Papa Jim and Grammie Sue came down the mountain to give Caiden some authentic looking firefighter gear. Caiden was SO surprised and LOVES IT! I mean LOVES IT. He refuses to take it off, even when he is sweating in it, and when he goes to bed he lovingly hangs each piece up in the closet.
Upon waking in the morning, he runs to his closet and gently takes it down so he can put it on again. He was very upset when I explained that he could not wear it to school, and we had to have a discussion. When I picked him up from school he was anxious to put it back on.
When I gave Caiden his outfit he started clapping and laughing and said "I am so happy, I love everything about it".
Here are a few pictures of Firefighter Caiden Bonney. He is so excited that he dressed just like his daddy.
This picture was specially taken for Papa Jim. He even said "Good Job" while the picture was being taken.
About Me
- Mel
- California, United States
- I'm the wife of a firefighter, a mother of two wonderful kids and a full time employee with a crazy busy life. But hey, at least I'm not bored :)
It sounds like a children's story I know, but it was Caiden and my Saturday. It was so much fun.
The Pumpkin Factory sign
My Little Pumpkin
My mom aka Gigi came out towards my house to go to a pumpkin patch with Caiden and I. They had everything there, but of course everything also has it's price. They had a race track where you could race John Deere lawnmowers, a bounce house, a bunch of sliders (most with height requirements that Caiden didn't quite meet yet), face painting booth, food stand, petting zoo, photography area and of course pumpkins!
Caiden the scarecrow...he wasn't quite sure why he was doing this.
So Gigi and I thought we would show him how it looks
Ever seen a scarecrow with glasses?
Now you KNOW you live in the boondocks when they have a lawnmower racing area in your local pumpkin patch. It was the FIRST thing that Caiden wanted to do, and he did GREAT!! My mom was a bit apprehensive, but I assured her that Caiden is a pro since he has the jeep. He did very well.
Look at Caiden running for the race track
He had so much fun.
We then went into the bounce house - the Scooby Doo bounce house. Now, bouncing Caiden was fine with, however it took some coaxing for him to climb up the rope and slide down the slide. He loves slides, but he is cautious just like his ol' mama. :) I stood on the side with the slide and tried to convince him to come see me, and my mom stood on the side with the rope and tried to encourage him to climb up there. Once he took the plunge he loved it and wanted to do it over and over again.
Post bounce house...after a successful slide down the bounce house slide
The back part of the machine was a bounce house, the front a slide for younger kids
inside the bounce house
After the bounce house we went to the petting zoo where we could go in and feed the animals. They had chickens, a pig, ducks, sheep and lots of goats. I liked the pig. I even got the pig to lay down so I could scratch its belly. So cute. Caiden enjoyed feeding the animals.
holding his ice cream cone of food for the animals
the goats
the chickens - LOVE the hair
the ducks...they were playing in the water
this is the pig I befriended
We then took some pictures with the pumpkins and then Caiden got his face painted. He wanted an orange dragon. He picked out the colors and everything. The guy did it in like 3 minutes, he was very fast. I was impressed.
Caiden and I 
Gigi and Caiden
Caiden and I in the wheelbarrow
Caiden's dragon - he couldn't wait to go home and show daddy
We had so much fun. After the pumpkin patch we went out to lunch, where Caiden scored a piece of cake (for free) from the cashier because she thought he was so cute. She even topped it with loads of cherries because he wanted cherries so much. He was so excited. All in all it was a very good day, and we had a lot of fun with Gigi. It's fun to make memories like this.
Caiden SO excited about his cake with cherries
Caiden couldn't wait - he had to taste some of the cherries before we got home
He SWORE he wasn't tired. This was maybe 3 minutes after I started driving. :)
My Knights in Shining Armor
Now who knew that you could purchase Knights in shining armor at Target, but that is EXACTLY what we did today.
Knights in a box...what will they think of next? I wonder if you can purchase chivalry as a add-on option.
Dave and I were at Target exchanging my broken purse and buying hangers for Caiden's room when we happened (or should I say I looked around and Dave and Caiden were gone. I found them immersed in the toy section) upon some knights in shining armor costumes.
