Boo At The Zoo 2010

Although Bree remains at #3, we did go to Boo at the Zoo today. We got there kind of late - we had a very busy morning. After lunch we went to the zoo! It was packed, and there was less than 2 hours remaining by the time we got in, but there was just enough time to walk around, do some trick or treating, and enjoy being outside.

Bree was Thumbelina this year. Because of the chillier weather (mid-60s) we had some "heartier" clothes on underneath the costume.

I swear to God, Bree said, "Hey! I see Buzz Lightyear over there!" It was like she was at a hollywood premier, seeing all of her favorite stars. We also saw Elmo. Anyone dressed in black was "a bad guy."

Bree loves to be buckethead.

Bree was eyeing the team of ninjas with a healthy dose of suspicion.

Ah well, the closest to a smile that I could get. :)

Will She or Won't She? The Great Halloween Question

So, Bree has had a very naughty bone lately. Here's part of the e-mail that got sent to her Daddy, describing what was the Naughtiest Day In The History of Bree's Life, October 20, 2010:

Hey Cutie - so, I don't even know where to start with this e-mail. Other than that my mom was very cryptic when I called her this afternoon to see how the day was going. She said, "Oh, Bree is going to tell you about it herself." When I got home and asked Bree what happened today, at first she said, "nothing." Then she said, "I can't tell you, it's a secret." So finally I said, "well, I'll go see for myself." That's when she threw herself in front of me saying, "No! Mommy, No! Stay in here!" Ho boy.

Let me set the stage. My mom sent Bree to the bedroom to take a nap. To which Bree just screamed "NO! NO! NO!" to my mom. But my mom sent her to the bedroom, heard Bree get quiet, and then assumed that Bree was sleeping. When my mom heard a weird noise, she went to the bedroom to find out what was going on. Well, she saw that Bree had taken my clothes out of the closet and she was breaking the hangers. Then my mom saw her left hand. Which was bright pink from wrist to fingertip. She asked Bree what that was and Bree said, "finger nail polish." My mom got Bree out of the bedroom.

Here's what my mom didn't see:
1). The clumps of hair on the carpet, from where Bree cut her hair.
2). The big spot on the wall where Bree painted with nail polish.
3). The big spots on the floor where Bree painted with nail polish.
4). Bree's left foot, painted from ankle to her tippy toes with nail polish.
5). My shoes, which Bree painted with nail polish.

Wednesday night Bree was presented with the following: when I counted to 5, she didn't get to go Trick or Treating for Halloween. She was at #1 after her shenanigans on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Bree got #2 for being mean to the dog and not listening to me when I told her to stop.

We were doing okay until Sunday, when we were grocery shopping. Bree kept touching all the produce and poking at the meat packages. After being told several time to stop touching things, I issued the ultimatum: the next time she touched something, that was #3 and she was going out to the car. So what does Bree do? She walked down to the end of the aisle, put her hand on the shelf, looked at me, and in a sing-song voice said, "ha ha ha ha ha ha!" shaking her behind while doing it.

I temporarily turned into a cartoon character where my face turned beet red and steam came out of my ears. My head almost exploded at what a little stinker she was. I grabbed my purse and Bree, threw a "I'm really sorry, Mom" over my shoulder and headed for the parking lot. I don't know what Bree expected, but she wasn't expecting the reaction she got out of me. She screamed, "I WANT MY HALLOWEEN!" over and over and over. She sat in her seat in the car while I stood outside and cooled down.

Bree has been especially difficult this week, but she's not at 4 yet. I will say that it's looking good for her, because it is Friday night and she's still at 3. She's almost there! But can she make it? I don't know.

She stayed home with my mom on Wednesday and the only way my mom got her to take a nap was to threaten her with #4 and to sit on a chair in the doorway of her room until she fell asleep.

My leverage ends on November 1st. Then it will be all about being on Santa's "Naughty" list.

But stay tuned - I'll post pictures to let you know if Bree gets her Halloween or not. :)

Fall Havest Fair

As Woody from Toy Story would say, "Well pull my string! It's October already?" We got Toy Story from the library and we've seen it well over a hundred times already. Okay, maybe not. But at least twice a day since last Saturday. Hmm, guess that makes it only 16 times. Well, it seems like a hundred. Bree likes to quote dialoge from the movie. She gets this trait directly from her Daddy. However, Scott knows better than to expect me to respond with dialoge from the same movie. Bree expects me to know every word and will correct me if I get it wrong. I will never belong to SAG, that's for sure. Bree, though . . . . only time will tell!

Today we went to a local farm that hosts seasonal events. This is the first time we've been to their Fall Havest Fair. There was a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, bouncy houses & slides, pony rides, a hayride and carnival rides. The weather was beautiful - a great day to be outside. We met our friends Miss Andi & Sophie there, too.


Bree was most excited about the hay. Of course she was! It was like she had been dying to get out her inner barnyard animal.

In a pure stroke of genius, the organizers had put a huge hay pile in the middle of a field. Just bales of hay. Stacked about 5 bales high, and maybe 10 bales wide. It was seriously the thing for all the kids to play on. Bree was no exception.

Since Bree loves horses so much, I decided to spring for the pony ride. Bree's pony was named "Blue." I asked the trainer/walker what Blue did when Blue wasn't giving pony rides, and the answer was "hanging out in the field and eating grass." That's a nice enough existence, I guess. :)

And of course I coudn't get Bree to smile while she was on the pony. At least not when I had the camera turned her way. She was all smiles when the camera was put away. The pony ride was actually a big hit.

Bree gave Blue some nice pats before we moved on to another activity.

There was a hayride and you'd have thought that we were taking Bree & Sophie to prison by their expressions. They actually liked it quite a bit.

There was also a petting zoo with baby goats. They were actually calmer than our dog, Sly. They were just hanging out, munching on twigs & tree stumps, letting little kids rough them up. Ha, just kidding - the kids were in awe of how calm the baby goats were.

Bree had a lot of fun wtih the baby goats.

We had a great afternoon. We'll probably go back next year. They have an event at Christmastime, but we'll see what's happening when that rolls around later this year.