Train Song and Halloween Bonanza

Last Wednesday, Casey's class went on a field trip to a nearby pumpkin patch. Here are a couple photos:




Last weekend my parents were in town. This was fun for me. I hope it was fun for them. They weren't actually here to see me (or Marcie or Casey), but that's okay. They were here to stay with one of our nephews, Joey. He is cute as a button. My brother turned the big 3-0 last week so off he went to Vegas with his wife for a short weekend.

Anyway, those of you who know me know that I am not much for Mexican food. I go to great lengths to avoid it. I will go almost anywhere with a group and find something on a menu I can eat. But I am never shy about telling everyone, "I HATE Mexican food." It gives me indigestion. I don't like the taste much-- it's too spicy to really enjoy. Yes, I am a weirdo. I'm a picky eater. But that's who I am, and as much as I may want to enjoy salsa, it's just not going to happen. This is why it's so strange that I've been craving cheese enchiladas. But I have. Anyway, when my parents arrived, I suggested lunch at a restaurant in Old Town, which could only mean one thing: Mexican food. My parents were pleasantly shocked and off we went to lunch. Marcie immediately took to my dad like she'd spent every day of her life with him. And she really enjoyed the music, bouncing to it in her high chair. Here they are:


Then on Saturday after soccer, we took the boys to Old Poway Park. We have a real live steam engine there that runs through the park and gives rides for $2 per person. And this weekend they had a festival: Train Song. They had music and story tellers and booths with face painters and trains. The train museum-- with a scaled model of a railroad was open. It was fun. We got in the covered car and a "bank robber" joined us. So we even enjoyed and old-fashioned western-style gun fight. Casey screamed when the first shot was fired and shouted, "Oh no!" He fake-cried when the guy went down on the ground (but couldn't help giggling when his hat fell off). And when everyone stood back up at the end (to show it was just pretend), Casey cheered and clapped. It was all very cute. Marcie, on the other hand, didn't care that we were on a train ride. She took a liking to the nice elderly gentleman sitting next to us and played with his watch the whole time. After the train ride, Casey got a brand new pair of Thomas shoes. They were only half the price of his fire truck shoes. And even though the fire truck shoes are better shoes and they fit Casey better, he has been wearing his Thomas shoes pretty much from the moment he wakes up until he takes his bath before bed. I'm glad he likes them!

In the afternoon, Jason's mom came over to have the kids try on clothes she'd bought them. She brought all sorts of wonderful outfits for both of them. Disappointingly almost none of the clothes fit Marcie. The pants were too big and the shirts were too small. And that was size 24-month! Now, don't get me wrong. Marcie is currently mainly wearing size 18-month clothes (with a spattering of 12-month articles). But I guess some brands run smaller than others and though they fit now, they won't fit when the weather cools down and she needs the warm clothing. Good thing Jason's mom thought to have the kids try stuff on before washing it!

That night, we went to Casey's favorite restaurant for dinner-- Red Robin. At a mall. The boys (Casey and Joey) ran around in the kids play area while we waited for our table. Marcie had her first public "accident." Somebody (read: Jason) put her diaper on crooked and the poop went all down her leg. I used every last wet wipe cleaning it up and dug into the diaper bag to pull out the spare pants-- only to discover I didn't actually bring spare pants. Apparently I grabbed two onesies instead of a onesie and pants. Nice. So Marcie enjoyed the rest of the evening in a pair of Casey's rolled up pants. I didn't have my camera, so this entry is the only evidence I've got of the incident.

Sunday morning Jason cut Casey's hair. He tried to leave in curls, but I thought it looked too much like a mullet, so he appeased me and shortened the back, too. I didn't think to get pictures before and after, so you'll have to just scroll back through photos to compare the two. . .

That about sums up last weekend. The week so far has been (thankfully) uneventful. Casey's Halloween costume arrived on Monday, and he's been wearing it to eat breakfast and before bedtime. May as well get as much use out of it as possible. When he saw it, he told Jason he wanted a Percy costume, too! So funny!
Marcie is going to be a ladybug for Halloween-- come to think of it, I haven't tried the 12-month sized costume on her-- maybe I should to make sure it fits!