Falling into Fall

It's been a busy couple of weeks around here....hence the lack of blog updates (and pictures).
We did manage to witness the Cougs win in Pullman a couple of weeks ago-- Dylan's first time at Martin Stadium! I'd say he's a good luck charm! He had a good time at the game but still wouldn't go near Butch. He says he'll talk to him when he's older.


On the 21st I ended up starting a long-term substitute position for a first grade class at the school where I completed my student teaching 8 years ago. I am actually their second long-term sub as the first one didn't last long. Needless to say I have been BUSY! This group is definitely a little more than I bargained for, but I take solace in the fact that I'll only have a couple of weeks before I am done. I have defnitely gotten out of the habit of working full-time! It's also been an adjustment for Dylan who has started the Educare (extended day) program at his school. It's really breaking us in for his school years as I have to pack him a lunch each day.....a peanut butter and honey sandwich on white bread without crust is now a staple. I'm happy to say that he has done great- he seems to be thriving in the school enviroment and has made some new friends. He does appreciate the special days with Grammy when she is able to pick him up after pre-school.

We are looking forward to a month full of weekends at home and enjoying these beautiful fall days! I just love this time of year!!

Our Drinking Team....

...definitely has a Football Problem. I'm pretty sure most Cougs know what I'm talking about, especially if they witnessed the game in Seattle last weekend. Despite our lack of football talent, we definitely know how to have a good time and enjoyed the day anyway! It's always so fun to see so many Cougs walking around Seattle and spending time with old friends is always the best part of Cougar Football games! Here's to what looks like a very LONG season!

While we enjoyed our weekend with friends in Seattle, Dylan was spoiled by his Grandma and Grandpa Lee in Colfax. They were nice enough to come pick him up on Friday afternoon and his weekend with them included a Colfax High School football game on Friday night, two trips to the Whitman County Fair on Saturday and I'm sure A LOT of candy and special treats.
On a side note, this year Grandma entered several of Dylan's "projects" into the fair and he won 8 blue ribbons and a "Best in Show" award for his lego creation!
He certainly loves his time with Grandma and Grandpa!!

Giant tractors are always a hit with boys.

Hanging out with Kevin's cousin Rachel.

Posing next to his prize winning legos (please note the candy)

Family....Reunited

The Henry Deming Family

Labor Day weekend was chock full of family time as we headed to Montana for the Deming Family Reunion that my parents planned. It had been years since we had this side of the family all together and we had a great turnout including all of my Grandpa Deming's living siblings and their respective broods.
The highlights of the weekend for me were: 1)Seeing my grandmother (my only surviving grandparent). She is such a special lady to me and I felt so fortunate that we got to see her only a couple of weeks before her 90th birthday. 2) Seeing all of my siblings and their children together. Nine grandkids (7 of which are boys) can make for some pretty rambuncious play but there is definitely a lot of "cousin love" there. 3) Coming home to Spokane instead of the long trek home to Seattle! Gosh it's nice to be able to go to Montana for a couple of nights and not feel like you've spent the whole weekend in the car!

Grandma with Mark and me

These are my parents grandkids with Great-Grandma Evelyn Deming

Maria, Brian, Great-Grandma, Max, Evan, Dylan, Morgan, Dominic

Christina and Henry

Dylan's First Day of School!

Today was a big day in our house as it was Dylan's first day of preschool! He is attending the Pre-K 3-year-olds class at St. Mary's school. Because St. Mary's is a K-8 private school all students wear uniforms including the preschoolers. I must say Dylan looked so handsome and grown up in his navy blue shorts and white polo shirt and he LOVED wearing his new Pumas which are just like his Daddy's. After a pancake breakfast and a quick stop to Walgreens for safety pins (I guess I should have tried on his new shorts beforehand.....they were too big!) we headed out for school. He was maybe a bit unsure but as soon as he saw the kids playing with the classroom toys he felt comfortable very quickly. I was very relieved because although he has been in daycare plenty, he was with "Miss Anitha" ever since he was 5 months old and she knew all of his idiosyncrasies and I never worried about him. Today was a new place with lots of new faces! Needless to say I didn't have much to worry about. =)

As for me, I had 3 hours to myself which meant there was enough time for a trip to the grocery store, a latte, some laundry, tidying around the house and a couple of returns to the mall. Man you can get a lot more done without 3 year old demands! When I went to pick him up he was happy as a clam and his teacher said he did great. I'm a proud momma today!

Girl's Getaway

Over the weekend I was able to get away for a day/night to Seattle with my dear friend Kalie. We decided to make the trek over the mountains together to celebrate the soon-to-be born baby of our sorority sister Rachel. It was such a blast having uninterrupted time with Kalie during the car trip over.....I don't think we've had that much time to just "talk" since we've both become mommies- usually our conversations are continually interrupted by the demands of parenting toddlers! The weekend was packed full of catching up with so many of my favorite girls, paired with lots of laughs and a few glasses of wine (and coffee Sunday morning with Bre!)

A big shout-out THANKS to my fabulous hubby for being a single dad over the weekend....although it sounds as if he had plenty of people around to help keep Dylan occupied!

Me with the mommy-to-be

Razi, Rachel and Kalie and their baby bumps

Ariane, Nicole and Bre
Marcy and Ellie

Little Rockstar

This summer my Dylan has started an obsession with the band Journey. This is mostly due to the fact that my nephews Evan and Dominic have been playing "Don't Stop Believing" on repeat on their ipod since we moved to Spokane. At one point a couple of weeks ago all three of them were singing it together.....Dylan was the lead singer and holding a microphone, Dom was pretending to play the guitar, and Evan was at the piano. I'll just say it was pretty entertaining and would be hilarious to have on video tape to embarrass them with when they are teenagers.


On Sunday night Kevin's mom and I went for a walk around the neighborhood with Zoe and Dylan who sang it the whole time.....when we got home I asked him to perform for the camera. I just love how he gets so into it! It's worth a good giggle!