have been some good ones. As always, just being at the cabin was a good time and we can't wait to do it again.

Falling for Fall

As I have said before, Fall is my favorite season, but it is not Bryan's. He sees Fall as the beginning of the end. He hates cold weather and thinks of Fall as the start of winter. Luckily for him it was 80 degrees this weekend and we had outdoor Fall activities planned for both days.
Day 1: Saturday. We planned on walking to a nearby Pumpkin Festival and meeting some friends there. But, they got there first and reported back that the Pumpkin "Festival" was nothing more than a couple of folding tables and a pumpkin or two. So, we altered our plan and went to Trader's Point Creamery Organic Pumpkin Festival. And, like anything that begins with the word 'organic' it was ridiculously expensive. We paid $10 a person to get in. Then, ate a lunch of hot dogs and potato salad: $30. Yes, you read that right. I thought I was going to have to pull Bryan off of the guy at the register. He double checked the math, threw 30 tickets at the guy and stormed to our table, where he consumed every last bit of the 100% organic outrageously priced meal. After that, he bought an equally overpriced beer, that seemed to calm him down and he made the best of the rest of the day. We were already there, after all, and into the day 50 bucks. Everything else was included so we trudged on.
Lilly and Avery picked out a pumpkin for each of the kids (another $4) and then the three that were capable painted their pumpkins. Pictured here are Lilly with her pumpkin and Bryan with his beer. The beer was expensive, but he was much less likely to assault an organic creamery worker if he had a nice cold one in his hand.
Because lunch was so expensive Jack had to eat his pumpkin. Just kidding. Actually, the best deal of the day was the $4 (half) soft pretzel that I bought for Jack. He ate the whole thing, throughout the course of two hours. But, he actually ate it. Crazy.

I know this is strange, but this is a mother...caught on camera. (Gasp!) Of course, the picture was taken by another mother. Tania and Dylan painting his pumpkin. The painting was messy so Dylan took off his shirt. Luckily Tania could be trusted to use the paint carefully.

Face painting. Surprisingly enough TPC can't seem to afford professional face painters so they have teenage volunteers doing the painting (with organic paint I'm sure). Unfortunately the volunteers were some of the least artistic people I've every met. Lilly's rainbow wasn't too bad, but Avery's heart was either anatomically correct or just a crooked circle with a smudge. Dylan's football was enough that Tania, a rather talented artist, want to grab the brush and siege a hostel take over of the face painting booth. She even considered charging as a way to earn back what we spent on lunch.

Despite discontent amongst the adults, the girls...and even Jack and Dylan, had a good time and mostly just enjoyed each other's company. Also, pictured here is Avery's good heart. It was the one on the other cheek that was messed up.

We later went on the free hayride, visited the farmer's market and then made a speedy exit. Bryan and I spent $70, left in bad moods and decided that next time we'd just have a play date with the Framptons and bring our own pumpkins.

Day 2: Sunday. We picked my dad up and met Wes, Kristy and Samantha at The Dump (or, The Country Market rather). Their Pumpkin Fest is the best in town...or just north of town. Its reasonable to get in, kids get a free pumpkin, there is live music and everything is included except for the pony rides. And, if you can find a better deal than a two lap pony ride for $3 then I'd like to know about it.

After a reasonably priced lunch of pork tenderloins, a hot dog and some french fries for $16, Lilly started her day off with a little calf roping.

Donkey petting.

The donkeys and Jack had a little bit of a stare down.

The best way to travel at a pumpkin festival when is 80 degrees? On someone else's shoulders.

Papaw and Lilly on the big slide. Lilly can actually go down the slide by herself, but she gets a little bit more speed with Papaw or Daddy riding shotgun.

Daddy and Jack on the slide. Jack probably couldn't go down the slide by himself. He didn't seem to like it, or dislike it. Like most things he just accepted it without even changing his facial expression. Lilly didn't seem to enjoy the barrel train ride as much as in previous years. No, it wasn't going that fast and no, clinging desperately to her seat was not out of necessity.

