Halloween!

So, the Camdy-man was old enough to have a major opinion on the Halloween costume this year, and he demanded -- read: DEMANDED -- to be an astronaut. (As my sister-in-law said, "Ah ... Halloween costume or career day?" Hah!) No other cute, commercial costume would do. We tried. He just wasn't buying it. Why did we try to sell him on something else, you might ask? Because, of course, we couldn't find a commercially made white astronaut costume that didn't cost a small fortune (only the orange ones). Consequently, Trent took on the project and made an amazingly cool home-made costume. My big contribution was finding toddler-size white gloves (not as easy as it sounds, okay!), and thanks to Grandma for the perfect little helmet!

My little astronaut.

First, a visit to Great-Grandma Tronette at her assisted living, which brought smiles to everyone present.

Then, off to the church for our Trunk or Treat. Suffice it to say that it was not quite as balmy as the one the week prior in AZ. It was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa with us in spite of the fuh-reezing weather.

Here we are, momma and kiddo, "on parade."

Here are some of my Joy School boys hanging out in the gym with Cam: Jackson aka Spiderman and Ethan aka fireman. (Check out that side-view of Cam's costume. Great detail, eh?)

Then the boys were off trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Good thing we designed the costume to go over his puffy coat, snow pants, and boots! A typical CO Halloween costume.

They are so stinkin' cute! Love my boys!

Not a super-great shot, but at least you get a feeling for the details. For instance, Trent found the "NASA" font, and put "Commander Feist" on the lapel, and the patch is from a shuttle mission our friend, Rick Searfoss, commanded. I'm pretty sure it's the first shuttle that docked with Mir. So cool! Trent found all the patches online and printed them out on iron-on inkjet paper. Ingenious.

Overall, a very fun Halloween.

Harvest Time

Hail to the mother of all the pumpkins in our garden this year! Woohoo! I'm pretty sure I canned our year's supply just from this big fella. (Yes, I just said "mother" and "fella" referring to the same pumpkin.) Good thing, because we had an early snow in September, and after that, everything died.

Phoenix Zoo

While in AZ, we also had the chance to visit the Phoenix Zoo, which I remember from my childhood along with the surrounding valley. It was so crazy taking my very own kiddo there.

Awww, baby monkey. (Okay, okay, I know it's an orangutan. Work with me here, people.)

Another baby monkey ... wearing -- yes -- a baby monkey shirt. (Aha, now you see the need for artistic license on the first pic, do you not?)

Soooo cool. And way old. These guys live into the hundreds, you know. And later, we got to see them making baby turtles. Choice. They were very noisy, in case you wanted to know. I never knew Galapagos tortoises could be noisy.

I just love him.

Pop quiz: What do you do when you see water running under a little bridge in the middle of the zoo? Answer: Well, if you're a little boy, apparently you hit the deck and play in it, of course.

My cuz, Danielle, and me, striking a "Little Mermaid"-esque pose. "Uh-we are the daugh-ters of Triton ... ah-ah-ah"

Children's farm.

I swear that big goat was there when I was there 25 years ago. Aunt Karen said he had pretty bad dandruff. Ewww.

My little guy brushing the goats. I remember coming to this very spot with my elementary school class. No joke.

Cam chillin' with my Aunt Karen and cousin, Danielle, on the safari bus/train thingy. We were all bushed at the end of the day, so we opted to see the African animals in style rather than on foot. Totally worth the few bucks.

Camel-back, a familiar view from many places in the valley, and also right off the edge of the zoo. Now, there's an image from my childhood.

Doesn't this look like an oasis? So beautiful. I wanted to get the shot with the giraffes in view, but I missed it. It was even more striking with their spotted forms crossing the vista.

What a fun day! Thanks to the Valles for taking us!

Memory Lane

While I was in AZ, my tio took me to visit my old stomping grounds in Scottsdale. So much and so little has changed in 22 years.

Our street. It's not very long. Maybe 6 houses? This is the sign on the corner across from the park where we used to play.

