Fall

We've been enjoying some fall-related activities lately.  First, we made shrunken apple heads.  We peeled some apples, carved faces on them, soaked them in lemon juice:

And set them out to dry:

After about a week, they looked like little old people:

(One didn't make it the entire week before it got too moldy.  And the lovely umbrella hats are to keep them standing up.  Festive, don't you think?)

We've had lots of fun raking leaves and playing in them:

And Coop got to go to the pumpkin patch with his class at school.  (First field trip!)  He was allowed to pick a pumpkin "as big as my head."  He wanted to make pie with his pumpkin, but that sounded a bit complicated to me, so we made pie with canned pumpkin and then carved his into a jack-o-lantern:

Zombies

There's a house down the street from us with this out in the lawn:

Cooper dubbed it a zombie.  And he loves it.  We even had to stop the car to go talk to it.

And the next time we drove by it, we held up an acorn to show it.  (I'm sure it was impressed.)

So we figured we should build one of our own.  Coop and I hit the Goodwill store for appropriate clothes.  Alan found the perfect face at Dollar General, and picked up a bale of straw at the gas station.

Coop named our zombie Big Bill, and was excited to show him off to Grandma Joan!

Maple Leaf

It's that time of year again -- Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin!  We watched the parade (with Parker and his family and with Grandpa Cecil and Grandma Joan).  Lots (and lots and lots) of firetrucks.  And marching bands, which we love.

And following up on our success at the State Fair, we tried some rides this year.  No cars to drive, but really fast boats:

And motorcycles:

And a carousel.  Coop rode on lots of animals this time!

Finally, a corn dog for supper.

What a great day!

Hays High Class of 1985

Alan and some friends headed back to Hays last weekend for their 25th high school reunion.  I sent the camera with him.  I'm not sure I'll do that again.  There are some things I just don't need to know.  (And here's your warning -- this blog entry, while still rated PG is probably not as family friendly as some others...)

On the drive to Hays, Alan and John stopped at Hooters (allegedly for lunch).

They continued the quest to prove their virility by stopping at Fort Riley and sprinting up the hill to the cannons.

Some friends doing mildly obscene things to the Fort Hays tiger, who looks appropriately mortified:

I'm not sure where they were going, but I think it's a bad sign that they had to climb through barbed wire to get there.

I know you men-folk are proud of your ability to pee standing up outside (and goodness knows Cooper is too), but I'm not sure I need 10 pictures to prove it to me:

Pondering buffalo:

Apparently, they had a great weekend!

Playing in the sink:

Story time on the Kindle -- doesn't quite have the same feel to it, but Coop did sit through Hansel and Gretel.

Some mornings, Alan leaves for work before Coop wakes up, so we usually try to call him during breakfast.  Coop is quite the phone talker!

Coop and his good friend Jackson from school:

Trying on winter clothes.  The coat is one that Alan wore when he was a kid!

Every boy's right, I suppose

Someday, I'll blog about potty training, but not right now. Suffice it to say that it hasn't been a painless process.

I got home from work one day, though, and Coop had been "driving in the truck pretend" and he had this to tell me:




And then he reenacted the entire thing, except the part where he pulled down his pants because Red Hen was standing right next to him. Much like cooking bacon naked, standing next to a chicken when you're short and naked could be very dangerous.

Eavesdropping from the front seat of the car

Ironman:  I’m Ironman.

Blue Beetle: I’m Blue Beetle.

 

Ironman: I’m taller than you.  I’m taller than the Incredible Hulk, too.

Blue Beetle: Who’s Incredible Hulk.

Ironman: My best friend.


Blue Bettle: I squeeze my legs to fly.

Ironman: I fly too.


Ironman: Where are your lips?

Blue Beetle: I don’t have any lips.


Ironman: See.  My legs come off and my chest is in Cooper’s hand.

Blue Beetle: Who’s Cooper?

Ironman: The person playing with us.

 

Blue Beetle: I’m Blue Beetle, and I’m mean.
 

Ironman: I’m Ironman, and I’m mean too because I give little kids yucky snacks.  Yucky snacks like candy.  Yucky smarties.  Yucky tootsie rolls.  Yucky minties.  Yucky peppermints.

 

Ironman: I can stand by myself.
 

Blue Beetle: I don’t know if I can.  Sometime when we get home, I’ll have to try standing up by myself.

 

Ironman: I’m going to get back in my box now.  Oh, I’m falling apart it looks like.  This cool button—look, it makes me fall apart.
 

Blue Beetle: Bye-bye Ironman.