Falling into October

I have to admit I am getting exited for a new change of season and weather. I think once it hits October my mind can mentally change over. I love our Arizona Fall even though it doesn't seem to last long enough. It was time again for the traditional Goodman tamale making day. This year I think they were the best so far. It is amazing how such yummy little things can take so much work.

About once a year I have enough energy to have a little Martha Stewart in me and be some what domestic. Here are a few things I did to get me in the spirit of Fall.

Since our family has a love for peaches, I decided to order a box from Utah and make freezer jam. This was my first time to make any kind of jam. I attempted... but I'm not so sure I conquered. We also have enough frozen peaches to last I think 2 more years.

(mental note: next year buy canning jars way in advanced so you don't have to go to 5 different stores to find out that all of Mesa is canning the same day you are, and that they have been sold out even though you saw oodles there the week before)

I made my thankful blocks for my entry table. Thanks to my cousin Leah I get hooked up with cute crafts.

Time to get the garden ready and planted for our fall harvest. Lane is the biggest helper boy and loved being outside and working with daddy.

I am kind of scared because I think he ate half of the pack of peas when I wasn't looking

I got to go to lunch with one of my best friends Heather who just had her first baby. Little Merrick is only one week old and was born 3 1/2 weeks early. He was just so precious! I know this doesn't have anything to do with Fall but I couldn't resist!

Alright, since I have been getting complaints that I don't blog enough random stuff (Stephanie) and some figured out that we got pictures done (Leah and Bre) I will do a post just for you guys. I debated on whether or not to get family pictures done this year. Getting a 1 1/2 year old to sit still and to smile at the same time was just ragging on my mind. All the Goodman girls remember the haynes experience of trying to get 2 one year olds to sit still for grandchildren pictures last year and did I really want to relive that again. I guess as time goes by you forget about things and think "oh that wasn't so bad, he has grown up a little since then". Hmm...nope he hasn't! My deepest apology to you Kacy and Jake for putting up with us during this photo shoot. As you can see Lane did not want ANYTHING to do with pictures
until the bitter end when I finally remembered that I had this:nesting in the bottom of my purse. The poor kid has had a rough past week. We all know his beloved pair of green pajama pants that he has in his hands day and night. Well, they have found a new home somewhere in between the Gap and the carousel ride at Superstition Springs mall. You would think after retracing your steps for an hour, and then some, you would have found them by now. He is having a difficult time without them and could only manage to sleep 3 hours that night while trying to bond with his 2nd favorite in line, the red long sleeve shirt. So PLEASE, if you happen to be shopping at the mall and want to go on a little treasure hunt, there might be a huge reward granted for the finder of the crusty green pair of pants!

Ok, so the picture experience wasn't that bad. How could you resist being frustrated with that handsome face?! Those were some of my top picks but my favorite pose is not posted yet and will be revealed on our Christmas card... I know the suspense is killing you all. Oh, and I'm not kidding about that reward!

Ending with a Bang

I cannot even tell you how sad I am that summer is slowly coming to an end! Labor Day is so hard for me because I know that the next holiday is Halloween and that the cold is coming. Even though I have come to grips with this, we had so much fun spending the last summer holiday with Leah and Shaun. Shaun got some free tickets to Sunsplash from work so they were nice enough to invite us and let us tag along with them. I cannot express my love enough for this place. Most people think that Sunsplash is gross and ghetto but I have lot's of fun fond memories of this place as a kid. My mom is a kid at heart and would always take us there every summer. We would spend all day there and at night when I was in bed it still felt like I was swaying in the wave pool .Thanks again Leah and Shaun for an awesome day!

Following Sunsplash we headed over to Casey's parents for a yummy Labor Day BBQ. Here are the kids enjoying there homemade ice cream popsicles that Grammy G made for them.

After that the day wouldn't have been complete with out going to my parents to swim and relax in the hot tub. I am so mad that the flash wasn't working. Lane has learned to jump off of the highest rock all by himself. You can kind of see his nakedness in the air.

Did you guys know that Casey was in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics competing in the men's 10m platform in diving?! If you missed him on tv, I put a clip of him below in action!

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My Little Fishy

Lane has been taking swimming lessons this summer for the first time. He started at the end of May and has 2 more weeks until it is over. He loves his teacher Carolyn who actually taught me swimming lessons when I was little. We feel so lucky that she enjoyed it enough to have kept teaching for 20 more years so that Lane had the chance to take from her too. The first 2 weeks were a little rocky for him but he has grown to LOVE swimming lessons. Everytime I turn onto her street in the car he knows where I am going and starts doing his big arms and kicks like he is swimming. Here are some cute pictures of him through out some of his lessons. We had a bonus when one mom brought her digital underwater camera and was nice enough to take some of the kids.

getting the rings is one of Lanes favorite and is sure to remind Carolyn not to forget them every lesson
his other favorite part is the piece of licorice they get at the end. He savors every little bit. Life is so exciting when your little.

Family Vaca(s)!

We were so lucky to be able to go on vacation with both of our families these past 2 weeks. Week one was spent with the Goodman's in Coronado at the wonderful Hotel Del Coronado. We had so much fun playing at the beach, eating at yummy restaurants, fun bike rides, going to Sea World and just spending quality time as a family. Thank you Grammy and Papa G for taking us on such an amazing trip!

Week 2 was with my family in Oceanside. We always enjoy our stay at North Coast

Village. We missed Stephanie, Travis and Christopher who couldn't come so to make up for them, Marcie brought her fun friend Allison:) We hit up the beach, hit up some yummy food (except for half of the day on Sunday for Casey and Allison who are GOOD and fasted on vacation. Notice their sad faces in the pics below as they watch Marcie and me scarf), we are very tight with Shamu now, and the boys went deep sea fishing Friday morning. Poor Casey was the only one to toss his cookies.

Thank you again to both of our families for including us on your fun vacations! We enjoyed every second of it. Back to reality...darn!