A hunt for the perfect tree

This year we decided to start a new tradition, cutting down our Christmas tree at a tree farm in Atascadero. They have a variety of different trees, and one I had never seen before that I really liked. I believe the tree was called a Blue Spruce. Unfortunately, I think everyone else liked them as well, and we had a hard time finding one that was a good size. Next year, we aren't wasting any time! We're going the day after Thanksgiving to get that Blue Spruce!

The smell was so wonderful, I didn't want to leave. I prolonged the event by making sure to look at every tree. I'm sure David was ready to pick any old tree that had branches by the time I finally found one. :)

The Tree Farm is called Hidden Springs, and it is located on Monterey Road right accross the street from the Elementary School. It was much more fun than going to a random lot full of chopped trees. I'm excited to make this an annual tradition.
Here's our tree all lit up, and Liam adding the last ornaments. I tried not using the flash so we could see the lights. Now we just have to wait for Santa to add the presents under the tree. :0)

A pleasant surprise

I can always tell if it's going to be a difficult day when Liam wakes up in a bad mood. You can pretty much judge how compliant he will be with the look he gives you when he wakes up. It's amazing. If he comes out of his room with a pouty lip and furrowed eyebrows, you know it's gonna be one of those days.

Most of the time, I have to ask him over and over and over to get dressed and brush his teeth and hair. He can NEVER find his shoes, and somehow forgets EVERY MORNING how to put socks on. It's usually a battle every morning for him to finally comply and get ready for school. Liam is very strong willed, and only wants to do things on his time. Most mornings I just want to pull my hair out from frustration, but this morning was a breakthrough!

As I'm done with my shower this morning, I hear Liam slam the door in his bedroom. I think to myself, "great - it's gonna be one of those days." A few minutes later Liam opens his door FULLY DRESSED with a big smile on his face! It was like one of those scenes in a movie where you hear angels singing in the background. He had two different socks on, and shorts with a long sleeve shirt.... but he was dressed non the less!! I was so proud, I just wanted to cry!

Aren't kids just the best thing on earth?!

Happy Halloween!

MMMMUUUAAAAHHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! We had a great time carving pumpkins, dressing up, and trick or treating this year. The picture above is one of the pumpkins I carved - a Witch and her Cauldron. David carved Ironman, and I helped Liam carve a Bat. Here's more pictures...
David carved Ironman from just looking at a picture online. What a talent this man has; his artistic skills are amazing to me! I wish I had half the born talent my husband possesses.

Liam went trick or treating in our friends neighborhood in Atascadero this year. Tony and Ann set up a fun spooky display in their front yard, which we enjoyed thoroughly. Liam was very cautious approaching houses that looked too "scary." In fact, at one point he wanted to just go home. Maybe I shouldn't have let him watch Sleepy Hollow with me....oops bad mommy! As soon as we found his friend Michelle, Liam was all about trick-or-treating. They were running from house to house, and didn't want to stop for fear of missing some candy....lol. Here's more pictures of us out trick-or-treating....We are in front of the Wilson's house with all the cool decorations.

Dad trying to help Liam not be scared of knocking on the door.

Liam as Bumblebee the yellow Transformer.Liam and Michelle (and the doggy). They had lots of fun.

Pumpkin Patch time!!

On my birthday, I wanted to go to the Avila Barn for yummy treats, pictures, and pumpkins! I have always loved having my birthday so close to Halloween. Picking pumpkins from the Barn has become a family tradition of ours since Liam was born. So every year we take a new picture of Liam in front of the mounds of Pumpkins displayed for everyone to choose from. It is fun to look at the pictures of Liam from the last 4 years. It's amazing how much he has grown, and how much he changes every year!

Liam not smiling.
He wouldn't smile for the camera, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I gave in and went the bribery route to get a smile out of him.









Liam AFTER I say, "smile and I'll buy you an ice cream." I don't think the smile could have gotten any bigger!!

Our little man :0)

Meet the newest member of the Bartholomew family!

