Peaches!

With the fall comes canning.  I have been looking forward to canning this year, because I have been wanting to try to can peaches.  I love fresh peaches so much better than store bought canned peaches.  So image how excited I was when I found out that I had not missed peach season when I got back into town.  I feel so productive when I am canning, I am building up my food storage.  That is right I have thirteen jars of peaches sitting in the office just waiting till one of these days when it is really cold and dreary and I want a peach to brighten the wintry day.  I will be tasting some pretty sweet success!

So it begins.....again

Yes, it is here again that time of year when I have to coordinate our activities on Saturday depending on what time the "game" is.  When I know what I will be wearing every Saturday for the next few months.  When I stock up on Brats and chips, and apple beer (yes! the apple beer that we stocked up on when we were back west, boxed up, had examined at the airport, weren't sure it was going to make it, but it did! Success!).  Bring on the football!  When football officially started on Saturday we were ready.  Lucas was dressed from head to toe in BYU paraphernalia, carrying his BYU bookstore bag across the parking lot to the football party.  Poor child being indoctrinated into this ritual that is BYU Football at such a young age.  He even knows how to say "Go Cougars" and "touch down".  Of course you can't celebrate this monumental moment without friends.  Till next Saturday and the Saturday after that and the Saturday after that and so forth.

Watching the game at the James' with the Van O's.

Grange Fair

It is that time of year again.  One of the biggest events in Centre County, the Grange Fair.  This is a pretty important event, school is delayed due to this fair, people would kill their grandma to get a tenting spot at the Grange Fair.  It is that serious!

I like taking Lucas to see all of the animals, it has been fun to see how he reacts to the animals over the past few years.  This time around he was so excited, I think the rabbits were his favorite part, he would name the animals as he saw them and make the appropriate animal noises.  It was pretty cute!  We went with several of Lucas' friends, had some ice cream from an enormous ice cream sunday, and watched the Bald Eagle Band.  Lucas seemed to enjoy himself.  Lucas was able to walk part of the way with me and he was good to not wander off.  It was a very enjoyable day.  It is always an experience when going to the Grange Fair.
 

What Neighbors

We have lived here for three years now and in that three years in the apartment next to us we have had three different families living there and it has been empty for several months between those families.  Craig and I are beginning to think that there is something going on.  The management claims that there is a waiting list despite there always being empty units.  The apartment at the end of the building moved out after the apartment next to us, but it has been filled already.  Kind of strange.  Maybe we're horrible neighbors.  Our washer and dryer are pretty loud,  the floor moves when the washer is going.  It is kind of like having a mini earthquake every time we run the washer (I'm not joking either.  You can stand in the upstairs opposite corner of the apartment and feel the floor shaking slightly).  Don't get me wrong,  I am not complaining.  It is nice have no neighbors, but now that I have mentioned this I am sure will have neighbors move in and it won't be pleasant.  Here's hoping that won't be the case.  All of our neighbors in the past have been really nice.

New skills and joys

Lucas is still obsessed with cars, if you ask him what movie he would like to watch nine times out of ten it will be, Cars.  He can say "Lighting McQueen" and "Mater".  He loves playing with his Lego versions of the Cars characters.  He also has little car figurines of the characters and plays with them non stop.  The other day I even discovered some of his toys in one of my reusable shopping bags while we were at the farmers market.  He is quick to point out the cars on the road, especially school buses!


Lucas knows his colors if you coordinate them with a Sesame Street character.  For example if we see a school bus and I say, "Lucas what Sesame character is the school bus?"  He is quick to respond, "Big Bird."  We have also done this with objects of solid colors, green, yellow, red, and blue.  If you say which color is cookie monster he will grab the blue object.  I love Sesame Street so educational!


Lucas has also learned how to open doors, it was a sad day when we figured out he can do this.  He now has access to the office, the food storage upstairs (where he quickly discovered the fruit snacks) and the bathroom downstairs (where I found him the other day with about half a roll of toilet paper on the floor).  Right now as I am writing this I can hear him upstairs and I am pretty sure he is in the extra bedroom where the food storage is, probably looking for the fruit snacks.  This problem will quickly be resolved as I picked up some child proof door knob things.  The only problem with this solution is I have yet to master opening a door with those things on the handle.....

Oh, how I detest that phrase!

This is the conversation we having been having with Lucas numerous times the past couple of weeks!

Lucas, "I can do it!"

Mom, "Okay, Lucas do it."

Lucas, "NO! I can do it!"

Mom, "Lucas, how about mommy helps you."

Lucas, "NO!  I do it!"

These conversations usually end with me helping him, and all the while he is screaming at me, "I do it, I do it."  Though, there have been a couple of times that he has let me help him do it together.

The second most common conversation with Lucas:

Mom, "Lucas you stinky do we need to change your diaper?"

Lucas, "no, daddy do it!"

- not that I am complaining on this, I do not mind in the least when he makes this request.

Daddy, "Lucas let go get ready for bed"

Lucas, "no, mommy do it!"

-This is the one where I draw the line, I am the one that has just spent the entire day meeting his needs, and this is the one thing that Daddy does (not to say this is the only thing). 

Lucas is definitely coming into his own and developing his opinion.  If you ask him what he would like for breakfast he will tell you, "cheerios, with milk, and a banana."

The other morning I was putting a show on for Lucas and he was quick to tell me he didn't want to watch that show he wanted "train", i.e. "Thomas the Tank Engine".  This I cannot seem to figure out, he gets all excited when I put it on, but it doesn't seem to keep his attention for very long.  We continue to pick movies out at the library and he insists on getting a Thomas movie though he never really watches it.

Lucas seems to want to go the opposite direction that we need to go and he lets us know by saying, "no, that way!"  I don't think he cares where it leads,  as long as it is not the way we are going.


Another common phrase for Lucas has been, "Mine" or "hey that's mine!"  Which has lead to teaching Lucas the concept of sharing.  This is a bit hit and miss, but we will continue to teach it!

The littlest tasks that used to seem to trivial now seem to take forever!

Bryce Wedding!

At the end of our vacation came the much anticipated and primary purpose of coming out west, my brother's wedding.  It was a very long day, but it thankfully didn't rain, though it looked like it might and it did in some of the surrounding areas.  Mid-afternoon came and it was hot, really hot!  But it was beautiful!  We are so happy for him and wish him all of the happiness in the world!  Lucas looked really handsome in his black slacks, white shirt, suspenders, and gray tie.  His dad didn't look too bad either!  It was a wonderful experience!  Very much worth the trip out there!