halloweenie.

we had a great halloween. i kind of considered this one to be the boy's first real halloween because it's really the first year he sort of got it. and got it he did. my little voyeur adored the concept of knocking on neighbors door's and peering into their homes. oh, and getting candy to toss into his bag was pretty cool, too. (you needn't worry, my friends...there were no food allergic kiddos harmed in the making of this halloween...i supplied fruit snacks to hold the boy over and we plan on trading out the "unsafe" goodies-and the ones mommy & daddy don't want- for an even better treat)

one of our neighbors hosted a little get-together where we ate, played and chatted. lots of fun. and the kids loved checking out each other's costumes. totes adorbs.

after all of that goodness, we headed out as a group to hit up the neighborhood, a la trick or treat. i was pleasantly surprised. last year, there was like 3 houses that answered their doors. this year we had to call it quits before we even finished our block. and let me tell you, these people were pretty generous. or it could have been that the boy was telling each neighbor that he 'needed two'....hmmmm....either way, good stuff. except those mary jane things that someone gave out....yuck....i mean, who likes those nasties? if you do, we might not be able to be friends anymore. i kid, i kid- sort of.

all in all, great night. even though it did take the boy almost an hour to fall asleep. thanks, sugar-you rock my world.

ferguson family fall fun.

so today, the day before halloweenie, we finally ventured out to pick a pumpkin (or 5...) this was our 2nd annual trip to guthrie's pumpkin farm (the first time we went the boy was only 3 months old. and last year, you ask? i'm pretty sure we got a little lazy and bought a wal-mart beauty) anyway, i like this place, so i'm pretty sure it's a tradition we'll stick with. we easily killed half an afternoon there and the boy adored the farm. i'll let the pictures speak for themselves....oh who am i kidding? i'll add explanations to the pictures that i deem necessary (aka- almost all of them.)

we started out in the petting zoo.

and if you're interested, all of these fine furry friends are for sale. in fact, the sign informed us that donkeys make wonderful christmas gifts...duh.

the petting zoo was immediately followed up by the hayride hand sanitizing.

the hayride was a huge highlight. the boy pretty much took charge of that operation. he entertained the guests and made sure the tractor was in good working order.

we arrived at the patch and picked out our faves. ok, there is one little dud that is not a fave, but i won't say who picked out that gem.

we headed back with our goods.

and, of course, each pumpkin got a kiss.

we rounded out our time there with about a bajillion trips down the slide, a handful of tire climbs, and plenty of  pics.

oh, and lest i forget....the boy's absolute, favorite, couldn't-stop-talking-about-it-the-whole-45-minute-ride-home thing about the farm? the kitty cat.

it's almost a shame he'll never have one of his very own.....almost.

hope everyone has a safe halloweenie!



happy. happy.

i wanted to wish my fabulous bestie a very, very happy 29th birthday ( a day late...i know...i'm pathetic...i was exhausted last night). yup. that's right. she's almost a whole year younger than me. i used to think that made me cool. to be older and all. what was wrong with me?

we are both flying into boston at the end of next week to celebrate our big days together. i am so excited. we are going to go to the spa. and chat. and eat- lots, i'm sure. and laugh. and visit with both our families- really, practically one big family. oh, and i'm sure there will be some sort of dance party/ "show" for us to put on, because that's how we roll.

we try to see each other at least once a year, but it's not nearly enough. and now that my dearest has moved to the midwest it may be even more difficult. but i assure you, we'll make it work. we always have. and you know what my favorite thing is? even though we don't see each other much, we always pick right back up where we left off.

we've been besties since we met in the 2nd grade. stephie moved to the cape and was put into my class. we didn't talk much, but i was captivated by the teeny-tiny girl in the pretty yellow dress. it was fate when one afternoon, after school, my mom took me to the beach to play for a bit and we saw stephie & her dad doing the same. and then it happened.....the thing that sealed the deal....and if you've ever been an 8 year old girl you'll understand completely.....we had on matching bathing suits. i mean, come on....and even though she was a foot shorter than me and as dark as i was light, we were twins....and besties.

so, my sweet, i am so excited to see you next week. we have so very much to catch up on. i hope you had the most lovely birthday. here's to at least 29 more....and by at least 29 more i mean at least 60 more....i'm going to need someone to get old and senile with. and of course, someone to move into the chancellor's house with and watch the h.n.m. on trampolines.....duh. i love you, glitzy diva.

