Fall

the leaves are falling & the pumpkins, spiders, webs, and bats are coming out at the Erickson house

How we roll

the 1/2 mile from our house to the elementary school.  beautiful sunshine the whole way.

Smiley Abbey ready for school...Landen, happy to still be in his pj's until afternoon kindergarten starts...and silly Layne!  looking like she had a dose of Nyquil for breakfast!  

Girl's Cruise

It started out with 2.

Karen and Nicole, aka Thelma and Louise, crash at the Double Tree Hotel, Tampa.

Then we headed out to the port.  We boarded the Carnival Inspiration.

All 72 of us.
Yup.  S-e-v-e-n-t-y t-w-o.  70 women and 2 husbands.  {Those 2 husbands did make it back to Tampa.  I was really taking bets that they would bail in Cozumel and leave the girl's cruise to the girls, but they had some real staying power.}

This is the city we left behind.  Sailing out of Tampa into the Caribbean.  One stop in Cozumel, Mexico, and a whole lot of ocean!

Karen, Heather, and Lisa

These ladies kept laughing for 5 days straight.  It was contagious.  I would lie in bed awake at night rubbing the soreness out of my cheeks.

Nicole, Sarah, Marsie, Cara, and Heather...formal night dining

These ladies, or rather girls, made me 16 again.  Especially Jill in the background making the bunny ears!  We soaked up every minute of our time.  No kids, no clocks, no husbands, no schedule, no problem.  We relived our best times as teens and caught up on the last decade of raising families.  We played the "what happened to so-and-so" game until we had a million new stories to process.  We enjoyed the cruise, but found ourselves continuously unaware of what was going on around us, as we talked, and laughed, and cried, because we were laughing so hard.  Unforgettable.  Girl's Cruise 2010!

Home

My second plane took me from Phoenix to Orange County.  It was only one hour in length.  I spent the whole flight giddy with excitement to see my family...hug my kids, kiss my husband.  It was a great 5 days.   I feel recharged.  I am ready to take all this extra energy and apply it to my day job.  I love my job.  I love the time off because it makes me love my job even more.

There was a welcome home poster with 3 little-people signatures.  The best hugs ever.  I'm so glad they missed me as much as I missed them.

I love being home.  So much, that I happily cleaned the lipstick and eye shadow off the wall by the stairs.  It only took Layne 10 minutes after entering the house to dig into my suitcase, find the make-up case, and quietly, ever so quietly, paint the wall in pinks and reds.  I nearly forgot what life with a toddler is like!

I also forgot that afternoon kindergarten on Tuesdays begins at 10:20 am.  I realized this when I pulled into the parking lot at 11:00 am.  I think we loopy moms are given at least one free pass on this one.

I am jet-lagged, slightly sun-burned, still walking with my boat-legs, dreaming of the buffet line, looking for my towel buddies, and suffering from major girl-talk withdrawals!  But, happy to be home.  Happy to hear the word MOM over and over and over again.  One million times a day.
  

Another year older

You can't get away from them.  Birthdays...or the dear friends that want to celebrate them with you!  I really wanted to skip this one.  I don't know why.  It just seemed old.  And that's it.  Not exciting, not significant, just old.  I wasn't planning on hiding in my closet all day.  Or heading to the McDonald's drive-thru and ordering one of everything off the menu!  I just wanted it to peacefully pass as I went about my regularly scheduled stuff.  Drive carpool, make lunches, pick up the house, pack for my upcoming trip, make dinner...o.k...you got me!  I wouldn't dream of making dinner on my birthday!  Thanks to my cute family and great friends, I didn't have to make dinner.  I didn't have to skip it.  I had a fun day filled with happy celebrations.

self portrait...at 30-something..see, I can't even type the number

my party in the car waiting in the school pick-up line

my sidekick helping me polish off that chocolate cake

That chocolate cake made my day.  Along with the lunch with friends, the flowers, the gifts, the Mexican dinner with my family, the handmade card from my kiddies, and the sight of my suitcase packed with cruise clothes headed to Tampa tomorrow!  I couldn't skip my birthday, but I am skipping town and leaving 30-something behind!  I am going to be 25 all weekend long.  Make that 16.  I have a few friends boarding this ship with me that will make it possible.  We learned to drive together.  Skipped English class together.  Went to prom together.  Sat at IHOP at midnight eating pancakes and talking together!  I can't wait to spend this cruise with them and I can't wait to be 16 again!!

Smiles all around

We are getting it figured out.

Landen at kindergarten drop-off...sitting on the wall before going into his classroom.

All of us.

Layne cheering for time with mom.  I just had to roll down all 4 windows in the car and make it super windy.  She loves it "winny!"  

*all photos shot with the vehicle going under 5 miles per hour...safety first!

Fresh Firsts

There were fresh cuts.

And fresh new backpacks.

There were new first-day-of-school outfits.

And new classrooms.

Abbey's second grade class with Mrs. Stone

Landen's kindergarten class with Ms. Brown

And then, there was just us.

And someone wasn't too happy about it.

Happy Day of No Labor!

Labor Day.  A fun day to spend extra time with dad.  A day to celebrate summer, before school begins this week.  On this particular day off, we hit the beach for a few hours of sunshine.  Abbey and Landen drag dad up the beach looking for sea creatures.  Then they plead with him to join them for a dip in the ocean.  Layne is just a few steps behind.  They glance at me and smile.  They know.  They know they have a half a chance of getting me to take a walk with them, but absolutely no chance of me stepping into the sub-zero degree water.  But dad is another story.  He can't turn them down.  He follows along.  Layne is just a few steps behind.  But she'll have it all figured out before you know it!  Just look at that face.  Future manipulator in training.    

Double Digits

Achievement.  10.3 miles.  A first for me.  Only 3 more to go until I'm half-marathon ready!

Landen turns 5!

This little boy had a birthday.

Number 5 to be exact!

His only dream was to have his party at Chuck-E-Cheese.  For the last six months, he has repeatedly asked if he could have his "next birday party at Chuck-E-Cheeses."  We gave him lots of maybes and we'll sees.  So, when the planning meeting took place, Landen and his mom were on board, but Landen's dad looked at us like we were both crazy!  I know!  It's Chuck-E-Cheese...a little cheesey!  We couldn't disappoint, so we got R to come around and booked his dream party!

My little helpers and I cooked up some oreo cupcakes for the birthday boy.  Here he is sporting an oreo cookie & drool beard!

The finished cupcakes!  And, the take home treats.  Chuck-E-Cheese style.

Playing Games!  Landen's buddies: Brendan, Kate, Blake and Carson.

Landen...the birthday star!

Boys and cars!  Their favorite thing was racing...and cheering on, especially Micah!

Pizza faces all around!  Braxton, Layne, Landen, Kai, and Jade dig in!

Blowing out the candles.

Thanks Chuck-E for the birthday song, the silly dance, the crowning of the birthday boy and this huge smile on his face!  Landen had a blast playing with his buds and sharing some pizza and cupcakes.  Oh Landen...if you have to grow up...if you have to turn 5...if you insist on being a big kid...at least we get to watch it all.  And it was so fun watching you celebrate today!