Sell Out Crowd.

Fall Saturdays spent in Bloomington with friends...tailgating, cheering on the Hoosiers, creating wonderful memories...was a favorite post-college tradition for Zach and I. Babies make that a bit more complicated. So a couple years ago we made it to a couple games and last year and this year, we have made it to just one game, but have continued to make the most of it. We look forward to adding this tradition back into our regular rotation of fall-Saturday activities.

A man on a tailgating mission. He was doing his best to be involved with the grill, the food table and any stray ball or bean bag he could get his hands on...all at the same time.

Thank you to Papaw and Memaw for taking us to the game (look beyond them to see the SELL OUT CROWD!). They and the Prather family were also instrumental in helping us keep Bennett entertained throughout the entire game...start to finish we never left our seat. I would have thought that impossible based on the first 60 seconds we were in our seats.

Bennett and Cooper. I am pretty positive they were plotting there way out. We kept them blocked between legs and phones did the trick for quite some time.


Bennett trying to smother daddy with his blanky because daddy's "other team" is Michigan and they would not stop scoring touchdowns on IU. In the end, it came down to who had the ball last and unfortunately Michigan had it with just enough time to score and win the game.


Again...love the sell out crowd in this picture and the newly finished north endzone...

Can't wait to make it down for another game next year!

One Apple Up On Top.

Summer is definitely a seasonal favorite, but leaving summer behind for the fall months ahead does not leave us feeling empty. Having football in full swing, the leaves beginning to change colors, thinking about all things apple and pumpkin, pots of chili and walks where the cool air will keep our littles cozy under blankets gives us plenty to look forward to...

I love Saturday mornings when we have the weekend ahead of us...time together. This past Saturday we decided to pack a small cooler and drive south to an apple orchard where we could picnic and pick your own apples. It was a wonderful way to spend time together.

As with nearly every hands-on activity we have ever introduced to Bennett, this little guy fully embraced apple picking and eating. He picked. And ate. And picked. And ate. And picked. And ate (and when we let him pick a tiny pumpkin, he tried eating it, too). I am quite certain that although he displayed no symptoms, his little tummy had to be turning after all the apples he ate on Saturday.

We continued on to Bloomington to visit our beloved IU campus. Zach and I are never disappointed with a visit to IU. Its like the campus knows just how to welcome you back and while we notice subtle changes as we walk about, it still speaks so much the same. We walked through the garden area just by Sample Gates and once again, Bennett confidently embraced the adventure calling for squirrels and picking up walking sticks.

We went to Nick's with our little guy!! How fun is that? We had such a great time looking at Bennett and laughing...thinking he is at Nick's and he isn't even two years old. The littles are only allowed downstairs and only until a reasonable hour in the evening. We had one of those great dinners where Bennett was content sitting, eating and talking with the sweet waitstaff who kept coming back to our table to visit with Bennett. Great way to end a fall day.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...

...and Cheetahs and Elephants. OH MY!

Zach and I (and Bennett - he loves to "clean" outside with a broom) continued our unpacking, sorting, trimming and cleaning throughout our long weekend, but found time to enjoy our new home and the fantastic weather over Labor Day weekend. Saturday we packed our dinner and headed to the Zoo. It was beautiful outside and the crowd was diminishing just as we started through the aquatics section. The Cheetah exhibit was impressive. They kept passing back and forth and Bennett would chase them on the safe side of the glass, repeatedly asking to "touch it, touch it."

"Elephant...Stomp. Stomp." It was so much fun talking with Bennett about the different animals. He likes to say their names or make the appropriate sounds (when prompted) and I am certain we told each animal "Bye, bye. Good to see you..." His new favorite prase.

Elk? Deer? Moose? Not completely sure what species this is, but Bennett was pretty sure it was a "doggie".

Our shaggy, blonde california-looking baby. Can't belive how big he already is and we have not even reached his second birthday.

Last day at the pool and we ended it with a splash...actually many of them. Warmed up to a perfect toasty temperature on Monday afternoon for a final swim in the pool. Bennett's end of summer accomplishment was walking across the shallow section of the pool (on his tip, tip, tippy toes) without any help. He was so proud. It was so cute. The timing is good, I think, because then he wanted to try and conquer all sections of the pool without any help - refusing any assistance. Already makes me excited for the fun he will have next summer.

A Box and Breakfast Part Deux

Please excuse the lack of blog posts of late. We have been attempting to finish renovations, move and unpack over the course of the last week. Playing off the last post we have entitled this one "A Box and Breakfast Part Deux." We are now in the house trying to wrap up a few things and living out of boxes. As you can see in the picture where boxes are surrounding our breakfast bar and stools.

A Box and Breakfast.

Apartment life is coming to an end. It doesn't seem quite real that we will actually move-in to the house we have been visiting for the past three months while renovations occurred. While the thought of unpacking box after box after box is a little overwhelming, the thought of having a master bathroom AND a dishwasher and garbage disposal is so completely exciting. I find it more and more difficult to leave the house each time we are there for a visit or appointment.

I linger in Bennett's mini-sized playroom, the family room, the nursery, the kitchen...thinking about the memories we have ahead of us...where our Christmas tree will twinkle or where the littles will sit and review homework...so very excited and so very thankful.

But before the unpacking begins (and we go a whole month without a blog post), I wanted to document a couple of apartment memories to take with us...first, this Box. It joined us at the apartment as part of our move-in and quickly became a top "toy" of the summer for Bennett.

How many littles can you put in the box? Four. (Completely random side-note...Bennett LOVES his cousins. He asks for them each day. Sometimes completely out of the blue and other times because I tell him we are going somewhere. Doesn't matter where...he just responds with his best version of, "Cooper. (pause) Camden. (pause) Carson. (pause)" Then I have to explain that we are not going to see them at this time, but we will see them again soon.)

Now, back to the box...we colored the box. Stickered the box. Peeled the top layer off the interior of the box. Sat on the box. Put a window in the box. Put our dog in the box. Watched as our dog climbed on-top of the box in thunderstorms. Ate our snacks in the box. Put doggie's treats through the window of the box to watch her scramble inside after them.
One leg fits through the window of the box. We kept the box on our balcony. We brought it in our dining room. We stood the box upright for new viewing angles.

We put daddy, doggie and bennett in the box on numerous occasions. We loved that box, but in preparation for the move, we said good-bye to the beat-up box and placed it in the recycling bin.

One other love of the apartment...this countertop spot where Bennett has sat while most every breakfast is prepared and many lunches and dinners. "Up, please" he will say. Then sit and watch our every preparation, playing with the utensils around him. He loves the kitchen and its many gadgets.