The Punkin Patch

I don't think I have ever been to a proper pumpkin patch, perhaps when I was a kid, but I don't think Tucson is a punkin patch kind of town...maybe it was, I can't remember! But here in Temecula, we have many punkin patches to choose from. When we moved here last year it was the week before Halloween and we weren't full able to enjoy all of the festivities. So this year we made sure to partake in the fun!The Stew Miller punkin patch is literally right down the street and Marley got to go twice, once with us and once with his school. We got to pet sheep, bunnies and tried to pet this funky chickens with crazy feathers (and yes, they were shakin' 'em). I love living here SO much, it's such an awesome small town vibe, but totally diverse and an hour from three major cities!
We met Marley's BFF Ronnie for bouncy house fun! I love this picture of Marley's hair!!
And this hair pic is pretty cool too! Marley and Ronnie got to go in the bouncy house and some blow up slide/obstacle course madness...they were able to go through several times on one ticket....I'm sure it's because they mesmerized the ticket chic with their absolute cuteness!

Camping with Daddy

The first weekend in October I went to Big Bear for a girls' weekend and Mike and Marley went camping at Lake Skinner with the kids and hubbies who were left behind. It was Marley's first camping trip, and I think MIke's 4th, and they did awesome!! First ones to get their tent set up!

All the kids and a dog!


Nothing says camping like a campfire! His hair smelled like campfire the next day!

Super Star

I ran across these as I was uploading some new photos...these were taken over the summer and just crack me up!!

Sid the Science Kid!!

Today we went up to LA to the California Science Center to meet Sid the Science Kid. Sid is on PBS and one of a very small handful of shows we let Marley watch because it is pretty educational. Sid and his 3 other classmates (wonder how much tuition is at that school) "Investigate, something else I can't remember, and Explore" many different topics including why Sid can't stay at home and watch TV all weekend and why it always rains when Sid has a play date planned. The show also has some pretty cool tunes including, my favorite which is sung on his way to school..."I love my Mom...uh-huh....My mom is cool....uh-huh....but now it's time for having fun in school!!"
So when we found out that Sid was going to be in LA we knew we had to go!! What we didn't know was that the entire county of LA would be there as well! Poor Mike stood in line for over an hour in the 100* heat while Marley and I took cover in the shade and Marley tried his best to hoola-hoop.

Once we got in, the line situation only got worse. There were three shows we could've seen: a sneak preview at a new episode, a family sing along and the meet Sid and take a picture show. Had we waited in line to actually have Marley's picture taken it probably would've been at least another hour...so we went the more...shall we say...economical approach and jumped behind some tables to have our picture taken "Near" Sid...almost the same right?!?!

I am pretty sure Marley is making fun of the fact that my upper lip disappears when I smile in the above picture....rude!!
He was pretty psyched despite not getting to "hold Sid"...and we got access to all the other exhibits, except for the Mummy exhibit! Marley saw a picture of a mummy and asked Mike "is that Egypt Daddy?" How smart is my little scientist?!?


A good long day was had by all....it's almost 6 and he's still crashed out on the couch!!

My Big Fat Bloody Lip

Last week Marley suffered a VERY serious injury!! While patrolling the slide at preschool, his esteemed job for the week was "Playground Patrol" (other such titles have included "Breakfast Helper" and "Book Sorter") he dove to protect the safety of a fellow three year-old comrade and ate it in the process. Blood was spurted, tears where shed....

and cheese was had by all!!

Just Cuteness

Chargers Training Camp

As season ticket holders to the San Diego Chargers, we were invited to come watch the first day of training camp and meet the players and, of course the cheerleaders!! Marley had his picture taken with this cutie and then his reputation spread all over camp...
After walking back from meeting some of the players a group of cheerleaders approached us and they said "Oh there's Marley" "It's Marley" "He's so cute!" and they wanted a picture with him! He was in heaven!!

Then we met Darrin Sproles, superstar running back! And as you can see Marley was staking his claim on his Mommy!! Sproles is pretty short, which gives me hope for all short black men in the world!!
And then the clouds parted and I was reunited with my celebrity boyfriend, David Binn....longsnapper for the the Chargers! I met (and by "met" I mean I served him a free cigar while he got his celebrity on) him his first year on the team in 1995 and instantly fell in love! He was tall, had long hair and...dude...he's a pro football player!! When I spotted him at training camp I made a bee line for him! Mike shouted out to him "David, my wife has been in love with you forever, can we get a picture?" And David replied (insert nervous awe/love struck half laugh here) "Awe shut up dude...of course!" And then I said (insert dreamy music) "I have been a big fan since 95"...what?!?! That was my reply?!?! I am reunited with my celebrity dream boyfriend and that's my line?!?! Well, for Marley's sake I guess it's better that our love was not reignited...explaining why Marley has two dad's and one mom may be a bit akward!!

Model Train Museum

Last week was Mike's last week of vacation so we tried to do as much fun stuff as we could to make our staycation feel like a vacation! We went down to San Diego to the Model Train Museum, and needless to say Marley LOVED it!! He is so obsessed with trains!! His daddy bought him a Thomas book, hat and glow in the dark shirt!!

Nw if we could just get him to stop saying "Cheese" when we take his picture all would be good!!
A little overwhelmed!!

Blueberry Picking

Since we moved here I have joined a couple of Mom's groups, one is for adoptive families and the other is for moms over 30...that barely look over 21! Since I haven't been working and Marley's been out of school we have been hanging out and doing a lot of fun stuff! On this day we went with the Moms Over 30 group to the Temecula Blueberry farm where we were able to pick and eat our own blueberries!


I think someone may have a future in farming! It is in his blood afterall!!

Cousin Erin

While Uncle Bro was being inducted into the Martial Arts hall of fame we got to hang out with cousin Erin! She was such a help with Marley and I think they had a really good time! We went to the toy store and then to get some frozen yogurt!
And when Bro and Tammie got back from the ceremonies, Bro bent this frying pan for us! And he autographed it afterwards...pretty cool!!

Video wouldn't load...to be continued!

Look What We Can Do!!

OK, so this really has nothing to do with Marley other than the fact that his super cool Papa and Momma did all this amazing work! My parents rent a condo in Solana Beach twice a year for a month and while they were here in May-June my dad and I did a whole lot of building!!

We started with a table to surround the firepit I bought...Dad taught me how to weld, but I still need to tile it! Then we moved onto this custom planter...

After a big wind storm my next door neighbor's pergola thing blew to pieces, so I asked him if I could have some of it. I took the corners apart and spray painted them blue to make a trellis for the jasmine! So it's green...blue, but green!!

Then we reconstructed the existing benches to make them more comfy and sturdier...

Dad had to test them out to make sure they were lounge worthy!

They are!!

And here is the finished product!! A comfy seating area with a firepit for those cool Temecula evenings! The tile that I will be using is totally different from what is pictured here, and I will update when I finish...if I ever get a job and can afford the $16 per piece tile!