Preschooler Talk

The other day I was lucky enough to have not one, but two little boys named Owen in my car. As I was driving along I caught a bit of this conversation:

OY: Do you like steak?
OL: Steak? What's that?
OY: Oh steak is so good. I love steak.
OY: Do you like mac -n-cheese?
OL: Oh yea, I like ma-n-cheese
OY: Me, too! I love mac-n-cheese!
(pause......)
OL: I like bugs.
OY: To eat?
OL: nooooo.... mac-n-cheese bugs!"

I kinda lost the rest of the conversation, but it cracked me up! They were totally into this dialog. It was a funny and fantastic moment : )

Can I have S'more, please?

While the boys were off on their fun, fishing adventure I had a little one of my own. I went to Fleet Farm and picked up a great little outdoor fireplace. I haven't been to a Fleet Farm in a long time and it was pretty hoppin'. I did get the fireplace for a great deal and I saved .04 cents a gallon on fuel at their gas station. Not too shabby : )

So, after dinner Papa Bear went out and picked us up the fixings for S'mores. It was so nice to sit out in our back yard, fire glowing, melting marsh mallows, drinking a warm cup o' joe, and winding down the weekend. I had whittled a few sticks to nice sharp points and Chief watched as I set a fair share of the marsh mallows on fire.

We ate way too many S'mores, but that's really the pull of the the s'more, right? You just need some more : ) Unfortunatly, I think too many sweets has caught up with at least one of us. Little Chief seems to be having belly issues and keeps waking up. Poor little booger. I hope it was the sweets and not my overly dry roast (I will learn one day!) Oh wait- he wouldn't eat any of that...

Anyway....

I hope everyone had just as wonderful of a weekend as we did. I wish you all a beautiful week filled with shortened work hours, well behaved children, and winning lottery tickets.

Gone Fishin'

Is there any better way to spend a Sunday than going fishing with your G'Pa and Papa Bear? Today Little Chief got to go on an adventure with the taller Yeagers to Lake Elmo Park Preserve. G'Pa bought Chief a brand new Lightning McQueen fishing pole and the child has been asking non-stop since he got it to go fishing. They practiced casting off of the deck before they put it to real use.

Lake Elmo is a fantastic park! Fishing dock, hiking trails, swimming, camping, and great play grounds. And, if you're a lucky little Yeager, you even get to see an otter swimming by!
Papa Bear picked us up some vehicle passes so we can visit the park more often. They are good for a year and I know they will be well used.

G'Pa is going to be leaving this week to go back to Atlanta, so I am glad that the guys had a chance to hang out and spend some time together outside before the snow flies.

These are a few shots of the super cool playground. Papa took them with his iphone and I am pretty impressed with the quality.

P.S.- I made the Twins pullover that Little Chief is wearing. Turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself!).

Carve it up!

So..what did we do with those lovely pumpkins that we picked from the patch? We carved 'em up, of course! Well, actually we carved one up and decided to carve another next week, and another the week after that. I hope they all make it until Trick-or-Treat night. By "make it" I mean not rot and by "not rot" I mean not smashed by the neighborhood hooligans. (Not that we really have any neighborhood hooligans, we live pretty suburban, but still you never know...There was a gang of about 15 middle class white suburbanite girls hanging out across the street a few days ago, but I think that's a post for a different day.)

Anyway- back to topic- usually I am a big fan of the stereotypical Jack-O-Lantern with triangle eyes and a jagged, toothy grin, but this year I decided to try something new. Well, I decided to have Papa Bear and G'Pa try something new. I bought a pumpkin carving kit complete with little saws and patterns. The Chief decided that this first pumpkin was to be carved to the likeness of a skull and crossbones or The Jolly Roger. Beloved by little boys everywhere who like to play pirates and sneak the phrase "Argh, Matey" into as many conversations as possible.

As you can see my picture came out a bit (a lot) fuzzy, I think you can get the general idea.

Apple Pickin' and A Pumpkin Patch

This Saturday was the perfect day for going to an apple orchard! Each year for the past three years we have gone to one of the wonderful orchards that surround our fair city. We have gone to
Aamodt's Apple Farm and Afton Apple, and this year we went to Fischer's Croix Farm Orchard. Little Chief and I have also been to this farm for raspberry picking a few years ago. Although it seemed a bit smaller than either Aamodt's or Afton, we had a great time and the smallishness of the farm and orchard made us feel comfy and welcomed. Despite it's small size it we had big fun! There were lots of things to do (and eat!). We went on a tractor/wagon ride, picked pumpkins from the patch, ate apple brats, played in hay, and ate some of the BEST Honey Crisp apples I have ever had. The best part, of course, was spending the day with the family. G'Pa is in town visitng and he is just about Little Chief's favorite person in the world and Papa Bear and I admit to loving a babysitter :)

G'Pa, Papa Bear, and Little Chief

This was some crazy, inflatable, balloon filled apple that Chief played in. I thought it looked a little boring, but it was only a buck and the child loved it.

The corn maze, or the maize maze, as it were

Which way, Son? Go West, Dad!

Oh no! It was a good maze- we really did get lost....but we were following a three year old : )

We found it! Yipee! the maze ended at the .....

Pumpkin Patch! Time to pick a few pumpkins. Thank goodness the wagon picked us up and drove us back. We ended up with three good sized pumpkins.

Back at the orchard, Papa and Chief eat some apples right off the tree (stolen!)

After spending the day taking the pictures I convinced the child to take a picture with his Mama.

Happy Apples and Pumpkins to all!
Love,
The Yeagers

Fun at Chuck E. Cheese

Last Friday we were invited to the 3rd birthday party for our friend, Dela (the lovely lass in the above photo). We were pretty late because Chief had school that day, but one of the great things about our friends (and Chuck E.) is that late arrivals are welcomed as long a you show up ready for FUN!
We had a great time and there was even a few cupcakes left by the time we got there. There were rides, tickets, games, and friends, fun times to be had by all!! We stayed till there was no one left but the birthday girl (pictured above riding sideways in the vet car) and when I decided it was time for our departure from this wacky-child-Chuck E.-fun-extravaganza I was met with cries of discontent and demands that we stay for the rest of the day. Neither the birthday girl nor my darling son wanted the fun to end. I can't say as I blame them. If I were young enough to truly enjoy the sights and sounds of Chuck E. Cheese I might not want to have left either.

Happy Birthday to Dela!! Thanks again for inviting us!