Mr. Jack-o-Lantern

Tuesday night we carved our pumpkin. Mason watched Matthew very carefully, but wasn't sure what was going on. When Matthew opened up the top of the pumpkin, Mason stuck his hand in there, but then said "eww, sticky" and didn't want anymore to do with it! He watched Matthew clean it out and helped him poke out the eyes and mouth. He was excited when he saw it lit up on the porch and of course kept giving it "fist bumps"!

Here he is fist bumping Mr. Jack :)

Mimi and Papa's Visit

My parents came to visit this past weekend. On Friday night, they kept Mason so we could go to dinner with the Smith's, Buteau's, and Dicharry's. It was a fun adult night out and I hope we can do it more often. After dinner we went over to the Phillips' to watch the Rangers beat the Yankees. It was such a good game and we are excited that the Rangers are going to the World Series for the first time ever. Matthew is going to Game 5 on Monday with three of his friends in Dallas. To say he is excited is an understatement! I hope he gets some good pictures!

Saturday morning, we went to eat at Strawn's for breakfast and then went to the pumpkin patch again. All Mason wanted to do was move pumpkins around. He was too busy to take many pictures. We spent the rest of the day at the house and let Mason jump in his bounce house. Matthew and I went to a movie on Saturday night, our first movie in forever! My parents left early on Sunday morning, so we decided to take Mason to the park. He loves to swing, slide and climb!

These park pictures were taken with my phone, so not the best, but you get the idea!

I LOVE this pic!

Fun Fall Weekend

We had a fun weekend at home. Friday night we went on our Friday Family Date Night to Cantina Laredo and Marble Slab. I really love this tradition and hope we always continue it. Neil invited Matthew to go to the Rangers/Yankees game on Saturday afternoon, so Mason and I were on our own for Saturday. Matthew had great seats and a fun weekend in Dallas.

Saturday morning Mason and I headed to the local pumpkin patch. He liked the pumpkins, but I had to get on to him for throwing them. He thinks everything is a ball! We will have to go again so we can try to get some family pictures.

We ran into Cheryl and Brody while we were there and she took our picture

Mason and Brody have been in Gymboree together since they were only a few months old!

My cute lil' pumpkin and the pumpkin he picked out. He was so cute carrying it to the check out and handing the lady the money for it!

On Sunday, the Lewis' had a pumpkin carving/pumpkin painting party for our Sunday School class. It was a lot of fun and of course Lindsey outdid herself with the decor!

the food table

the Dads helping the kids paint their pumpkins

Mason's finished pumpkin

We took our bounce house and the kids had a blast on it

My cute little guy

Jumping with Shep and Caroline

This next picture deserves a story. Lindsey made these cake balls on a stick and they were just the right height on the table for Mason to grab. I saw him grab his first one and take it outside to eat. Well awhile later, I look up and he is eating another one. I had no idea how he had gotten it. Later, I watched him standing by the back door waiting for someone to open it so he could go in the house. I followed him and he went straight to the table and grabbed another one! I couldn't help but laugh, but seriously, he didn't need anymore. I ended up splitting it with him and told him "no more". Well, again a few minutes later, he walked into the house and saw me coming so he started running to the table and he grabbed one and I said "no", but before I could reach him to take it away from him he licked it! He knew if he licked it that I couldn't put it back on the table! Such a sweet tooth on that kid! I moved the plate so he couldn't get anymore.

I am so glad that fall is here and am looking forward to all the fun we have coming up in the next few weeks. Now if only the fall weather would come!

5 year Anniversary Cruise

We had the best time on our vacation. It has been a dream of mine to go to Europe for so long, and it did not disappoint! We missed Mason so much, but it was so nice to have time for just the two of us. It was great to be able to do what we wanted when we wanted without schedules and work in our way. We decided that we wanted to do a Mediterranean Cruise so that we could see as much as possible in a week. We had some long days, but it was worth it. We went to Naples, Rome, Florence, and Nice and Cannes, France.

We left on Saturday and flew all night to Barcelona. We landed at 8:30am on Sunday morning and went straight to the boat. We took a long nap and then got up and explored the ship. We had a balcony room with a great view of the ocean. Monday was a "sea day" so we took advantage and got some much needed sleep! The jet lag was killing me!

Tuesday, we woke up in Naples, Italy. We took a boat tour of the Amalfi Coast and then went to Pompeii. The Amalfi Coast was beautiful and we enjoyed walking around in the town. We almost didn't make it because our alarm didn't go off so we woke up at 7:28am and we were supposed to meet our group at 7:30! We got ready so fast and made it down there at 7:42 an the bus was waiting on us. Talk about a close call! We were starving when we got to Amalfi, so what is better for breakfast than gelato and a croissant?! It was soo good! We both really loved Pompeii too. We could have stayed there all day!

The view from our boat looking at the Amalfi Coast

Cute little cafe enjoying our gelato and croissant

The streets of Pompeii

A room with bed and pillow still intact

Looks like he is praying

We then went to Rome. This was our longest day, but definitely one of the highlights. It was amazing to see all the history.

The Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

the Trevi Fountain

We each threw 2 coins in the fountain. The first means that we will one day return to Rome. The second was for a wish.

Vatican

Inside the Vatican museum. Amazing!

This is the view looking out from St. Peter's. The stage is where the Pope had been speaking earlier in the day.

The Holy Door. This is the door that the Pope enters the church. It is only open every 25 years for the public to enter.

inside St. Peters. Beautiful!

St. Peter's

This is the view from our balcony.

We had to tender the ship in Nice. This is the view of our ship from the coast.

Our 5 year anniversary in Nice, France. Can't get much better than that!

Our room on the ship

the Promenade

We didn't get to port in Saint Tropez because of the weather. I was pretty disappointed because that was one of the places I was looking the most forward too. Maybe we can go back someday. We ended up having an extra day at sea, so we spent more time on the ship. We played putt-putt, gambled, and ate WAY too much!

On Sunday, we got off of the ship and had planned to stay an extra day so we could explore Barcelona. We didn't realize when we planned all of this that everything is closed on Sundays! It was also pouring down rain most of the day. We decided to make the most of it and got an umbrella and walked the streets. Even though nothing was opened and it was miserable weather, we loved it! We definitely want to go back there someday. It was such a neat city. We stayed in an awesome hotel that had a rooftop bar with the best view of the city. We found a fun restaurant and had a bottle of wine and the best salad and pizza.

The Hotel Majestic

the Las Ramlas (a big tourist shopping area)

After 10 days, we were definitely ready to come home. It was a LONG 11 hour plane ride back to Dallas. I was anticipating our reunion with Mason for days. I was picturing him running to me screaming "mommy" and him so excited to see us. Well, that is not what happened! Donna and Sarah came to airport to pick us up. Sarah got Mason out of the car to come meet us. When he saw us, he flipped out! Crying and holding on to Sarah and not wanting to come to us. I had to pull him out of Sarah's arms all the while he was crying and screaming for "aunt b" and trying to get out of my arms. I guess he was punishing me for leaving him for so long. He finally warmed back us to up, and by the next morning he was wanting me! Little stinker!

We are so thankful for our families and that they were willing to keep our little guy so we could go on this amazing trip. Mason spent time with Granna, Pops, Aunt Caroline, Aunt Sarah, Mimi and Papa. He was spoiled rotten by everyone and I know he had the best vacation himself!

I can't even begin to describe how much I loved just being with Matthew. He truly is my best friend and I am so grateful we had this time together. We made several "5 year" goals when we first got married, and I am happy to report we met every single one of them. I can't wait to see what the next 5 years has in store...