Skulls

I've been trying a few recipes this afternoon and it hasn't been going very well. Sad face.
My brittle was a horrible fail, despite having a new candy thermometer. It was less brittle and more taffy.

But...this little ditty worked out.
The mold is from Fancy Flours, which has some cool stuff!
I poured in white chocolate, added an Oreo, topped it with more white chocolate, and let it set in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then I piped in red gel icing and called it a day. Hard to screw that up.

Happy Halloween!

Oktoberfest 2011

This morning we celebrated October 1st by attending an Oktoberfest celebration being held up the road from our place. They had lederhosen and beer, a rocking band...but more than all of that, they had fountains and a petting zoo. Both are big hits with Wyatt right now.

We observed the fountains, which did some neat little tricks. Dub did some dancing to the polka music. Awesome to watch. That was fun for awhile. Plus, the weather is so amazing that you can't help but feel like fall is in the air!

Dada!! Look at that!

How can I get in there without getting caught?

Mama and Dada (W has taken to mixing up our names to get a [fake] rise out of us, so I guess it would be Dada and Mama in his world).

The petting zoo, however, was the big deal of the day. This group had pigs, miniature horses, ducks, chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, and turtles all running around in the same pen creating some kind of a super flu, I'm sure.
Wyatt went from side to side, calling out "Quack" or "Baa". He did pretty good impressions so a few of them let him come in for a little petting. The turtle freaked W out a little - with all of the cute little furry things, the turtle looked prehistoric and was kind of large.

Petting a goat. This hair feels weird. Based on his face, I don't think he'll like goat cheese either. Get away!!

Hi, horsey. I'll pet you for a minute, but then I'm going to play in your water bowl. Cool?

What are these things?

I want to touch it, mom. Don't make me leave!! Wait...

Yelling "QUACK" at the top of his lungs, I can't imagine why these guys didn't stick around...

So that was a good start to our day!
Happy October 1st!!

UT vs. UCLA

Last weekend, mom and Katie were kind enough to watch Wyatt Dodd while Jason and I went for a mini-vacation to L.A.
We went with two of our couple friends, the Aurentzes and the Gilbreaths, and we had an amazing time. Our friends Dania and Matt live out in California, so they were kind enough to drive in and join us! We ate our way across the city, taking in landmarks and fun things to see on the side.

At the airport at 5:50. :)

Nick's favorite show (at the Warner Brother's Studio)

Happy Hour at the hotel...

Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Icing at The Griddle Cafe. Wow!!

But the best part was the game on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous, if a touch hot. The Rose Bowl sits in a primo spot, so we had wonderful scenery surrounding our game. And the Longhorns came out with a win for the week - back in the top 20. Pleased all around.

Ready for the day with our face tattoos!

We were there so early we watched the pre=pre game show.

Of course we missed Dub and looked forward to getting back to him after a couple of days apart. I don't think, however, the feeling was reciprocated. Seems like W was living it up with Gabby, having every need met. It's been a rough week of adjustment. Add to that some emerging molars and you have a recipe for endless tantrums. :) This is a hard age.

Gramps and W looking at turtles Sunday morning in the park.

Freedom Run 5k

Today I ran my first 5k - the Freedom Run - through downtown. For nine weeks I trained up (with Jason's assistance) using the Couch to 5k Program. I've walked a ton of 5ks, but I ran the whole thing today and feel pretty proud of that! I ran 11 minute miles for a 33 minute end time and placed roughly around 260 of 400.

Thank you to my cheering section who kept me moving (Keisha, Katie, Dania, JP, Jen, Jason). I appreciate such nice support and encouragement.
I've signed up for my first 10k in October - the Cool October 10k Run at the Four Seasons. Whew! Feel free to join me! The more the merrier (or something like that when you're talking about running).

Here are a few pictures from tonight!! Yea team!!

Ready to run!!
Me and Katie P. before the race kicked off! She ran 9 minute miles! Speedy girl!

I did it!
Dada and Dub - post race! Jas was a trooper to push the stroller the whole time!

Back at the car - ready to go home!

EJ's Birthday Pizza Party!!!

