That's What They Said: Good Food, Good Words, and Good Times

(After looking in his bowl and seeing the sprinkles I had put in there ...)
Baylor:  How delightful!


Baylor:  Mommy, have you ever had bressert?
Me:  What's bressert?
Baylor:  Breakfast for dessert!  Do you want some?!
Me:  (smiling)  Sure!
Baylor:  Okay, I'll make pancakes!


Me:  Baylor, what are your three favorite words?
Baylor:  (without hesitation and with a huge grin)  Elevator, escalator, stairs.
Me:  Mollie, what about you?  What are your three favorite words?
Amalia: Ma.
Me:  Okay.
Amalia:  Va.
Me:  Well, that's really more of a syllable ...
Amalia:  Da.  Ga.
Me:  Ooookay.
Baylor:  (to Mollie)  Don't you like elevators?


Baylor:  (running in to show me something he built, smiling)  Mom, am I chubby with these toys?
Me:  Are you chubby?
Baylor:  Yeah.
Me:  No.  You're not chubby?
Baylor: (smiling)  Yeah, I am!  I am chubby with these toys.
Me:  Baylor, do you like that word?
Baylor:  (grinning ear to ear)  Yeah, chubby.  Chubby, chubby, chubby.


Amalia:  On trick or treat, I gonna say, "Smell my feet, give my feet back!  Ah hahahahaha!"
Baylor:  Well, I'm gonna say, "Trick or treat, smell my feet, put some candy on my feet!"

Bryson in Asia: Fall Fun

Fall in Michigan is just spectacular.  The colors of the leaves are brilliant beyond compare, and we are lucky enough to have two of the most beautiful trees right in our front yard.  Bryson was convinced that they wouldn't drop many leaves while he was away ... he was wrong.  But before they dropped, they were gorgeous.

Okay, even on the ground they still looked amazing.

Mollie decided to pick up a few, even though they were quite wet.

After naps, we went to Sietsema Orchards to snag some pumpkins.  

After checking out the main store, we went pumpkin picking.

Brave soul that I am, I ventured into the patch to do the picking.  The worst I encountered was deer poop and I got to see some pretty cool pumpkins in the process, so I can't complain.  (Interesting note:  some pumpkins have what appeared to be tiny thorns on their stems.  You learn something new every day.)

Baylor really wanted to hug his pumpkin, but it was a little wet and dirty and he had heard about the tiny thorns.

Same with Mollie.

I found this awesome pumpkin with green warts all over it, and it was a hit!  Nothing says "Halloween" quite like green warts, you know?

While Mom and I got the pumpkins weighed and loaded into the car, Christine entertained the kids on the porch swing.

And the kids got to choose tiny pumpkins as a special treat.

Getting to experience all these fall activities with the kids is a joy and a real privilege; I'm so thankful that Bryson goes to work for us (even if it's to the other side of the world), so I can stay home with the kiddos.

Bryson in Asia: Art Prize and Apple Pie

Later on in the day, the first day, my dad and I headed downtown to check out Art Prize while the kids napped at my parents house.  We were able to take in a lot of awesome, interesting, and amazing artwork, several of which were in the top ten.  

I just had to take a picture of this ... Baylor loves signs and this was a good one!

I thought this exhibit was particularly interesting; the glass figures represent population growth/decline in cities around the world.

This was the winner of the 2012 Art Prize competition.  It was unbelievable in size, scope, and detail, an incredible work of art.

After we got home we had a lovely dinner followed by an absolutely delicious dessert.  My mom makes an amazing apple pie!

What a great end to the first day of Bryson's trip!

Bryson in Asia: Breakfast Out and a Hike

I know I didn't mention this on here - or Facebook, for that matter - but my husband went to Asia for 12 days starting on September 30th.  He has been away for business before but never for this long, so I had no idea what to expect from his time away.  The first day was decidedly rockier than I had anticipated; Baylor, who had been fine up until this point, got upset when we dropped Bryson off at the airport and said our goodbyes.  I had been also doing fine, but seeing my son upset put me over the edge and we were all a bit of a mess as we made our way home.  Hoping to change the mood of the beginning of our adventure, I decided to take the kids out for breakfast.  We went to a little local diner called Real Food Cafe, and the kids were delighted, and seemingly relieved, at the distraction.

I even let them have things they don't usually have ... like apple juice for Mollie

... and chocolate milk for Baylor!

They both got the "kids" order of pancakes.  I asked for them to be blueberry pancakes, but apparently the cook we got was new and didn't put them on, not in, the pancakes.  The kids didn't care.  I should have just ordered one pancake for the both of them, though, as Baylor ate all but one ear and Mollie essentially ate only one ear.

After breakfast, we made plans with my dad to go to Provin Trails for a little hike.  Mollie insisted on bringing along her pretend cell phone.  *sigh*

As we hiked, Dad told the kids all about trees and lumber ... I just love it when fun outings turn into learning experiences!

At one point, Dad decided to show the kids how to climb a tree.

I'm not too worried about either kid trying it anytime soon, though; Baylor begged Dad to get down after the picture above was taken, and Mollie ran over to spot him in case he fell.

As we continued on our walk, Mollie kept up her phone conversation as much as possible.

Of course, when she saw a photo op, she just had to take it.

We came upon a hollowed-out tree, and Dad told the kids about termites while I snapped pictures.

Oh, and so did Mollie.  Say "Cheese!", Mommy!

Though the morning was rough, we turned the day around and managed to have a really good first day without Bryson.  Knowing that the good days make the time move much faster, I was excited to have such a great start.