The two P's

I finished Isabelle's "big girl" room, and it is best described as the two P's room. Pink and Princesses. Lots, and lots of pink. Two different shades on the walls, with complimenting shades on the sheets, curtains, furniture, and wall hangings. And all of the Disney Princesses. My Princess is surrounded by Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and of course Belle. Isabelle's favorite, and the one thing she HAD to have in her room? Cinderella's castle. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. But, most important, Isabelle loves it, and it is the first thing she will show you if you stop over to the house.
Now, you may have noticed something missing from the pictures. Something typically found in most "big girl" rooms. Yep, you are correct. No bed. That is still the crib in the room. I blame this on a little Donna brainwashing. We have a bed, but Izzy won't let me set it up. If you ask Isabelle if she wants a big girl bed, she will respond with a very vocal, very distinct, "NO!!". Now I wonder who could have convinced her of that.......

Nightmare

I had a nightmare and thought I would share it with you.



Thanks Molly, for this very vivid reminder. PLEASE, everyone get out and vote. Go Obama!

Uncle Dan's Firehouse

In recognition of Fire Prevention Week, Spencerport Fire Dept held an open house Sunday with several fun and educational events for adults and kids. It was a great opportunity to see some cool trucks, but most of all, we couldn't miss a chance to visit Uncle Dan's firehouse.

The weather was perfect, a balmy 75 degrees in October. Well, perfect if you could attend the event in a t-shirt and shorts. I felt kind of bad for some of the firefighters that had to endure the sun as they put on their demonstrations in full gear, complete with helmet, mask, and airtank. At least they looked cool.

Uncle Dan taught us all the proper way to put out a grease fire in the kitchen (very useful for Donna and Barb who were in attendance), and even came close to using Donna as his beautiful assistant with the fire extinguisher. Gavin got see what it would be like to be a real firefighter as he dressed himself in a helmet and turnout gear. Does that say Schreiner on it?!?!


Gavin needed a little help from cousin Jon to lift the firehose before he could take his turn putting out the flames on the practice house. What a cool squirt gun!

Then, after Gavin and Isabelle made a few trips through the bouncy house, and a stop at the donut table, we all got to watch Uncle Dan in action as the Spencerport boys demonstrated a car accident victim extrication. Dan made short work of the windshield with his saw, and then went to work on the a-post of the car. It was a great "real life" simulation that I am sure most in attendance had never seen before.

Spencerport did a great job hosting the day, and much thanks to Dan, Barb, and Jon for taking such good care of us. Gavin and Isabelle had a great time, and even learned a bit about fire safety. Gavin even reminded us the other night that we can't leave the kitchen towel sitting on the stove. And best of all, Donna now knows what to do the next time her dinner flares up. Which reminds me, I still need to show her where we keep the fire extinguisher. Ha!

Stokoe Farms

Saturday, we joined the Hewitson's and headed on down to Stokoe Farms for some fun Fall activities, and pumpkin pickin'. This was our first year trying Stokoe's, as we had always enjoyed Fall at Brown's Berry Patch. But, due to an untimely scheduled 5k run and craft show, this year we were diverted to Stokoe's. And we were all (especially the kids) very glad that we were. There was more to do than we could fit into the few hours we had allotted.

Upon entering the gate, we were greeted by a clown driving a souped-up, fire spewing, Hot Wheels, classic John Deere tractor with a bubbling Elmo head on the front. This, of course, scared Isabelle to death, and put her into instant tears. We spent the rest of the day playing "keep away" from the "Elmo" tractor so that Izzy would stay happy.

Once inside the farm, Gavin and Ryan made a bee-line for the giant slide in the middle of the fun. They had a great time sliding down on their burlap sacs, and since Izzy and I also gave it a whirl, I can say it really was a good time. Right next to the slide was the pyramid of hay bales, with six tunnels running underneath. We "lost" the boys here for quite some time, as they climbed over, and under, and through the pyramid non-stop. This gave Izzy and Jessica a chance to check out the giant play pit full of corn kernels (think sand box, with REALLY BIG pieces of sand), and Scott and I a chance to scope out the fresh Kettle Corn stand.

Then we hopped a convenient hay-wagon ride out into the fields, to try our hands at some more fun. First stop was the pedal bikes. Gavin, Ryan, Scott, and even Donna and Isabelle had a great time doing a lap of the course. Scott was the victor of the day, turning a great lap time ahead of the boys. Donna and Izzy brought up the rear, but ended with all smiles.

The wagon wheel race proved to be a demonstration of patience, timing, and agility as we paired up to try our hand at using our body motion to roll a very large wagon wheel down and back across the field. Gavin and Ryan did incredibly well in their wheel for carrying such a low total team weight. Scott and Jessica, and Me and Isabelle took the slow and steady approach as we maintained a balance between moving the wheels forward, while not getting out of control that we spun our smaller partners up and around the wheel.

Then, got to test our marksmanship with the pumpkin shooters. What a blast. Three mini pumpkins for a buck, bought you the opportunity to do what your parents always lectured you not to. Put a pumpkin into a GIANT slingshot, and send it hurtling towards any one of the targets set up in the field. A large hay bale, a small plastic boat, or, the target that everyone strives for, the full-size Chevy van. Yep, so much for "don't point that thing at cars". Whoo-hoo. Game on!

Finally, with the kids just about at their limit, we headed out into the field to acquire our main purpose of the day. Pumpkins. Gavin and Isabelle have apparently been finely trained in the art of pumpkin picking, as they found quality, round pumpkins in a matter of minutes. Preventing the long walk across the field with a whining child (or whining parent). So, with our bodies tired, and arms full of pumpkins, we called it a day. We only covered about half of the farm, so we all agreed that we will have to make the trip back next year to try again.

Flat

I have been in Plano, Texas all week attending a training class for work. This area of Texas is flat. Very flat. Sitting here at the airport, you can see forever, with the only objects in your way being manmade houses, buildings, and freeway ramps. I can see the buildings of Dallas, Plano, and Fort Worth from my seat. Miles away from my seat, the buildings rise in the haze. Nothing between me and them. The flatness is almost startling in it's perfection.

It's also windy. Flat. With a constant breeze. Makes me think of every cowboy movie I have ever seen. It is always flat, with the wind blowing the dust and tumbleweeds down the trail. Guess Hollywood got Texas right.

I'm a northern guy. I need my green grass. My hills. Trees. Mountains to climb, ride, hike. And I would prefer to live where my view of forever is obstructed by more than just buildings.

Texas is flat, and it has left me feeling the same way. Guess I am ready to go home and hug my kids.