There is a track there with lots of big wheels and peddle cars. Lilly needed a little help with hers.

Jack's favorite part of the day was picking out his pumpkin. Well, I guess he didn't even get to pick out his pumpkin. Lilly chose it for him, along with her own, but Jack spent a long time just hanging out with the little pumpkins and playing.

Lilly slowed down just long enough for me to get a picture of the two of them together. Then, she noticed the sign behind them and was up and running again. Ok, so she probably noticed the actual ponies and not the sign, but she headed that way anyway.

While Lilly and I waited in the pony riding line Daddy and Jack practiced walking in the pumpkins.

Watching Lilly the cowgirl ride the pony.

Lilly riding said pony.

Getting a boost from Daddy to see the ponies. Maybe next time he will want to ride too.

Crazy...another picture of a mother. Proof that I also was at the Pumpkin Fest.

Bryan thinks he's funny. Strangely enough, I do not agree.

But, I think this is funny. Lilly, Jack and Papaw think they're pretty funny too. Bryan and Wes pose with the babies. Samantha had so much fun at the festival that she passed out and slept through pumpkin picking, the corn maze a most of the picture taking.

One of the best parts of the Pumpkin Fest is the corn box. It is very much like a sandbox, but with corn instead. This means no sand in the hair, no sand in the diaper, no sand in the shoes, etc. The only problem is that Jack thinks the corn is there for a snack.

After watching a little boy bury himself in the sand, Lilly insisted that she be buried too. She loved it.

Jack, not so much.

More (and much, much better) face painting.

The corn maze was pretty easy, just following the beaten path. But, Lilly has never been a follower and she wandered off...right into a dead end. She even lead Papaw astray.

After all the fun Lilly picked out a couple of carvers, loaded them into her wagon, realized it was way to heavy, asked Daddy to take one, and then headed to the car.

It was a great day and we followed it up with a family dinner at our house. Now its Monday and we're all worn out. Bryan has the day off and I have plans to go shopping with my mom. To top it off Bryan just informed me that he'd like to take both kids to the zoo...alone...all by himself. This will be the first time he has every taken both kids anywhere without another adult. That may end up being a whole other blog....

Steppin Out

All four of us stepped out this weekend for some fun activities. Even Jack. Although, I didn't manage to get any pictures of him doing any actual stepping. Most of the pictures of Jack he is either sitting or riding, but I assure you, he did take some unassisted steps.
Bryan was recruited to go with my dad and brother and help wire our family's cabin. So, I took the kids to a friend's birthday party in our neighborhood. We traveled the old fashioned way, a wagon. Jack seemed so content that I just left him in the wagon for a while. I had to add goldfish crackers, but he seemed to enjoy himself.
Lilly's first experience with a pinata. After several kids had multiple turns with two different 'bats' the birthday boy's uncle had to step in and break the pinata, but as you can see by the look on her face, Lilly gave it her best effort.

On the way home both kids rode in the wagon. If we lived more than three doors away I think they both would have fallen asleep.

On Tuesday the kids and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and ventured out after naps to take a walk and do some outside playing at Grandma and Papaw's. Lilly can't climb a tree quite yet, but she sure likes to sit in them.

Can you spot the squirrel?

It may be dirty, but its a pretty little face.

Jack did a little swinging...and some chewing on a leaf.

During our walk Papaw showed us a puff ball mushroom that he found. It took all of Lilly's willpower not to kick it or squish it. Lilly is now the fourth generation of Applegates to throw rocks in Eagle Creek.

Jack, Hank and I try to get in on the rock throwing action. Sadly for Hank, he has to be physically restrained because the temptation of a rock thrown into the water is too much for him to resist on his own.

When walking in the woods, you can always count on Lilly to find a nice log to take a rest on.

After our walk Jack did a little driving...or sitting rather. He can't quite figure out how to make it go. He mostly just climbs around inside the cozy coupe.

At least he's facing the right direction this time.

In a devastating event, our fun day ending with an attempted car jacking.