Clay and Teo, otherwise known as "Clayo"

Do these pictures even need an explanation? I feel that they are just so hilarious on their own!

 

We visited Chris, Ali, and Teo Merino last month and spent a fun October weekend with them at a pumpkin patch.  That night, Chris and Ali made a delicious meal and we got to watch the kids play. 

 

Clay and Teo are pretty funny to watch together.  This last visit, they really played together (or argued intensely)!

 

 

Great Grandparents Visit Colusa, and Mom Wears the Halloween Costume This Year

This year was Clay's third Halloween.  The first year, he was an adorable piranha, and then last year, he was a little Dalmatian puppy.  I made both costumes, and I was very proud to be so resourceful!  This year, I thought I would include Clay for the first time and let him decide what he wanted to be for Halloween.  I don't think he really understood what I was asking, but regardless, he responded with confidence, "Fire Engine!"  I looked on pinterest to see how to create a fire engine costume for my two year old, and of course I found the most adorable idea: paint a box red, attach cardboard cut outs of a white ladder, some wheels, a window, headlights, and voila! It's a fire engine costume! 

It's a little embarrassing how long it took me to create this costume.  I started with scissors and Clay's left over Costco diaper box.  Then, I painted the exterior red with tempera paint.  I applied two coats of paint, but for some reason the paint was really transparent and you could clearly see the diaper advertising.  So, I went to the store, blah blah blah, purchased more red paint, but this time oil based paint, and then two more coats later, and then two weeks later, I finally finished Clay's costume. 

I wore the costume around the house and made sure he was really excited about it.  I pretended I was having so much fun, and Clay couldn't wait to wear the costume! We were set for Halloween! Clay had red pajamas that had little fire engines all over them, a plastic fireman hat, and fireman rainboots, which were too big for him, but would do just fine for the picture.

Unfortunately, on day of Halloween, of course, Clay changed his mind completely.  So, I ended up wearing the costume trick o treating and Clay wore his red pajamas.  Oh, and I forgot to bring his fireman plastic hat, and then his rainboots were WAY to big and so we intentionally left those at home, since what was the point.  While it's a bit weird that Clay just wore his PJ's on Halloween, I guess the best part about this process is that Clay watched me paint and create the fire engine the whole time.  He talked about his costume for the full two weeks leading up to Halloween and told everyone who asked exactly what he was going to be for Halloween ... So, I think he actually was excited about it at some point.... so I guess that counts for something!!

Lastly, I posted some pictures of my Grandma Erin and Grandpa Jerry who came to Colusa for a Sunday visit.  It was really special to have them in town.  They had spent the weekend in Susanville visiting the property where my grandpa's grandma grew up.  They ended up finding the stone house that was a part of her childhood, and my grandpa felt a connection with the rural setting.  I was happy to be apart of the weekend and finally get to show them our Colusa life! Clay loved seeing them too!

Please wear the costume!!!

Yay! He's in his costume.... for 1 second..

This is where I decide to wear the costume, and be the lady whose kid is wearing pajamas as his Halloween costume.

Clay LOVED trick o treating. He got the hang of it really quickly.

We ended the night at Aunt Toni Ann's home. Clay got SO much candy, and then he ate SO much candy. I think he loved the evening!

Clay and my grandpa share a common interest in chocolate chip cookies.

Early 2nd Birthday Party with Grandma and Grandpa

Clay's birthday is Wednesday, August, 5th, but my parents wanted to come up the weekend before on Sunday, August 2nd, and so we decided to have a mini early birthday lunch for Clay. I'm hoping we'll celebrate again with Luke's parents, and then we'll be in Tahoe on Clay's actual birthday, so I have a feeling this is going to be a looong drawn out birthday week for Clay. He's already taking after me!

All week Clay has been excited about his tractor cake. I am VERY proud of this one. He said the little guy in the tractor seat was, "Grandpa."

Are these guys twins, or what?

Yes, I'm recycling this birthday sign from last year. But, it's such a great sign, it was be a mistake not to reuse it each year!

I made the most amazing lunch, if I may say so myself.  My sister, Annie, sent me this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/curried-chicken-salad-recipe.html.  I didn't have chutney, so I chopped up some green apples, and then added some siracha sauce for some heat.  Other than those changes, I made it exactly as described.  With the sandwiches, I prepared a watermelon, mint, and feta cheese salad. Yes, it was all delicious.

Clay has been waiting for this birthday, blow out the candles, moment for months.

He did it!

Until the next Clay birthday celebration...

Redway in July



River Monster!!!!!

Clay and I left our work week on Wednesday for a long weekend in Redway this July with my sisters and mom.  Luke and my brother-in-law, Michael, met us in Redway on Friday, and then Matt and his whole family came up on Saturday. Redway to me is all summer and about family.  It's usually pretty hot up there, and the only activities are hanging out by the river and enjoying the beautiful redwoods with good company.  Clay loved the chaos of his cousins.  The river was really low, so that was a bit disappointing, since the algae blooms were very visible and apparently bad for you. But, neither Clay nor his cousins seemed to notice and they were always wanting to swim in the river!

"Mr. My Turn", also know as Clay, saying, "My turn! My turn!" The yard is humongous up in Redway, and ladder ball is a fun one with the kids.

This is Clay on the first day up in Redway. We ran down to the river, now a small tiny trickle, and he ran into the water with all of his clothes on. He was VERY excited.

And then he and Alex took off their clothes.  They both love the water!

A vacation isn't really a vacation without an appetizer hour with fancy cheese and crackers.



Maile was very proud of herself and her fire skills. I guess this technically means she was very proud of herself and her ability to remember and then light a duraflame starter log.

Finding Smores sticks!

We drove through the Avenue of the Giants, up north of Redway where we found these amazingly beautiful and huge redwoods. 

My mother took this photo. It's a great picture of the leaves. :)

We visited Annie's apartment in Arcata and saw where her boyfriend, James, works.  He's a fireman, and so you can imagine how exited the kids were to see a real fire engine up close!

Even Annie was excited!

And Maile was excited too!

Maile got to try on the fireman's jacket.

My mom got in the action and tried on their oxygen tank.

Michael came up on Thursday night.

My friend Jess and her husband Dave, and their dog Sandee, had coincidentally just hiked the lost coast near Redway.  They stopped over on their way home and spend an afternoon/evening with us. It was really fun to catch up with these guys and finally meet their sweet dog.

Many campfires...

Luke, Clay and I took a short day trip over to Shelter Cover.  We got to see these amazing tractors haul boats up the sandy road out of the water.  You can see the tractor right behind us.  It was really fun for Luke and I to see this, and so you can imagine just how much fun Clay had with the whole ordeal as well.

When we got back from Shelter Cove, we were happy to see that the Sasan's had arrived!  See Joey and Charlie playing in the river.

Matt and Charlie

Ben!

Katherine was the marshmallow master.

Katherine and Tommy

I think Luke, Charlie and Ben are line dancing here...