Lemos Pumpkin Patch

I was soooo excited to go to a pumpkin patch with Joe. I kept bugging my friend Hillary & her daughter Sarah to come with us. The night before we went, I was so excited I could barely sleep. Pony rides, train rides, pumpkins and a petting zoo! Awesome! I couldn't wait to see how Joe would act around all the animals and activities.
This picture was at the end of the day and Joe was having a heart to heart with the ponies. They were at a good distance.

This was Joe's favorite goat in the pen for 2 reasons: 1, it didn't try to mall him for food, and 2 it kept copying where Joe was looking. I wonder what they are looking at.

Pretty mellow goat, just like my son is starting to become. Yes he does have his moments, but he is pretty good at following me and just going with the flow. O yes, he hated actually feeding the goats and would make his arm go stiff so that the food would fall all over the ground.

Sarah and Joe waiting so patiently for the choo choo train on a rocking horse.

Still waiting for the choo choo train I decided to try and get a couple of pictures. I found out that if I tossed hay at my child he would smile and laugh uncontrollably. So if you see a family photo of us and some object is flying through the background, it's only so we can get a smile out of Joe :)

I love this boy so much, I really enjoy the toddler stage when they start to find their words. A couple days ago in the car on the way to get Steve we had a little conversation that went like this:

Joe: Hi mom!
Me: Hi baby!

Joe: Mama, hand

Me: Does your hand have an ouchie?
Joe: No, hand

Me: Do you want me to hold your hand?
Joe: Yes, hand

And that was it, driving down Mission St with my arm twisted to hold his little hand I thought this is what my mom has meant when she said, "life gets no better than this." He held my hand the whole way to get Steve and if I started to adjust he would patiently take my hand and get the perfect hand hold before getting comfortable again.

Never did I think 50 cent rides at the mall would be amazing, or that a pumpkin patch would be so exciting, or that the first time down a big twirly slide would be like conquering the world, but I guess when you are seeing it with your own child, it does mean everything.

Joe really likes reading about horsie's and saying neigh, so of course I thought he would love riding the pony. He liked talking about it and waiting to ride, but that was the extent of it. Getting all buckled in, you can tell he is rethinking this big boy pony thing.

One time around the circle, if you notice his hands are in his lap, he refused to hold onto the reins/saddle, but he is still acting content. When I got his attention for a picture, the eyes started to water, lip started to quiver, but still no crying...tough boy, then he tried leaning off the pony. Hillary and I tried to reaffirm him and luckily the worker took him off soon after. I was very proud, that has got to be kind of scary for a baby, and he did way way better than he did with Santa Claus, so I couldn't be any more proud.

Thanks Hillary and Sarah for the company! We love you guys!

*****************Can someone tell me how to get my picture centered at the top? That will bug me so bad if I can't get it figured out!

Happy Birthday Honey!

I'm behind...Saturday was Steve's 27th birthday! I don't know who was more excited me or myself...Steve was so great he let me pick what we got to do for his birthday. I chose driving to Monterey to go to the fabulous aquarium followed by dinner and dippin dots.
Joe absolutely loved the sharks and the fishies.

And he wanted to touch all of the fish, unfortunately the sting rays had been touched enough for the day and would not come close enough to the surface to be touched. I almost dunked my poor son under the water not realizing how deep the sting ray actually was.

There were lots of fun kid things to do and of course Joe had to stop at the bus thing for a minute. It was great to have a family day and evening. Joe was hilarious at dinner, he didn't have a nap and he was pretty much falling asleep on his plate. He's such a sweetheart. I love showing him new things and doing kid things. I love that Steve let us go down there on his birthday. He is such a wonderful husband and dad. He takes great care to mine and Joe's needs. He is such a hard worker and we are crazy about him. Happy Birthday Steve!

Fun time with friends

The Discovery Bay Museum reopened and I decided that if my friend Stephanie who is very sick and pregnant could go, I would drag myself over the Golden Gate Bridge and go...Ok, I actually like the museum and I love the beautiful bridge, but driving over it would be a different story. My friend Tami and I have the same feeling about the bridge...don't drive all the way to the right side, too close to the water, don't drive all the way to the left side, too close to other cars, stay in the middle and get over it!
First time Joe actually tried climbing in the water, had to document it. He never likes to play with the "shishy's" (fish) but today he wanted to get in with them.