Dave was really excited about them as he said he had something like that when he was a kid. He really wanted to get it for Caiden, but I reminded him of the last thing that we got that they were going to play together with. (It was this pirates ship that Dave SWORE he and Caiden would play with...to be honest I don't even know where it is anymore...I think we may have gotten rid of it before we moved to this house). I looked at Dave and said, "are you going to play it with him?".
This is where things got a little funny. Dave thought about it. Looked at me, smiled, and then picked up TWO knights in shining armor sets. I said "Two?" Dave said, "Well, yeah. How am I supposed to play if I don't have a sword, and shield and helmet?". Uh...ok.
Getting situated for battle
Sir Caiden
Dueling
Training for battling dragons
Caiden was so excited, and I think Dave was too. After dinner Caiden and Dave dressed up and had a great time battling dragons and the sorts. It was so funny and cute to watch.
We bought the pool equipment and had a plumber install it. It was cool because we ended up getting the top brand for the same prices as a less expensive brand because they ran out of the lesser brand (which was made by the same people as the top brand). I would tell you the brand, but to be honest Dave knows all of that, not me.
The plumbing people came over on Saturday and spent a good 4-6 hours working on installing the pool equipment. We have a slight leak in the heater, but they are having someone come back and fix it this week I believe. It's not like we are using it anyway right now.
Well, here is what a good chuck of money went to. We also bought the electrical equipment for the electrician to come and install. I believe that he is going to come sometime this week as well. I know it is a slow start, but we are getting closer and closer to a goal. Hey, at least we have something being done on it. It's been nearly a year since anyone has worked on it.
Dave and I have a decision to make. After having a number of pool people, electricians, plumbers and concrete people come to our house to look at the backyard we have discovered a number of things.:
1. All concur that the completed work that was done on our backyard/pool is very well done
2. Most concur that the work that was in progress (that the concrete guy had started) was shotty
3. That it will take A LOT more money that we thought to complete the project
So, we have a decision. With the money that we currently have saved we could.
A. Finish the pool, but not have ANY concrete. This means we would get out of the pool and hit the dirt
B. Finish the plumbing and electrical of the pool, but not the Pebbletec, and then start some of the concrete and wait until we save the rest of the money to complete the pool and backyard.
I'm all for Plan A. My thinking: At least we have a finished pool! We can use it if we want, and we can feel like SOMETHING is getting accomplished.
However, Dave has made a very good point. What about the dirt going into the pool. How will it affect the filters, etc...
So, this is what we are deciding at the current time. Any thoughts?
There is a guy at work who tells me that I question everything. My response: is that always such a bad thing? I mean, if you take everything at face value you could head down a wrong path, or have something terrible happen, or get taken...and if you've read any of my past blogging about the pool guy, you know how much I hate to be taken.
Well, here is another example of why I question everything.
A few days ago, my eye started itching and it was red. I was complaining to someone on the phone and they said maybe I have pink eye. Well, never having it before, and not knowing what it really looks like, I thought...well, I should probably go see a doctor - I hear you can't get rid of it own it's own, and that it is extremely contagious.
So Thursday morning, I stop by the walk-in doctor's office by work (the one that many of my employees have gone to in the past and not had problems with). First off, I sit for about 60 minutes - there was 1 person in front of me. They said there were two doctors on duty...what were they doing in there with this one person?
They FINALLY call me in, and stick me in a room. I could hear the doctor outside arguing with the nurse about which room was first...mine or the one next to me. The nurse assures her it was mine, so the doctor begrudgingly walks in.
My first clue that the doctor was not up to par was when she asked me the date of my last period. I looked down at my obviously swollen belly and said..."Well, seeing as I'm about 7 months pregnant, would you rather have my due date...it's been awhile since I had my period". The doctor looks at my belly as says, "so you are. What's your due date".
After she looks at my eye and confirms that it is not pink eye, but she is not sure what it is. It looks like I may have scratched it and it was irritated. She told me not to wear my contacts for a few days and to take some eye drops that she was going to prescribe. I then ask her a question that I thought was a bit stupid, but felt I needed to ask anyway. "Are these eye drops safe for pregnant women to take".
The doctor looks at me a bit puzzled. Stops writing, and then says in a most ineloquent way. "uh...well, I guess so. I don't see why not. They are just an antihistamine for allergies. Perplexed I am thinking to myself...but I don't have allergies. I was about to say something when I thought...well, she's the doctor. I am sure she knows best.
