Happy Halloween, Part II

So headed out to Uncle Brian's to trick or treat with my boys. Here's a great shot of the four of us...

And Eli and I in action...

Then it was off to Nana's where all my cousins were hanging out and we got a great picture on the front step.

Went trick or treating out at Nana's - Sophie and I were wagon buddies.

Soph Dog, she loves me.

And then Nana had some arts and crafts where we each decorated a skeleton...

Here's mine.

All in all, a great Halloween, thought I'd end it with this shot of Mae in her cupcake outfit.

Happy Halloween

Finley the Giraffe comin right atcha!

And Mabel not far behind.

More pics to come later after we get some trick or treating in... have a Happy Halloween!

8-Month Mabel Alert!

Okay, so we're a couple weeks late with these but seriously, it's been a long month with Mom out of town, then we went to Michigan and then last week Mom and Dad went to St. Louis and Mae and I went to Nana's for the weekend (great post to come from those pics).

But here is Mabel and Charlie the Bear at eight whole months.

Here's Mae at four months with Charlie, in case you forgot. If I remember correctly she was doing her DeNiro impersonation... wait, what? Oh, sorry, she said it was Al Pacino.

And it's Fall in Chicago, which means leaves abound...

And beautiful weather for trips to the park...

And it means Mae is still eating everything in sight.

And people just looking really darn cute.

So that was just a taste, there are more photos here.

Pure Michigan, Part II

Okay, so Part II, here we go. On Saturday we were walking through downtown Saugutuk and we saw these guys playing the guitar on the back deck of a bar so we headed on in. After one song the dude said he would take requests so I wanted to tell him to play Country Roads but I needed Mom up there with me for a little support because there were a lot of people there.

So he and his buddy played it and though it wasn't John Denver it was good enough for me to get my dance moves on for everyone.

On the way out Dad and Colin saw some pirate dude named Morgan that they knew, I think from Sophomore year at Marquette or something like that. So they did this stupid pose and Dad even made Mabel do it and he told me to stay away from that pirate when I turn 21... pure Michigan? How bout pure silliness?

And then on Sunday before we left we stopped at the beach so I could play in the water and collect awesome rocks and throw other ones into Lake Michigan.

But back to Saturday (I know you've all been waiting for this for a few days now). So we're walking back towards the car and I'm in the stroller and this cooky lady had these parrots out on the street. So whatever, the bird was cool and she put him on my stroller on the bars in front of me and he was walking back and forth and I thought it was pretty funny...

So it was all good and then I'm like, wait a minute... what the... ?

Wait, what was that, was that... HE POOPED ON ME! Yeah, no joke, right on my pants leg! In case you didn't hear me the first time - THE PARROT POOPED ON MY LEG!

It was vomit-worthy and Pure Michigan became Pure Disgustingness. So that's it - Dad is off the hook for locking me in the car, this is now the single worst episode of my life; being dumped on by a parrot. Hey Jimmy Buffet, why don't you write a song about that!

Pure Michigan, Part I

So my Dad was listening to the radio in the car and this commercial came on. (for those of you that don't know, you have to click on the words "this commercial came on" and you'll actually be brought to a page that plays the commercial. Yep, 2010 but some folks still need a little nudge).

For all of you in the Chicagoland area I'm sure you've heard this campaign or seen it on TV... and honestly, it makes you want to go to Michigan immediately, so we called up Colin and Steph and Ana and we went.

And, as usual, there was a lot to do in Michigan. We picked some Jonagolds and some Empire Reds...

Mae even got in on the action...

I ate donuts and drank apple cider...

I rode on a cow ride with Mom...

And caught a sunset with Dad.

And as Tim Allen so appropriately said, "we marveled at the wonders around us... we took in new sights and sounds and we remembered just how beautiful life can be." (I had to stop 14 times as I wrote that, it's just so silly and cheesy, but you know what? It was so true.)

P.S. The state of Michigan can promptly send me $106.78 for that advertisement.

P.S.S. I just uploaded more pictures from Michigan so to see them CLICK HERE.

Part II is coming up in a couple days and it's sure to bring you at the very least, a giggle, but I'm quite certain you'll laugh out loud. I mean... you thought me getting locked in the car was bad?

My Secret Identity

There are those who call me...

The Maestro...

And I drink my coffee black.

For It's 1... 2...

My Uncle Kenny got some skybox tickets to the White Sox game last Friday and with Mom out of town for Girls Weekend in Denver, Dad, Mae and I hopped in the car and headed to Comiskey Park to meet Uncle Kenny, Aunt Suzy, Hannah, Luke, Sophie and Nana for the game.

Now a few weeks ago Dad turned off the TV, threw the remote and said, "I'm not watching another inning this year!" and I said that I wasn't, either, so the highlights of this escapade had nothing to do with baseball.

There was hanging out with Sophie.

Hide and Seek with Dad and Sophie (by the way, there are not many quality hiding spots in a skybox so this went south quickly).

The chicken was a huge highlight, polished off 3.5 pieces.

Mae had her own highlights but most of them took place at about four inches off the floor.

And the biggest highlight of all, the Sundae Bar, where Sophie and I rolled in with Dad and rolled out with a triple scoop of vanilla with whip cream, chocolate, carmel, sprinkles and a cookie on the side. Sophie and I voiced our concern over skipping the gummie bears and m&m's, but it was pretty clear we were going to be over-ruled, something about being "happy with what we have in life." I don't know, I told Dad that sounded like something a grandpa would say.

So good it just made you dance.