This was a bird that almost nailed Joe in the face as it was trying to fly away from another kid...o and it was eating Joe and Kenzie's trail mix. I think Joe was silently giving it a piece of his mind.

As if I hadn't worn Stephanie out the day before, I talked her into going to Target with me, Joe and Sarah. Sarah's mom had a doctor appointment and I was desperate to find these Hershey Kisses that are pumpkin spice...Still can't find them...so Stephanie shopped and I played with the kids at this little playplace...Joe loves helicocters

We then took the kids to Burger King, and the looks we got when we walked in were hilarious. The whole restaurant went silent. I mean you have Stephanie 20 weeks pregnant, me, and the 3 kids...o a couple Target bags and a gate. We must have looked like quite the sight. We dropped into Old Navy which is where we took this picture. Poor Sarah wanted Joe out of the way, she was in no mood to squish or cuddle. Three cute kids, one fun filled afternoon, thanks Stephanie!

I love how peaceful sleeping babies look! Joe sleeps like his dad either folds his arms or puts his hands behind his head. When did my baby become a toddler?

Our next destination is...

ARIZONA! Some of you may know that Steve was nearing a promotion. We had a couple places in mind and Scottsdale, AZ took precedence. We are super excited to be starting on a new adventure and will be moving sometime in the next month. While we are very sad to be moving away from such wonderful people, we are excited to have this chance! I will have a washer & dryer! San Francisco has been such an amazing place to live in and I am going to miss it a ton. Thanks to everyone who has made it so great! Thanks to everyone that has visited us and explored with us! We are so grateful that our Father in Heaven allowed us this opportunity and is allowing us this next one! We are happy that we will be somewhat close to both of our families, and I'm assuming that since my husband is now working at a resort that has 2 18 hole golf courses my daddy will be coming to visit more!

Yes on Proposition 8

Wow, what an interesting time to be living...what an interesting time to be living in California...what an interesting, sometimes crazy and scary time to be living in San Francisco!

I have learned very recently more and more what a sensitive topic this is. I, probably along with most of you, have friends and an uncle that are gay and I am trying not to be offensive.

After some careful thinking, researching, and praying we are voting Yes on Proposition 8 to protect and restore traditional marriage. Here are the reasons why:

Strong, stable families, headed by a father and mother, are the anchor of civilized society. "Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children"-The Family: The Proclamation to the World

Marriage is something that I hold so sacred and am blessed to have had the opportunity to be married and sealed to my sweetheart for all time and eternity. As much as I am concerned for how I would be affected with Prop 8 not passing, I am more concerned for the children of the next generation. Psalms 127:3 says, "Children are an heritage of the Lord." Children are our most voiceless and vulnerable society. I couldn't believe when I was watching this video about a class of 5-6 year olds attending their teacher's lesbian wedding. They are just sweet children, not old enough to know yet.

Our decision has nothing to do with being against homosexuality, we are trying to protect our family from what repercussions might come if Proposition 8 doesn't pass. Things have already happened concerning freedom of religion and public school in other states that have legalized gay marriage. Please vote Yes on Proposition 8!

Here are some helpful websites:
http://protectmarriage.com/
http://preservingmarriage.org/

F.A.M.I.L.Y
FATHER AND MOTHER, I LOVE YOU

Dear Uncle "Muck" (Mike)

Steve's little brother Mike got his mission call! He is leaving on December 31st and will be serving in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the next 2 years. We are so proud of you and are super excited for you to be embarking on this wonderful journey! Love you and can't wait to see you!

Daddy!

Darling, hurry home! It has been a long 30 hours! We've missed you! See you soon!

Another Valencia Trip

Chelsea went to Valencia and since I never see her Joe and I had to go as well for a quick trip.
Joe was trying to help Grandma with her work
JK let Joe borrow this hat and he looked like a little gangster.
Joe and his bff's, Uncle JK and Uncle Ben. He would run around the house yelling JK and Be (never put the "n" with it) until they got home from school. He followed them around the whole time we were there. My brothers are the best
How cute is my mom!? I didn't know how above and beyond she would go with Joe at the park. He kept yelling for the park, even though Mama and Papa's backyard is huge! We took him and my mom was right along with him the whole time.
At Uncle Ben's football game, Joe caught the sight of Uncle JK and demanded to be with him throughout the WHOLE game. It was great because I could talk to my good friend Linds who came along with her boyfriend Bryan. Thanks for coming to see us!