I leave the office clearly not feeling very good about the whole eye drop thing, so I call my OBGYN. They had never heard of the prescription, but of course that could have been my fault. I was trying to read the chicken scratch writing of this clearly out of sorts doctor. I then go to the pharmacy for more information. They check their database and said that while they can't tell me the effects that it would have on humans as they do not do testing on pregnant women, they can say that in the animal testing, the animals that were pregnant produced offspring with birth defects and they strongly advise pregnant women against taking this eye drop. The pharmacist then says, but it's up to you.
That was enough information for me. I am the all natural girl anyway. I mean, I didn't even want to go to the doctor, I thought that maybe I had pink eye, not a scratch on my eye. I told the pharmacist that I would pass and thank you for the information. So I have been doomed to wearing my glasses until my eye heals.
Sigh...back to the 1950's librarian comments. :) I have to say I LOVE my contacts, and I am looking forward to putting them on again.
After we all woke up from a nap, Dave, Caiden and I decided to get on our bikes and ride to the local park.
Caiden did very well, and had a lot of fun playing at the park.
We had a lot of fun, and it was so cute to watch Caiden pedal his way right behind Dave.
Safety First!
And away we ride...off into the sunset...well, sort of
Inspired by the recent viewing of Mary Poppins, Caiden and I rushed outside on Saturday after the streets had dried from the rain to do a bit of drawing.
While I completely admit that I am not the best artist, I was proud of my little drawing - a pumpkin (or as Caiden has corrected me a Jack-o-lantern). I mean, you can actually tell what it is without me having to label it.
Caiden drew a picture of Dave and him.
We even took turns outlining each other, and then coloring ourselves in. While mine didn't turn out so well (meaning the tracing that Caiden did of me), Caiden must have practiced because when Dave got home on Sunday, he let Caiden trace him.
I have to say, the lines are connected, but Dave looks a bit like the abominable snowman. :) You know the one from Monsters Inc. :)
Katie, Daniel, Christy and Caiden
Caiden was SO happy to go to the Pumpkin patch
It was a bit overcast and a little on the rainy side (although we did not get wet), so Katie and I thought what better way to enjoy a Friday evening than to take the kids to the pumpkin patch.
And look how tall he's gotten
Daniel and Christy were good sports and posed with Caiden and the pumpkins
Caiden and Me :)
Again, with the BIG smile.
They have this cool pumpkin patch at a local college that has it all. A bounce house, teepees, a haunted house (which I ALWAYS avoid - I am quite the wuss), some kind of bag thing that you can hit, barnyard animals, face painting, mechanical toys to ride and yes LOADS of pumpkins! All kinds, white, orange, cinderella, some kind of mixed looking ones that look like growths of some unnatural kinds.
Caiden with the corn stalk and pumpkins
Katie and her little pumpkins 
Daniel and I :) 
Caiden resting with the pumpkins
The kids love it, and Caiden has been BEGGING me to take him. I have to say, I probably wasn't in the most patient of moods. Caiden was a bit uncooperative with photos, my camera died yet again (even though I JUST put batteries in a few days prior), and it was a bit on the cold side. But it was wonderful to spend time with Katie and the kids and Caiden had a blast.
After we took some pictures, the kids took off to play. Christy even painted a pumpkin on Caiden's face for fun.
Christy showing her artistic side
Taking requests?
The finished product
We also feed the animals, and rode some of the mechanical rides.
Petting and feeding the goats and other animals
Dinner anyone? Just kidding.
Caiden enjoyed feeding the goats
What a ham this goat was with Christy. He was so happy to have his picture taken
On our way out, Katie asked Christy to pretend like she was holding the wheelbarrow full of baby pumpkins. The problem: she actually picked it up and it tipped over. It was actually quite funny. Katie got a picture of it on it's way down. Notice my contribution (I stuck my foot out - like that was really going to help). Anyway, we cleaned the pumpkin mess up, and laughed about what country bumpkins we seemed like on the way out.
My contribution to the falling wheelbarrow...it didn't work, but it sure was funny
pumpkin aftermath
It was a good time had for all. Now it's time to eat!! :)