Fall School Break

Lazy days and busy nights are the norm for our three week hiedas from school.
the temps have been in the high 90's and low 100's  for the past two weeks. 
The only way we know the seasons are changing around here are:
 the sun is setting sooner and
we put up our fall and Halloween decorations outside.  Wahoo!

Here are some pics during our break so far.

Cantelope from the garden

Watermelon from the garden

J-Man jumping into the pool

Jumping backward into the pool

Splash!

J-Man and Mr. Mr. cheering for I-Man's team. 

Go Gunners!

Praying Mantis eating a giant moth.

The Sonoran Desert Museum of Tucson

We invited our friends the L Family to join us.

J-Man and L.L. looking at the owl.

Mr.Mr and K.L get a look too.

Drawing pictures of the snakes they just saw.

K.L. and L.L. playing

Sonoran Desert Museum dirt trail.

J-Man wearing the bat ears

L.L. wearing the bat ears

K.L. wearing the bat ears

I-Man wearing the bat ears and said he could really hear out of them.

Group Picture in the bat cave

The boys looking at the lava screen

Mountain Lion behind the glass

Grizzly Bear taking a nap

Female Wolf

The docent explaining how Ravins and Wolves are symbiotic.

Looking over the bridge

Brothers on the bridge

Big Horn Sheep

It was a long day but we sure learned a lot about the plants and animals in our area.

Halloween Costumes

Mr.Mr. loves the Yo Gabba Gabba show

He wanted to be DJ Lance

J-Man wanted to be the blue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

Here they are together.

It has been a fun break so far, only one more week to go.

Stacy's Baby Shower and the Princess Cake

I have been wanting to make a Princess Dress Cake for a while,

but with three boys the opportunities are few to none.

So I jumped at the chance to co-throw a baby shower with Nicole for Stacy.

Here is the doll and the baking pans to see what the shape of the dress would look like.

Here is the cake layered frosted and ready for the fondant work.

back view of the finished cake

Front and side view of the cake

Cupcakes for Stacy's three daughters

Stacy and daughters

Slicing the cake

The chicken salad was divine.

Some of the guests at the party

Stacy opening the gifts

The girls checking out the raffle prizes at the gift table

The Money Tree with Sock Garland

guests put money in the socks to give to stacy

to buy things she might need for the baby.

Under the tree are the raffle prizes. 

Stacy pulled out a name every 15 minutes or so

and the winner got to choose a piece of jewelry to keep.

Labor Day at Colossal Cave Mountain Park

For Labor Day, I took my boys up to the Colossal Cave Mountain Park. 

The entrance to the park

I-Man, J-Man and Mr.Mr. sitting on the steps near the cave.

Cave entrance

inside the cave

Caving equipment

The tour was almost over

great pic of my boys on the steps

Afterward we went to the ranch to see the horses

and the train car.

It was a hot, but fun day. 

Mr.Mr. was able to hike the whole cave without being held,

 he did sleep for about three hours after that.