Caramel Apples.

I love fall. It is by far my favorite time of the year....crisp air (not so much here until Feb.), foliage (not so much here unless it is summer and the leaves are changing colors because they are dying), pumpkin ANYTHING (yes, we still have pumpkins here in Tejas). I miss Cleveland around this time of the year....

Juliana had off for Columbus day and we decided to make it a fall day! We painted leaves, made pumpkins out of play-doh and made caramel apples!

We went out for a walk to try to find sticks to put in the apples instead of popsicle sticks - saw it in a magazine....well here is what Juliana found:

(That was the extent of sticks....they were itty, bitty twigs. So daddy went out back and cut down a small branch and we sectioned off four sticks for our apples.)

Juliana is unwrapping the caramels:

Finished product:

(The un-caramelized apple is daddy's. He wanted to dip his apple instead. :) )

Grilled Cheese and Bacon.

My friend Tammy is the BEST. She is from Tennessee. She LOVES Starbucks. And she feeds her family bacon every other day, if not every. LOVE her. Well, she has these famous grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches, the kind that just looking at them will literally clog your arteries. And...she made them for us!! :)

Holy bacon, batman!

Sandwiches in the works.

Welcome to Texas! Jeremiah's FIRST legal shotgun. :)

"Bacon makes me want to shoot stuff.." - Sheriff Lamson.

"Bacon makes me want to fight crime and protect the innocent." -Super hero Jack.

"The smell of bacon makes me sleepy." - Sleepy Jonah

"Bacon makes me thirsty." - Three juice boxes Jacie.

I should also point out that the first bacon Jacie has ever had was introduced by Tammy. Way to be an enabler Tammy, way to go. :)

Jonah.

When they say "time flies when you're having fun", they aren't kidding. I cant believe how HUGE my little guy is!

7 weeks, 3 days:

8 weeks, 4 days:

2 months, 1 day:

Where on earth did the time go??

Home Sweet Home.

The Lamsons packed up shop and moved to a new casa two weeks before Jonah was born and Juliana started school. Here are some pics of the place we call home. :)

Front door:

Den:

Dining Room:

Family Room from den:

Other view of family room:

Kitchen:

Kitchen from back door:

We LOVE this house! One story, quiet street with cul-de-sac and LOTS of shady trees. :)

Jack's THIRD Birthday.

My Jack turned three(!) on September 6th.... Here is a photo collection of a few highlights on his special day. :)

Birthday waffle: chocolate chips and whipped cream included.

Jack has been WAY into 'Yo Gabba Gabba" as of late. The show consists of five semi-scary, semi-friendly alien, creatures and one super flamboyant DJ -DJ Lance Rock, with a boom box. Here is mommy's rendition of Yo Gabba Gabba....

GP, this van reminded me of you.... and Jack was SO excited to add Filmore to his collection. :)

Happy birthday big boy! :)

School Days.

Well. It happened. The one day I have been dreading and looking forward to all summer. The first day of school.

Our little Anna Banana started her first day of Kindergarten yesterday and it was just as hard as I thought it would be.

Day started off normal. Breakfast. Hair brushed. Get dressed. That's when I lost it. As I was pulling Juliana's shirt over her head I broke down in tears. My little girl was leaving the nest(not literally....) but she was off to broaden her mind and become that super intelligent Kindergartner that will be recommended for the third grade by the second week of the school year....

By this point, I was okay. The crying had ceased. It wasn't until we walked into the school that the waterworks started up again. Once Juliana noticed that I was crying, she began to cry. Not the "It's the END of the world, someone stole my cookie, Jack pulled my Barbie's head off" cry but the "maybe if I pretend that I am fixing my hair, lets look at the ceiling, is my shoe untied" cry. It was the kind of cry that kills a mom, the silent cry with BIG, fat tears.

Of course Jeremiah had sent me out of the classroom so that he could try to settle our little scholar. Needless to say, mommy was the one who needed to be settled.

Day two was WAY easier. She rode the school bus for the first time EVER today.

Once the bus pulled up and the bus driver opened the doors, she looked to me for the okay. I told her it was okay, kissed her goodbye and reminded her to sit on her bucket the whole way to school.

My little girl was starting a new chapter in her life. One that will educate her, open doors and broaden horizons. We know that she will do an awesome job this year. Maybe my tears were that of a proud parent - because I couldn't be more proud of her.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

Jonah Marley Lamson.

We welcomed our second little man, Jonah Marley, into the family on Tuesday, August 18th at 3:39am. Jonah was 7lbs, 5oz and 20 in long.

Both baby and mom are doing well. Big sisters and brother are loving their new little bro!

GP - Kids miss you so much and talk about you at least 10 times a day! We wished you could have been here!

Poppy and Grams - kids can't wait to see you next spring! :)