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.