Fabulous Fall

We have kicked off the Fall season just fabulously! Back to school time is very busy for me, but our weekends are full of family time. We have found plently of reasons to be outside and enjoy the changing of the seasons.

With Harbor's 2nd birthday in November, I have been working here and there to get things ready. Harbor has a great love for all things that "Go!", so I have decided on an airplane theme for the party. Someday soon, i'm sure superheroes and villians will replace my themes, but until then, i'm happy to do the party planning.  : )

Since HW was born, my mom and I have tried to make shirts for special occasions, and birthday shirts are just so fun!

Harbor is 22 months old and is a very busy little boy! He is attending MDO two days a week, loves playing on the slide, building blocks, working puzzles, and pestering the dog. He is still not talking much- maybe 11 words at 22 months- but we are hopeful his speech will improve. We have an appointment to double check on his progression this coming week, so we are praying he is just taking his time and that there is nothing major to be concerned with. His comprehension is right on track and he is still using lots of sign language.

Bichon, our Bichon Frise, is a great playmate for Harbor. She is, thankfully, very gentle and allows Harbor to include her in his playtime. Frogs, and snails, and puppy dog tails, that is what this little boy is made of!  : )

A girl that graduated with my husband, David, recently asked me to paint a canvas bag for her son, Hudson. He will use it as a lunch bag for MDO. Andrea is a fellow teacher also, and it was great to visit with her. David's ten year reunion was over a year ago, and it was wonderful to reconnect with so many friends.

Rachel has been busy with college and the University band, but we are so happy when she comes to visit!

Rachel and I recently had birthdays, and since we have a small family, we try to combine our parties. We met at an Italian cafe and enjoyed pasta and cheesecake and a retelling, on my part, of an adventure we had the day before- David, Harbor, and I took a new bike path and ended up getting semi-lost, in the dark, on a mountain biking trial. Not cool when you have a one-year old in a bike trailer. Rachel turned 20 and I turned 29. We laughed that we are both celebrating a "big" birthday- her first year in the 20's and my last!  : )

And for those of you who know me and want to know, I received many thoughtful gifts. David bought me a snazzy ring, engraved with Harbor's name and a new seat for my mountain bike. What every girl needs, of course!! He knows me perfectly- bling and bike accessories.

Regardless of the seasons, the horses love to be fed, and as long as there are apples on the ground, Harbor has work to do!

Biking has really been our favorite past-time of late- since Harbor has been born, really. I hate the gym and prefer being outside and neither of us like the idea and excerising alone, leaving someone behind to watch Harbor William. Biking has been the answer for us- we can bring Harbor with us, spend time outside as a family, and boy howdy, break a terrific sweat! We don't converse much on the trail- David leads and is a good distance ahead of me, and, well, we are usually breathing too hard to do much of anything but nod.

We average about 16 miles a week on the bikes, which is a fair amount of riding. We ride every Saturday and Sunday, usually 6-8 miles per day, and once or twice during the week, depending on work schedules and after school activities. Fayetteville has an amazing bike system of well-planned paths, and we prefer to ride those and avoid traffic, but sometimes we ride real roads. The hills we encounter, being nestled in the Ozarks are demanding, but the scenery really keeps you motivated to keep going. We just love it.

My mom rides with us quite often, and on this particular ride, we did about five miles, from HWY 62 to North Street in Fayetteville.

I've never been ultra-sentimental with Harbor's hair. I'm sad to admit I had his hair first cut well before his first birthday. In fact, at 22 months I think he has had 20 haircuts or so. I can't handle it long, over his ears, or in his eyes at all. His hair is like mine- light, feathery, and fast growing. David usually takes him to get his hair cut, but ended up having to work instead, so I took him and my mom tagged along. Harbor and David get their hair done at a different salon than I do, so it was fun to take him and change up the routine a bit.

With the sky growing darker earlier, we do get caught riding in the dark more often than not, but our bikes are equipped with front and rear LED lights, which make you feel a bit safer. This night we ran a relatively quick ride- only four miles or so- to the park for Harbor to get in a few "slides" before bedtime. I know helmets are important, but we are not religious with our wearing of them. I know, I know.... no lecture needed.  : )

This weekend was our town's annual Bikes, Blues, and BBQ motorcycle rally. It is a big to-do in my family, as we all ride motorcycles, and well, run with the riff and the raff that inhibit these types of events. : ) I'm saying this out of complete sincerity due to the stereo type of motorcyclists and the fact that we know so many riders in town.  : )

David took off work all day Friday to head down to Dickson street with his friends to test drive motorcycles. We recently sold our beloved Goldwing in the pursuit of something more "around town" and less "British Columbia" since our trips to Canada via the 'Wing are a thing of the past. He also demoed some Jeeps in a Jeep "playground" - rock climbing, mound rolling, teeter-tottering, balancing acts. He took his personal Jeep through an obstacle course of some kind as well. And ate yummy BBQ, while I taught the differences between revising and editing all day and prayed our Jeep wasn't sinking into a mudhole.

My family particpates in the Parade of Power ride through town and while we didn't ride this year in the parade, we did take Harbor to the strip for an afternoon train ride and some kettle korn popcorn.

David and I met up with friends for dinner at Pesto Cafe Saturday night and went to hear the Joe Giles band  preform live. Good times! Thanks to Gigi for babysitting for us! : )

 

We are busy, but trying to find time to relax and enjoy one another's company. Teaching is very time consuming and in all honesty, while I love to blog, I have been desiring more time with my family and less time with the computer. It has been so nice to have that break and to be able to reconnect. I totally and completely blog for myself, to remember what our little family of three was like during this time, but I also appreciate those of you who take an interest in us as well.

 Halloween is fast approaching and Harbor will be sporting a spotted girraffe suit. I think we are more excited about candy eating than he is, but now that he is in MDO, he has plenty of opportunties to get the hang of the fall festivities. He recently had "cowboy" day where they brought in horses for the kids to sit on, and are also having a fall themed party, of course. Having a little one around the house makes the holidays that much more fun for everyone. Take care! We love you, friends and family!

The McCash Family  : )