Jack-Jack
AKA
Jack-O-Lantern

We have been wanting to get an orange kitty for a while now, to complete our furbaby family. Specifically, I wanted to get a long haired MALE orange kitty. We have two females right now, and I wasn't about to go there again! Two female cats in one house is MORE than enough for us. Here's something about orange cats I did not know.... most orange cats are male and most Calico cats are female. Good thing we wanted a male kitty! We have a no kill cat shelter here in Atascadero and they have over a hundred cats to be adopted (so sad). When we told them we were looking for an orange male, they gave us the number of a woman who fosters kittens until they find homes. She said that there is a large population of feral cats in the creek, and she fosters the kittens so they can get used to people and be adopted. If feral cats do not get used to people as kittens, they most likely cannot be adoptable. Jack is such a loving, friendly kitty. We LOVE having him apart of our family, and he has completed our fur family. :o)

Dirty Thirty

I have to admit, I was scared to death of turning 30 this year. I considered it the loss of my youth, the end of my careless years, and the start of wrinkles and saggy boobs. Boy have I been dreading this day... At 12:00 midnight David turned to me and said "happy 30th honey!" All I could do was muddle words under my breath, "mfrmrhrmrmermr.....I don't wanna be 30." I fell asleep shortly after and woke with a complete sense of calm. I was amazed. It wasn't so bad afterall! I felt like a woman. Like an adult who had her sh** together and a damn good life! Everyone kept saying to me, "the 30's are the best years!" I can say at 7:00am that morning - they are totally and completely correct.

I told David I didn't want any parties, no drinking til' I puke, just a nice day to take in my newfound adulthood. It was a wonderful day. We spent the day at Avila Barn picking pumpkins, and ended the evening with dinner at my favorite restaurant with good friends and a cake from Madonna Inn. All in all, a fabulous way to celebrate my Dirty 30.

I'm a soccer mom! Please don't confuse that with a hockey mom...

Liam started his first year of soccer! He in the Atascadero Youth Soccer Association, U5 division. David and I LOVE watching these young children play - it is truly the highlight of my weekend. His coach is the Principal at Monterey Road Elementary School in Atascadero (we lucked out on that one). Coach Allan is a great coach, and very patient with the children. Liam is really enjoying soccer so far, and really looks forward to every practice and game. Just about everyday he's asking when he gets to go to soccer practice or play a game.
I'm such a girl.... I just love their uniforms. The bright orange is just so cute on the kids! All of the uniforms are wayyyy to big for them, so the shirts go to their knees, and the shorts almost to their ankles....lol. It makes it even more fun to watch them running down the field in their oversized uniforms. This age is so much fun. :o)







Here's Liam at practice. He looks like he should be in gymnastics rather than soccer here... quite the flexible little guy. They were doing an exercise where another player would kick the ball though a teammates legs. David and I were holding our breath that he wouldn't get nailed in the crotch! Thankfully, he walked away just fine. Whew! So far, I love being a soccer mom. Now all I'm missing is the minivan... lol.

Silliness runs deep

Gramma, Grumpa, and Auntie Jo came for a visit, and with them they brought some goodies for Liam. It made for a perfect photo op, and boy am I glad I caught these silly pictures!

Like father like son....

...like Auntie Jo.......

.....and Gramma TOO!

Crazy Bartholomew family!! Hehe....

Swimmin' in my skivvies

This summer Liam had a field trip with his pre-school class to Avila beach. Luckily I was able to take some time off of work and attend the field trip. For some reason, I didn't think to bring Liam's swim shorts, so the poor boy had to swim in his underwear. He didn't seem to mind, in fact he probably would have just jumped in bare naked if he had the choice! It was fun to watch all the kids running around the beach enjoying themselves. To watch kids laugh and play is really one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Children keep us young at heart, and teach us to enjoy life. There are days when I can understand why people have 10 kids (and other days I think they're crazy ;o))


We also got to visit the Avila Barn, which is one of our all time favorite places in SLO County. Avila is just the most amazing place I've ever been in California. We are so unbelievely lucky to live so close to this jewel. It is by far my favorite place to visit on a family fun day, a hot summer day in Atascadero, or anyday for that matter. With the Barn, the beach, apple picking, and wine tasting.... it's simply heaven on earth!


Here is a picture of Liam's schoolmates. He attends the Cal Poly Children's Center on the College campus. It is a fantastic school, and we are so thankful Liam was able to get in while David attended Cal Poly.

Welcome to our Blog

I set up this blog a while back, but just haven't found the time to keep it up to date. Hopefully I can be diligent about posting regularly about the happenings of the Central Coast Bartholomew family. Since all of our family live outside the Central Coast, they rarely get to keep up with Liam's adventures in life. There is so much to share, I will do my best to keep everyone up to date. I hope you enjoy our blog, and come back to read all of our exciting and fun filled days.