"outside pleeeeease."

this past week we headed to nashville for a little family getaway.

i had planned some visits to new places (see posts below), but hands down...

the overall winner for the weekend was the swing set out in the backyard!

AND the big BIG piles of leaves.

every morning, right after a big bowl of "hot smoke", little voices would chant in unison....

"outside pleeeeeease."
we obliged. :)

nashville zoo

what?! did you think for a moment we would visit a city and not see their zoo? well then, you haven't been reading this blog very long! ;)

one of the first exhibits were these gorgeous macaws....and they were SO close!

the zoo also had this amazing playground! it reminded me of something out of peter pan.

and look at what the next exhibit had.....no, not wild day's.

meerkats. we were checking them out from the interactive tunnel...very cool!

oh wait, there is a fierce day at this zoo....it is even growling!

maybe that is why poor big b looks scared! ;)

the bamboo forest was SO pretty...it even had a really nice water feature the kids loved.

their petting zoo, had such a great idea...let the kids not just pet, but brush the goats! vivian was only too excited to help...

bauer was a little more intimidated.

first he was a bit stand-offish...checking everything out carefully.

then he decided a little pet would be ok.

luckily no one was asked to pet this fierce creature!

at lunch....well, b didn't quite make it to lunch. this always seems to happen at some point during vacation, he has just had enough. he slept for an hour and half DURING lunch at the mellow mushroom....oh to be two, again! :)

adventure science center

we meant to hit this spot last time, but it was just too short of a trip.

this time we were able to take our time and enjoy each exhibit. (WARNING: there are a lot of pictures...so i am going to keep the words to a minimum...just enjoy!) the planetarium was awesome, and included an interesting scale of just how big our little earth is compared to big ol' jupiter and saturn.

the kids really enjoyed the mechanical exhibits, which included driving a see-through car and lifting a car BY HAND!

next we were off to the nasa exhibit. i REALLY wanted to experience the weightless thingy (what is that called?), but THEY said no preggos. how rude! so cliffy took one for the team, (since vivian and bauer were both too short, and joan looked at me like i had lost my cookies when i asked if she wanted to try) and had a great time working the "wall".

vivian and bauer thought it was a little strange to watch daddy fly through the air...

and it took clif a few minutes to moon walk, but it was lots of fun.

a little family pic.

in theory bauer loves dinosaurs, in reality....not so much. if you look closely you can see this is an interactive exhibit. you can climb in and stand in that little bubble in the middle. unfortunately it also looks like that big t-rex is going to eat the bubble. no child of mine would dare go NEAR that thing. sigh...maybe next time.

ever since vivian's accident she has been fascinated with brains. when she saw this she said, "mommy take my picture for the blog with the "meat brain". :)

the whole second floor was an exhibit on the human body, and was quite well done. here vivian is throwing a ball into the mouth to show how food enters the body.

next, she and gege use the levers to move the teeth for grinding! somehow, i didn't get a manage to get a picture of the big pink slide that represents your colon. and yep, you guessed it, you represent the poop. nope, that's not the worst part...when you come out the end it makes...well...."noises". yeah, we will just call them "noises".

another exhibit on the brain, and the importance of wearing a helmet at all times.....and the poster child for helmet wearing! :)

dr.b checking out cardiovascular world.

good dental hygiene is important to all.

and this thing...well, it is a four story, see-through-floor, play house. i walk over the bridge, took one look down, and said, "no thank you". god made me five foot three for a reason. he likes me near the ground! but everyone else had a great time! here joan and clif fly airplanes.

and vivian rides on the magic school bus.

in the toddler area there was a construction theme. vivian built a fun castle...

while bauer and daddy worked the big crane. after a VERY long day of play we were starving so joan suggested a nashville tradition...

noshville deli. bowls of pickles on a table will make any pregnant lady happy!

and look at the HALF of a sandwich...unbelievable!!

after taking a few food pictures vivian said, "mom, don't you need a picture with me in it for the blog?" yes, honey, of course i do! "that will make it even better!" yep, miss vivian it surely will!!

miss whit-a-ney

i cannot begin to tell you how much i love calling this very talented woman friend. not only is she a super-calm-during-the-storm inspiration, a kicky booty mother, and the kind of christian who LIVES her faith (not just preaches it)....she is also an amazing photographer!

and it is that time of year again when i dazzle her with my beautiful, brown eyed children, and she very happily agrees to a little session. i assure you this is just a preview of her amazing talents.

vivian.....searching for miss whitaney's famous butterflies.

and a little family time. seriously, check her out....whitneyloibner.blogspot.com. you won't be sorry.

oh.....pumpkin day!

after many days of preparation....and MANY MANY costume changes...halloween is finally here! we started the day by carving a very traditional pumpkin...with a bit of a vivian twist.

vivian was in charge of drawing the face, i did the carving, and clif and bauer supervised. when we were all through i was quite pleased but vivian INSISTED that it was missing something....a bow and earrings! ;)

luckily i know just where to find both!

look, even old momo and gigi got their halloween pictures made! (and yes, that IS a light sword...bauer refuses to have his picture made without it!)

