Oak Park Ave's 2012 "Boo Bash"

We woke up to tons of rain this morning but by 10 am, the skies were clearing and by Noon, it was perfect for Tinley's "Boo Bash". We headed to the Oak Park Ave. train station to participate in the costume parade and fill our pumpkins with LOTS of candy!

Lola + Johnny dressed as "Merida + Hamish DunBroch" from this year's Disney-Pixar hit, BRAVE. Merida's spirit is SO similar to Lola's...so this was a very perfect costume for her this year. In the movie, she has Triplet brothers that turn into bear cubs...so we turned Johnny into one of them, ha! They are Harris, Hubert and Hamish, respectively. Lola decided he would be Hamish and introduced him today as such. Love!

And finally, my friend Jenny (and best photography client!) created the absolute BEST costume for her 3 month old son Jackson with the help of her handy husband. He won...but after seeing the costume, you can understand why it wasn't even a contest! Too awesome. 

Turning Tables

Me: "Lola, could you get me some chips and tell Daddy I'd like a pop with a straw."
Lola: "Ugh, Mama...you need alot of things."
Me: "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"
Lola: "Yep!"
(Come back from kitchen) Lola: "Daddy said it's soda."
Me: "It's pop."

Frank Lloyd Wright Races

Earlier this summer, Sue registered her and I for the Frank Lloyd Wright 5K up in Oak Park. It was a PERFECT fall day for a walk/run. They picked me up at 6:30 am so we could be at the start line by 8.

My Dad may turn wrenches for a LIVING but his HOBBY and love is and always has been architecture. I am SOOOO thankful he shared his love of architecture with me from a very early age, allowing me to foster my own love and appreciation of it. He has drafted many styles but his favorite by far is FLW's Prairie style. It was so cool to run past many of Wright's buildings, among them the Unity Temple and his own Home & Studio. 

We picked up our packets at the Oak Park River Forest High School fieldhouse and put on our fun race shirts. 

Not the best picture of Sue...Dad told her her shoe was untied just as I was taking this picture...but she crossed the finish line beating her personal best...AWESOME! 

Waiting at the start line.

 Some of the FLW homes on the course.

 Austin Park

 Home and Studio

Mickey Clean

Picked up this fun (and functional) treat for the kids at Target Satuday...3 more weeks!

Just because I love her...

Smoque-ing

We hit Smoque BBQ in the city Friday night with our fellow BBQ loving friends, Mike & Anna. We first saw the restaurant featured on "Check, Please!" 2 years ago...and finally got a chance to check it out. Well worth the rate, it did not disappoint! The ribs and brisket were to die for and their fries and 'slaw were some of the best I have EVER tasted. Bonus...it was BYOB. Got to love that! Another thanks to Mom for letting us enjoy Friday Date Night!

Pumpkin Patch...Pt. 2

Monday was absolutely gorgeous, so in the late afternoon we headed back to Bengston's to use the rest of the tickets I had left. Super awesome bonus...Daddy got to come this time! 

I have never seen a little boy love "choo-choos" more than Johnny. We rode 5 times!

 Silly family pic :) surely my most flattering photograph EVER!

 Mama's sweetheart.

Lola loves making new friends. This girl was standing next to Lola in line and told her dad "I want to ride with her." and pointed to Lola. How nice!

 Spinning on the honey pots.

 Growing girl.

 Time to plow the fields.

 Attack of the Baby Pumpkin Monster!

 Of course I want to take a picture with you, Mommy!

 She jumped off this pumpkin a dozen times.

 So big.

Countdown to DISNEY!

In less than a month, we'll be hitting Disney with the kids! We've got our 4-day park hoppers and we are ready! This will be Lola's third visit and JM's FIRST. We can't wait. We've been talking about it with Lola and she's getting more and more excited. With each visit, she knows more of the characters, more of the stories, more of the magic. And of course... we can only imagine how baby boy is going to react when he takes it all in for the first time. We've only visited the Magic Kingdom with her, so it'll fun to hit the other parks as well!

Lola Rose at the Magic Kingdom...

Age 1.

 Age 2.

Pumpkin Patch {2012}

Lola's school did another fundraiser this year with Bengston's Pumpkin Farm, so we took advantage of the discounted tickets this year like we did last and had a blast! They have alot of fun kiddie rides and I'm not exaggerating when I say Johnny rode the "choo-choo" 5 times! He is totally obsessed with trains and we love seeing how excited he gets around them. We rode the rides, went on a hayride, had a yummy lunch, picked out our pumpkins....and ate an entire bag of kettle corn. YUM!

Pumpkin Patch {2012}