blessed

i have to tell you....we are really blessed. i mean really, truly blessed. and guess what? you are too.

i was wracking my brain today, trying to come up with some clever little blog entry to type up tonight, but i couldn't get this off of my mind. so, while it may not be clever, it's what's on my heart & i want to share.

sometimes our life is a mess. yup- compete honesty here.

i mean, we have debt. we'd love to buy a house, but we're renting because it's not easy to save for a down payment when you have so many bills every month & you don't make a ton.

our marriage is not perfect- in fact, there are some days i'd like to kick the Mister in the teeth.

the boy is a lot of work...he's very high spirited- and while this is probably the best thing about him, it can be utterly exhausting, emotionally & physically.

we are a blended family- and even though it's pretty great now, it used to be really tough- for a loooong time.

my father is kind of a jerk- and i'm being nice here. he's done a lot of really bad things. and we haven't had any kind of relationship for almost 15 years.

but you know what? even with all these things, i still feel like the luckiest girl in the world. God has provided us with everything we need at this point in our lives, and He will continue to do that. there aren't any problems that i can't take to Him... and even better? none of my issues are bigger than He is AND he won't ever throw anything my way that i truly cannot handle. i mean, how cool is that?

so even when our messy life starts to overwhelm me & i feel completely sad or angry or unloved, i can go to Him & just talk. or vent. or cry. and no matter what i do (or don't do) i know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he loves me more that i can even fathom. i mean, he gave up His only son for me- for all of us. that's just something i cannot imagine doing...that kind of love is absolutely amazing. even especially in my worst moments, God gives me His very best.

so, yup. pretty blessed, right? and like i said, you are too. i hope you know that.

oh, and while you're here, check this out....great song!

this is gonna be a long one, folks....

we returned home from st. augustine last night. all in all we had a pretty great time. we were lucky enough to stay at the grand villas in the world golf village...a huge thank you to the in-laws for that!  it was absolutely beautiful. of course i didn't take nearly enough photos of it to show you, but trust me- gorgeous. oh, and don't you worry...i took plenty of photos of pretty much everything else- hence the "long" post coming your way...

we spent a little bit of each day at the pool....as you know, water features are always a hit with the boy.

so are playgrounds. basically if it's fun, he's all about it.

after a leisurely first day- and by leisurely i mean NOT so leisurely...let's not forget i have a very high-spirited 2 year old to chase, wrangle, etc...-we headed downtown to see the sights.

st. augustine is absoltely enchanting....i mean, if you haven't been, go. it's just so cool...very historic. very coastal. very old florida.

we rounded out the night with a visit to the carousel....and by visit i mean 7 rides on that bad boy. if nothing else, the boy has stick-with-it-ness. who else can say they almost fill up a frequent-rider card in one visit?

we all took turns accompanying the little jockey.

the men folk busied themselves the next day with a 6 hour game of golf. the boy & i? the pool it was.

on wednesday, the Mister, the boy and i cruised around town checking out the old historic homes. be. still. my. beating. heart. we had dinner at a little cheesesteak shop & then took a walk downtown. it was, dare i say, chilly outside...we bundled up & had a ball.

we spent thursday, our final day of vaycay, with the whole fam. we had a blast at the alligator farm.

 (yup...we took one of ourselves- this makes us super hip & cool, no?)

 (we ran out of quarters for dog food  alligator food, so here are my boys scavenging on the ground for stray bits. some may say this is shameful....me? i say photo-op)

yup. a good time was had by all at the alligator farm.

especially these tortoises. :: blush:: what the what?!

and if that picture didn't convince you of my super-high maturity level, here is another that gives me a little jolt. yup. that's right. i have a fine-tuned sense of humor that you must be very intelligent & mature to understand.

but really, it was lots of fun...afterwards we headed over to the st. augustine lighthouse. we kept it on the cheaps and didn't go into it, but took pictures from the outside...cool, nonetheless. and really, climbing all those stairs-and then descending them- with the boy probably would have led to a heart attack on my part.

on our last night in st. a (i can call it that 'cause we're close, mkay?) we did a ghost tour with the fam. oh and remember the carousel? well, because the boy was a frequent rider we had 2 free rides coming his way. goodness knows we couldn't skip town without utilizing those freebies.

good trip, right? now, back to the grind...that is, of course, until i head to the cape in 2 weeks to spend my big 3-0 with my mom & my bestie...can't wait.