Ok, this is the LAST backdated post ... for October ... lol I do appologize for the amount of OCDness lately, I'm trying to get rid of me MySpace page and I have all of these pics up THERE with the stories. And because I'm pretty sure I won't be scrapping this stuff for QUITE some time, I don't want to forget the details before I get to journal.

So that's the story :)

So it was October and I was LOVING the fallness of things and the decor was just pretty and I don't remember WHY exactly, but I felt inspired to have a lovely old fashioned tea party!

OH, I remember. I was going through boxes and found my grandmother's china tea set and my daughters OOOOH'ed & AAAAAH'ed and I thought how SWEET it would be to get all dressed up and have a tea party with my little ladies :)


And it WAS! We got all dressed up and invited a friend and her daughter over.

I set the table with my grandmother's china and set out some tea party like yummies. We had banana bread, finger sandwiches cut in pretty shapes like butterflies and flowers, and some yummies cookies! I mad a great sweet tea and put it in my grandmother's pretty glass pitcher.

It was QUITE the party :)

For the little ones, I had some plastic cups and saucers and they did suprisingly well! Lil Miss is only 3

and her friend was only 2! We were all very classy ... as illustrated here by the boogie show

My lil Princess LOVED the whole thing! The tea, the goodies, the dressing up ... she was right at home.

Tween also enjoyed it. I think it was the grown up factor that she really loved. She loves feeling like one of the ladies and she does well with it at her young age of 11.

My friend and I really enjoyed it as well.

Sometimes it's just fun to get all gussied up and be girly and enjoy the whole experience of being a woman, young or not-so young ;-)

I love the beach! AND I love fall! So when they have a pumpkin festival ... at the beach ... I am a HAPPY GIRL!

Until of course

• it takes 3.5 hours to get there
• the kids are whiney starting at the .5 hour mark
• the weather is iffy
• the traffic is BAD
• the husband is whiney
• the crowd is OUTRAGEOUS - like wall to wall in the middle of the street
• you can't even FIND the food vendors and it's past lunch
• when you DO find them it's $6 for a plain hotdog from Costco

and got the HELL outta there! We drove up the road a piece to Montara Beach and were immediately relieved of our stress and happy again :)

On the way we got some food for the kids and some provisions for ourselves. Some cheese, crackers & a bottle of wine = me a HAPPY GIRL AGAIN!

Despite the iffy and sometimes windy weather, the beach IS the beach and by definition, heaven.

The girls played in the sand & waves, and enjoyed some snacks. We all agreed it was the best. day. ever :)

:)

Love this picture ... though all beach pictures are awesome if you ask me!

We are a beach goin family, it's just in our blood I think.

And this is just a beautiful place. The coast is full of them and I guess that's what makes California worth the cost of living here!

Which is why I drag my peoples 3.5 whine filled hours from home for just an afternoon basking in the sun and sea air, getting sand in our toes & ears.

And enjoying every second of it. I hope these are the memories my kids hold on to. And if they don't ... I will MAKE SURE they read this blog ;-)

Maybe it will be daily reading material lol. I can tell them "SEE! SEE! WE DID STUFF! I TOOK YOU PLACES! Not just your DAD does!" ... egh ... but THAT is a story for another day.

For now I'll just hope they can remember how much fun we had together and not compare it to anyone else. There's not much I can do about that anyway. I'll just remember these times and create more of them!

I mean look at this place! How can you NOT remember this place and think back on it fondly, right? :)

My Dearest Garbage Disposal,

Did I not treat you right? Was it the used coffee filters that did you in? Or was it the barage of wee Polly purses and shoes over the last year that just broke your spirit ... I know it does mine.

I must say though, garbage disposal, you abandoned me at a very inopportune time. I have come to rely on you ... dare I say ... DEPEND on you. You have seen me through many a sticky situation. I know you must remember the day I cleaned out all the tupperware in the fridge. What would I have done with all that leftover whoknowsWHATthisisanymore without your help? And what about all the times you got rid of the fish head and bones DH left in the sink? WHERE would I have been with out you THEN?! I shudder to think...

And I think we all remember the Great Cake Debate of '08. Couldn't have done it without you ... well, I could have ... but it would have taken a few minutes longer.

What I'm trying to say is that you have become my constant. I always thought I could depend on you to take care of the stinky nasty messes that I just didn't want to deal with. And then you just gave up on me. After only a year. You gave up on me and our "I make the mess, you clean it up" relationship.

I shall miss you, garbage disposal. After 2 years without a garbage disposal, I really loved and appreciated every minute I had with you. I shall miss you.

Is it just me, or has the cold and flu season come MUCH earlier this year?

I'm currently listening for the 3rd of 4 children to fall to the stomach flu that has invaded our house.

The Boy brought it home Monday and puked the whole way home after school. Then down the hall and all over the bathroom. Then all over his bed as well.

Yes, it WAS as much fun as it sounds.

Lil Miss woke up at 3am covered in IT and after a bath we had about an hour to rest before leaving to get Tween and Princess for school. She lost it a few more times on the drive but was ok when we got home.

We basically passed out most of the morning. I'm PRAYING that she's done now ... especially since Princess went to bed early complaining of an upset tummy.

So basically I'm just waiting to hear her tiny little cries so I can run in and start the whole process al over again. SIGH ...

Seems like most people I know have already dealt with at least one bout of sickness this year. It's BARELY fall and it's beginning already. The worst part being, if most of the people you know are getting sick, then you can't be far behind.

OH and if you have kids, forget about it, this is just the beginning of a stream of snot, puke, aches & pains and whining ... my GOD the whining. UGH I'm so tired of it already.

I guess it's time to pull up my big girl panties and deal with it.

Not sure ... but I MAY have mentioned my love for all things fall.

On our weekend with the boy (the girls & boy weekends alternate as I couldn't handle 4 kids for 5 days straight ... and those of you who CAN should be nominated for sainthood)

So on our weekend with the boy we decided to take the kids to another pumpkin patch {kinda} near by. If nearby means about 35 minutes away. And to me it does.

This place is pretty cute and a great deal for an afternoon of fun. They have this cute little go-cart track that the Boy had an awesome time with ...

A REALLY awesome time by the look on his face ....

They had a cute little old western town to play in and an a gold panning area too ...

So we got a little treat and played for awhile ...

Then the boys found a shootin range! The cute part is that it shoots mini pumpkins! You shoot it toward the targets and they smash and it makes a big mess and it's all kinds of a boy fun ;-)

The kids ran and ran through all the little hay mazes and trails

draggin us along for the ride ;-)

Then we sat for lunch and had a great tri-tip sandwich ... this is Lil Miss wondering if the camera IS actually attached to my face like daddy says it is LOL

After eating we went to the petting zoo and the kids got to pet and play with all sorts of farm type animals ...

they are VERY interesting ...

And Lil Miss fell in love with the pretty black horsey and I'm sure will be asking Santa for one ...

She had fun feeding the goats until the brown one there ate her hair ... they were no longer on speaking terms after that ...

Then we found out that the Boy is working on his career as a chicken whisperer ...

then we ate the HECK out of some churros ... cause that's just good eatin right there ...

We took a ride on a hay truck and looked at all these cute little pumpkin people set ups made by local school children ... I don't have any pictures of them though because they looked like they had been made by local school children ...

Then we started feeling corny ...

VERY corny ...

and even *I* got into it ... notice how the picture is not centered or close up? Yeah, that's cause I'm in it and not taking it LOL

But a good time was had by all ... a VERY good time ... and a very quiet ride home :)