The next day we went to JK's football game and Joe couldn't walk past the bus without getting a picture. He was obsessed with the buses, trucks, cars, balls...Unfortunately we left the game early because Joe was wheezing and not feeling well. That's what happens to our little guy when the weather goes from 90 degrees to 70 overnight. We had to rush home to get his inhaler.
Loves loves loves his Aunt Chelsea
Grandpa, are you sure I can't come over the fence with you?

Almost to the freezing point...Yes we are all decked out in the red, black, and white...Not because we love the high school, but my mom went to hart, all 7 of my brothers have played football for hart, Chelsea and I cheered for hart, and my dad has always helped out coaching football for hart. It's kind of a family thing.
After the game, we came home and watched Blades of Glory. Thanks Ben for ditching out! Heidi in the middle is Chelsea's best friend from elementary school, love her! JK, thanks for watching with us and for letting us use your phone for an alarm so we didn't sleep through our flight!
The reason I flew home so quick, well aside from my hubby, was to see these blue angels perform. They practice over the bay for a few days and then performed this last weekend. Last year when they came, I was so new to the area and we only made it to the last 5 minutes so I wanted to see them this year....
In this beautiful city....(top of the picture all the way to the right, white house, Danielle Steel's monster) We live 2 streets down and 1 street to the left.

With my wonderful family! Thanks again dear for letting us go!

Thanks Stephanie and Garrett for letting us come over!

Good Intentions...

Don't you love those days when you start off with the best intentions, and then somewhere along the way you hit an obstacle!? Well yesterday Joe and I had a fun day walking to the park with our friends, Jamie and Caleb. We played at the park, looked at doggies, buses, and taxis, which happens to be very exciting to Joe and then we walked Fillmore St. Fillmore St presented more fun, not 1 but 2 lollipops from Jamie that she got from the bank and then a pumpkin spice shake and a carrot raisin muffin. I love fall, especially the festive treats! So pretty much yesterday was a good day for us and I wanted to try a fun new thing today...
We woke up and I thought that since my son has decided he wants to be potty trained, we would go buy him a big boy potty. Target is a little bit away from the city so we usually make a big trip out of it. We stopped at Babies R Us and I didn't see the device I wanted so as we were leaving I stopped in the clothes section and was browsing. Joe found a tricycle and tried to get on it and it flipped over, he hit his eye on a clothes rack and it was bleeding a fairly good amount. Not only that, but the whole left side of his face was puffing up and bruising. We were near the front where obviously associates could see and I was a bit sad that nobody helped. I am a good distance from home with obviously no ice, no water, or paper towel. I felt horrible for Joe and I had to scoop up the snacks we were buying, my poor son and hurry to check out my things. The picture doesn't do his bump justice. We proceeded to go to Target and get the potty, but by then it was almost a lost cause. I could tell Joe was hurting, tired, and done shopping. The whole reason I had driven to this certain Target was so that Joe could play in this little kid area that my friend, Heather (sigh and tear), who just moved to AZ, recommended. We finally got to the toy area and Joe LOVED it! A couple people asked what had happened to his eye, and I wanted to cry. He was a good sport through it all, but I could have done without the little accident to the start of my day!
O yeah, any suggestions on potty training are welcome since I figured I wouldn't be doing this for awhile. :) Thank you Joe for making my life easier!
I also have to write about how much I loved Conference weekend. I loved having Steve home the whole weekend. I loved the Relief Society Broadcast the week before, it got me even more excited for Conference. I loved making breakfast and hanging out with my boys all day. I even attempted homemade cinnamon rolls! I truly know that our Prophet is called of God and that everything spoken about was inspired. I always feel a couple of talks are directed at me. I loved the Primary Children's Choir. My friend Katie posted this quote on her blog, Children are 'society's most voiceless and vulnerable group' as she was writing about an article that she had found about Prop 8 and as I was watching these sweet children sing I couldn't help think about it. The topics at conference are always presented so well and are so uplifting. I loved this weekend and can't wait until the talks are printed!