Fall Fair

We had a great time at the Pensacola Fair!

The weather was absolutely perfect.  We showed up at opening the day before the fair closed and walked into a nearly empty fairgrounds.

It was game day, so we were all in our red and black and early enough to make it home in time for the game.

Oh yes, we shared a funnel cake!

The Pensacola model train club was present, and Potatoes loved seeing the trains!

They even had a dino train portion

They also had a petting zoo.  I am still on the fence about these types of things, as I always walk away worrying about the quality of lives the animals live, but at the same time, I want Alexander to see how he is a small part of a very big, very cool world.  It is so special to see him experience animals out of the pages of books and into real life.

This potato sack slide was super fast!  We had a great race, but ultimately, Potatoes and Daddy could not beat me!

It was an amazing day filled with memories!

Mayhem:

Things Potatoes Says

I wish I wrote down everything that comes out of his mouth, because this kid cracks me up!  I knew I had to record the musings of the backseat on our way back from the fair....

Daniel: "Hey buddy, you should take a little nap so we can play when we get home."

Potatoes: "I already did."

Me: "That's not true, buddy. Don't say things that aren't true."

Potatoes: "It is true- I took one last morning.  Don't say it's not true.  You ruined my plan.....(pause)...

Now we have to fight."

For Halloween costumes, we were planning our dino duds and asked Potatoes what Jan should dress as-  "Jan can be a old and naked dinosaur."

"When I was in your tummy, I said, 'Let me out!  I need to play with Daddy!'"

Happy Halloween 2018

With our whole family obsession with dinosaurs, and the only movie we really watch from start to finish and all enjoy being Jurassic World, our Halloween costumes were easy.

Zoey got off the hook from wearing a costume this year!

I tried to find a dinosaur costume, but the options were pitiful.  Luckily, the day before Halloween, Jan and I went to Goodwill and scored big with a perfect Claire ensemble.  I even cut four inches off my hair and blunt cut my bangs, then used a red foam hair dye to fit the part.  Potatoes found it convincing.  He called my Claire and Daniel Daddysaurus the whole time we were trick-or-treating.

He had a great time.  We met up with a few of our neighbors and their kids.  One of our neighbors is a little girl named Addie who was born exactly two days after Alexander.  They had a wonderful time racing to the door to see who would knock first.  Then they would yell "trick or treat!" at the top of their lungs, usually at the closed door.

Potatoes loved trying to guess which houses would open the doors by who had lights on.

The T-Rex costume was too small for Daniel, so his face was well above the little window.  He spent the evening in darkness, but was a trooper, walking the entire neighborhood and helping Potatoes score a bag full of candy.  He has no idea that most kids eat so much candy they get sick.  He has gotten one or two pieces a day and been absolutely thrilled over it.

We might have to be Marvel characters next year....

While we were out, Jan stayed and passed out candy.  All in all it was a fabulous Halloween!

Luckily, Alyssa at As You Like It Aveda Salon was able to fit me in the following evening to repair my self inflicted cut.

Celebrating Mandie & Josh

We had so much fun in Atlanta celebrating Josh and Mandie's wedding!

They looked stunning.

We drove in Friday and met up with Chris and Kristen for burgers.  We made a last minute decision to check out Death Cab for Cutie at the Roxy before beginning the wedding weekend shenanigans.

We were excited for the concert, as Daniel missed seeing Death Cab at the Life is Beautiful festival for Josh's bachelor party.  Chris, Kristen, and Comer were all in, too.  We looked up tickets and were all kind of thinking we were in up to about $100.  Well, we ALL got tickets for $100!  The tickets were $20 a piece after fees and taxes.  Um, yes, please!

We got in just as the opener was finishing up, so we grabbed a couple of pictures and a couple drinks

The show was awesome!  A perfect mix of songs from their new album and songs we could sing along to.  We stayed for just over an hour before heading to Josh and Mandie's meet & mingle

I had so much fun watching these longtime friends fall right back into their standard sense of humor

While we were at the concert and meet & mingle, Gammie and Potatoes drove around town checking out Halloween decorations.  Alexander LOVED it, and talked about all the ghosts and spiders he saw for days after.  Gammie loved having one on one time with Potatoes.  It is hard for anyone to get quality time with our little guy if his Daddy is around.

The next night we celebrated the reception to honor Josh and Mandie

(they had a small, private ceremony)

The reception was unique, personal, and absolutley gorgeous.  It was said at one point that it was "the best ever!"

They had a watercolor artist painting portraits!

The artist was fun to sit for and did every painting in about five minutes.

Mandie was stunning

So great to catch up with Kristen

These guys have been friends for decades

We all loved the food, with Daniel taking almost all of the Au Jus!

Such pretty fall decorations

The ladies

We had so much fun celebrating the Speeses and spending time with our Georgia friends!

Potatoes is so lucky to have a Gammie who will sit on the floor to play Crossbows and Catapults

Before heading back to sunny Florida, we had brunch with everyone.

Potatoes took advantage of having time with daddy

Happy Honeymoon Josh & Mandie!