The Chefs

I cannot believe my baby cousin turned 15 in August! Now I feel like one of those old ladies that says {insert creaky voice} "I remember when you were a baby".
He had a great party - it was a create and cook your own pizza deal. Aunt Susan set out toppings galore and had balls of dough ready for all of us. You rolled out your own dough, then dressed your pizza as you wished. We threw them in the oven and then enjoyed our own tasty creations. It was pure genius, and I'm probably going to steal the idea. :)

Here are some pics of the big event!

The toppings! Wow - from hatch peppers to sausage, Su had it covered!

Two goofballs!
Very serious - at work in the kitchen
Chef Susan and Chef-Sational Shaw
Cheers, Sue!

Pops - rolling out the dough
Catching up

The Work Product. Yum!

And in other news - EJ didn't ask for any presents for himself. Instead he asked us to all get gifts that he could take to the hospital to give out to folks. He said his own experience taught him about what it feels like to be in the hospital, and he wanted to spread some good cheer. Amazing guy! Happy B-day, Cuz!

Can You Tell How Badly I Want Fall to Come?

I am over these triple digit temps. I am completely over a "cold front" dropping the temps into the 90s. That isn't a cold front. Ugh! I do, however, love all of the catalogs arriving with their precious little fall sweaters and boots. I love the Halloween stuff that's popping up. I love that Etsy is featuring fall items now. So things are starting to turn around. And to be honest, August passed SO quickly, I'm hoping we just slide on in to cooler weather and fun holidays.

But that doesn't mean I'm not doing my part to make it feel more like my favorite season...

W and I have been baking cookies. Most of the summer it's been too hot to use the oven (haha! Or so I've told Jason), but now we are gearing up for the scents of the season - starting with cinnamon. Yum!

And Rachael Ray put out an article on sweet potato and chive soup that we had to try. We made our own Parmesan Fricos by baking a spoonful of Parmesan on a baking sheet at 425 for 5 minutes. Turns out W LOVES THESE and will eat at least six.
He wasn't keen on the soup, though.


And, we've used fall colors to make up some crafts. We found Mod Podge and, oh my GOSH, we are in love!

I made this bird painting with magazine scraps and a stencil. Turns out I cut the stencil out of some of Jason's work papers. Oops!

I painted these wood frames ($1 Michael's) with orange spray paint, then mod podged using craft paper ($0.59 per sheet), and finished them with embellishments to make some fun Halloween frames. Can't wait to put this years pumpkin patch picture in one of these guys!


And since it's been a smidge cooler in the evenings, W and I have taken in a few of the McKoolSmithies Kickball games (very glamorous). I think W could get in to kickball. Here he is practicing before the game last week...


Until it cools off just a bit more, though, me and this guy are just hanging around the house coming up with big ideas. :)

You mean this WHOLE THING is for me?

His favorite game - I'm going to get you - always elicits a laugh and a goofy smile!

His favorite DAWG, Clifford!

Summer Update

We've been very busy celebrating and crafting and doing all sorts of fun things...but not blogging, so, here is a brief summary of what's been going on:

Our friend Katie put us on to Luana's Little Library, which is absolutely adorable. Mrs. K, the librarian, lets Wyatt step up on the stool and check out his own books. He also likes to sit at the table and work the puzzles.

We also got some new blocks because our friend Heidi let us know how much building blocks can help grow your mind! Well, what they end up growing is into a giant playroom mess, but occasionally they stack up to a good time.

Some of Jason's cases have shifted around, so we see more of da-da these days. Obviously, that is quite a treat for W. These two roughhouse all evening. Wyatt is more of a daddy's boy than a mama's boy, he loves that da-da. Here's a pic of the two of them playing on the stairs. One of W's favorite things to do now is to walk down the stairs while holding Jason's hand. It's pretty cute and he won't do it with just anyone, including me. It's a da-da and Dub thing.

Our art class at the Museum of Science and Nature came to a close this week. Wyatt made some very cool projects during our 8 week class. This is a spin on Picasso's "The Old Guitarist".

He still likes to fake cry and is having more and more tantrums as he grows more confident in what he wants to say and can't find the words. This age is definitely interesting.

Finally, we've been celebrating with Aunt Katie and Uncle Brad - who recently got engaged. Yea!

I noticed that Halloween costumes are in the catalogs now and Fall stuff is in the stores. I'm getting excited about cooler temperatures and fun colors. Definitely looking forward to the changes to come!