next we made a little trip to popa and dotdot's for lunch and to help celebrate her 68th birthday!

then it was home again for a quick wardrobe change and off to party and trick or treat.

i have NEVER had so much trouble getting a good picture of everyone. here you can see bauer's face, but vivian's eyes are closed....

and here bauer is hidden, but vivian is looking. oh well, fun was had by all! hope everyone had a safe and fun halloween!!!

misc & excuses

my poor computer has bit the dust...again. clif is in the process of sending it out, so i have been forced to use HIS computer. this is my sorry excuse for lack of posts....and my excuse for this first post being such a hodge podge. the next few are much better...so keep reading...

yesterday, i grabbed the mail and noticed a hand written letter to vivian....from THE WHITE HOUSE! yep, she got a reply. and her reply, when i told her she had mail from the president, "oh grrreat! i have been waiting on that!!" :)

a couple of weeks ago vivian asked me to take her picture. i turned around with the camera and was faced with this....teehee!

and mr. b, well it has been a virtual monsoon here for weeks, but sweet little b is determined to go fly his kite. almost every day he asks "kite, mommy?" it is hard to disappoint such a sweet face. soon sweetheart, soon....i promise!

superhero

don't you wish they were protecting your neighborhood?

boo at the zoo

this year the zoo started boo at the zoo during the day. however, preggo-crazy-can't-remember- a-thing-lady got the dates wrong and went a day too early. sheesh! oh well....

daddy went with us (a very rare treat) and miss v offered to take a (even more rare) picture of the grown ups only!

since the weather was super nice (the most rare event EVER) we were able to check out some additional exhibits.

like the super hilarious and super cute tri-butticus...definitely my favorite! ;)

pumpkin patch

no you are not experiencing dejavu. the last post was also about pumpkins...but...well...it's just that time of year. our dear friend hbl turned six last saturday, and had a party at the patch. bauer was AMAZED by the large tractor that carried us to the fields....

vivian worked very hard at picking her special pumpkin...but decided alas that she needed a little help from mommy since they were all so heavy! ;)

back on the hayride, i managed to get a great shot of v and the birthday boy. (and yeah, that is a sorority girl smile in the making if i have ever seen one!)

and just for posterity...i did get ONE picture of bauer looking at the camera...but doesn't his little face just scream, "what mom?! can't you see there is a TRACTOR over there?" :)

pumpkin pickin'

what should you do with the first cool, fall saturday?

why....pick your pumpkins of course! the church where clif and i grew up, has been selling pumpkins to raise money for their youth group since....well....clif and i were little!! ;)

the superheros, ready to get busy.....

sweet b with his find.

and the crew with some of my personal favorites....the gourds. hope everyone is enjoying this amazing weather!

oh, i almost forgot....the second thing you should do on a day like today: surprise your sweetie with a big plate of buffalo wings and blue cheese to enjoy while watching the razorbacks. look how happy it makes him! :)

a conversation with big sister

me: hey vivian, what do you think about the name grant?
vcd: no mommy. it sounds like greedy. would you want a greedy baby?
me: no...i guess not. well, what about hatcher or holden (what can i say? i was rereading catcher in the rye.)
vcd: noooooo, mother.
me: oh...ok. well, why don't you suggest a few names.
vcd: ok. what about:
minick
diggit
shelly
wait, that's too, nubby...shellican is better, mommy.
marlakate (one word, i asked)
peela
leega
airanick (which i quickly realized was a cross between aaron and nick.)
sennican
mannequin (she apparently like the "can" sound...we had quite a few of these.)
nan
narneca
vivica (the name of one of barbie's three musketeers.)
me: vivica sounds a lot like vivian. why don't i just name her vivian?
vcd: MOOOOOOMMMMM!!! vivian is standing right here beside you! you gotta pick a different name! uuuuuhhhh!! (in exasperation...and walks off, obviously tired of me.)
me: oh, thanks.
:)
oh, and just for the record. when we first told vivian we were having a baby she wanted to name it "pumpkin patch sally clark". so this is an improvement...i guess?!

gone punk

so i might have mentioned my recent personal dilemmas....but rest assured, that has not slowed us down one bit. things around here have been as busy as usual! we are still making playdates a priority, visitng the museum, and wrecking havoc in general! ;) bauer has decided to embark upon a new way of thinking....so i take this opportunity to introduce to you...

punk bauer!!!

obviously, punk bauer still spreads the love...

and brushes his teeth. hey, as long as the basics are there.....i'm cool with it! ;)

lee love

i've said it before and i'll say it again...we are SO blessed to have the lee's in our life. as our numbers have expanded, so has the fun!

trying to get a picture is impossible....and i LOVE it!

and apparently so do they!

ok...so maybe they were loving it more than me! what a crew!!!

gnomes.

steph and i took the kids downtown last week to have lunch in the rivermarket, and to enjoy the weather. we also hit the fairly new, game and fish exhibit.
did you know arkansas has a very cute population of gnomes?

both female and male, have been documented and photographed. :)

where are you?

"over heeeeeere!!!" i guess daphne found her old buddy!! ;)