My house. That white fence (left side) used to extend all the way around the yard. And the yard used to be grass. Whoah. I remember that yard being a lot bigger. And our huge palm is gone now, too. Mom & Dad, remember the baby birds?

It's so funny that the ranch style with a carport design is what I live in now, too, with my own little family. (Only we weren't such a little family. Even back then, there were six of us Harrisons.)

And at the other end of the street was our chapel. We used to walk to church. I'm pretty sure I totally freaked out some musicians that were in there practicing. But I just couldn't resist getting a peak at the chapel.

Not too far away ... my first elementary school, Yavapi. I was in Mrs. Haltigan's kindergarten class there in 1985. I get the feeling from the sign that they might not have too many English speakers there anymore.

Here's a view of Yavapai. We went looking for my next school, Tonto, where I went to 1st grade, but are pretty sure they tore it down. (Poppa always thought it was funny that they named a school, "tonto," which means "stupid" in Spanish.) And I think Meyer, where I went to 2nd grade, was in Tempe.

What a trip to visit these places. I may or may not have gotten tears in my eyes. I know, I know. What a hopeless sap I am! It really was pretty surreal to go back after all this time.

Trunk or Treat, AZ style

While we were in Mesa, we joined the Valles for their ward Trunk or Treat, a week before Halloween. It was a lot of fun.

Taylor and her friend, Amber, were Angel and Devil. Here they are in their "model pose." They both cracked up laughing after we took the picture.

Cam and Uncle Tony hanging out at the shin-dig. Cam was so excited when he discovered what the cake walk was all about. Here he is scarfing his second cupcake, I think.

Gone fishin'.

Cam and my cuz, Alexis. She is such a cutie!

Alexis' stinkin' cute ribbon shoelaces (coordinated with the ribbon on her costume) and my fun pedi. I love being on vacation.

Didn't take him long to figure out the Trunk or Treat deal.

The three amigas.

Raiding my Aunt Karen's bowl. I'm pretty sure those three cleaned out almost her entire bowl.

Camden must have been hot in his costume, because the first thing he did when we walked in the door was strip down to his undies.

My cousin, Taylor, with her stash! And it's not even Halloween yet!

AZ or Bust!

Cam and I escaped the snow and went to Arizona for a week! Yipee! It was fun visiting my uncle and his family, and a little bit surreal to be in the valley, where I lived when I was a little girl. I hadn't been back in 22 years.

One of the days, Cam went to the park with all the girls. When I got back to pick him up, this is what I found. He said he had been thirsty and went to get a drink of water from the sprinkler. Little stinker! Good thing it was a hot day!

Cam loved hanging out with the Valles' bunny, Chocolate Chip ...

... and with his great-uncle, Tony, too. :) They are so funny together.

On Monday night, we carved pumpkins and made s'mores for FHE. Cam said he wanted a sad pumpkin, so I made one that was frowning and throwing up. He thought my creation was pretty funny. My sweetheart would've been proud. =D

Here's the crew, minus Alexis and Danielle, the very popular older cousins who were out with friends, I think. Also, their brother, Ryan, is on his mission in the Philippines at the moment. (L-R: Taylor, Uncle Tony, Aunt Karen, and crazy little Camden)

Pumpkin Patch

What could be more fun than climbing all over a massive pile of pumpkins on a warm fall day?

Standing in "time out" by the fence for saying potty words. ("poopy," "pee-pee," "toot" ... you know, he's a boy ...). Such a tortured soul. Not. He kept calling to his friends who were still over on the pumpkin pile.

I know I've said it a million times, but ... good thing he's cute.

Big Boy Bed!

At long last, here are some pictures of the big boy bed ... and my "little big boy," too. We switched him about a month ago, and he's done great! He was so ready for it.



Um, yes, those are 8 or 9 blankets stacked on top of the comforter. That's how he liked his little "nest" in the crib, too. If you remove one, he notices and will ask for it.

This is a little contraption I rigged up to hold his glow bugs, which were handed down from his Daddy. (Remember those little things, from the '80s?) I made it for the crib, but it seems to work okay on the bed rail, too.