Our Pumpkin Family Portrait

Happy Halloween from the Pumpkandersons!

Longing

[Editor's Note: I would like to thank you all for your warm support of my awesome (idiotic) artistic depictions. Don't worry... there's plenty more where that came from!!]

Sigh. My heart has been aching lately. Y'know what I really, really, DESPERATELY miss? Well, I was going to list one thing, but now that I think about it, there are really several things:

-Disneyland. Not a day goes by that Tim and I don't forlornly say to one another, "I miss Disneyland." I'm not kidding. Any time we hear Disney music, any time we watch Disney characters, any time we visit the Disney store, any time we think of trains or gorillas or holidays or parades or laughter or happiness, it always pulls our heartstrings in that Anaheim-ish direction. ... Well, in sort of a sad way, because we don't exactly have any concrete plans to vacation or return to CA (yet). Prior to leaving Pasadena, I had no way to anticipate that we would miss Disneyland THIS MUCH. It is so hard to be away from there.

-Cafe Rio. We fell in love with Cafe Rio during our ol' Utah days, so naturally I was ecstatic-beyond-reason when it came to California. However, Cafe Rio had been in California for a mere five months before Tim and I were whisked away to Heaven-Knows-Where, USA. I guess it was a huge blessing that I enjoyed a brief reprieve from my geographically-imposed Cafe Rio fast, but... still. I miss my Cafe Rio salad fiercely. (Not nearly as badly as Disneyland, though.)

-In-N-Out. Even though I wasn't a hardcore In-N-Out lover in California, I sure am now. I think I just took it for granted. It was always there; it's good, but so is Carl's Jr. Then, as our moving date approached last May, I realized how much I was going to miss their perfect, fresh burgers. And even more so, their MILKSHAKES. I have never had quite as delicious a milkshake as In-N-Out's in my LIFE. And now that In-N-Out is gone, I'm not sure I'll ever find a suitable replacement. Every time I think about California, I crave an In-N-Out chocolate milkshake. Craaaaaaaave.

And finally, the original purpose of this post...

-Trader Joe's. Okay, I miss Disneyland more than Trader Joe's even. But I REALLY MISS TRADER JOE'S. Prior to living in CA, I used to chuckle at all those crazy TJ's fanatics who would drive hours to buy their favorite products. One time, I met a lady in Hawaii who said that every time she visits the Mainland, she stocks up at Trader Joe's and lugs everything back in her suitcases.

But then I went to Trader Joe's. It took a few visits for it to capture me, but capture me it did. And of course, my TJ's bliss was short-lived. Nowadays, our pantry contains only a few, sad survivors of our pre-move stock-up: a container of animal crackers, a can of organic black bean soup, a jar of almond butter with flax, a bottle of organic mustard, and a bottle of Goddess salad dressing. That's it. That's all that remains now.

Every now and then, Tim and I will remember that joy that was Trader Joe's, and for a brief, fleeting moment, get a warm feeling inside. We'll say something like, "Remember orange chicken?" Or, "Remember Indian feast?" (That's where we'd buy a variety of Indian foods and chow down with some garlic naan.) Already, I'm starting to forget my favorite TJ's products. But here's a rundown of what I remember that I miss the most:

-Orange chicken (of course). It was $4.99, plentiful, and restaurant-quality.
-Tempura chicken. $5.99, I think, and again - really good.
-Frozen garlic naan. Heat it up in the oven and spread some melted garlic butter over it. Ohhhh heaven.
-Mini quiches. They were less than $2, and the crust was to die for.
-Asparagus risotto (also frozen). I could eat the whole bag.
-Chicken drumettes and Italian meatballs. These were staples for the kid.
-Mini 12-grain crackers. So yummy and just right for Weston.
-Basically, all the TJ's versions of name-brand crackers. They never disappoint.
-Animal crackers and "letter cookies." Yummy, and not overly sweet.
-Mini cheese cracker sandwiches. Weston loved these, but here we have to buy the Ritz version. Blah.
-Bulk chocolate. Sooooo luscious, sooooo cheap.
-Frozen pizzas. Awesome.
-Frozen fish. As a TJ's customer, I actually started buying fish regularly (salmon, mahi mahi, crab cakes, etc.). The thought of buying fish at Walmart makes me unhappy for some reason.
-Joe Joe's - the TJ's version of Oreos, yet SO much better. An employee told me once that it's because they use a real cream filling instead of lard. Now whenever I see Oreos (which I used to adore), I think of lard. Oh, and the Candy Cane Joe Joe's are even better. Those I will definitely find a way to get this holiday season. Somehow!!
-Frozen pie crust. Spectacular.
-Brie cheese. Brie, FYI, is ridiculously expensive at regular grocery stores. Tim and I would always buy it at either TJ's or Costco (if we thought we were going to eat an especially large amount). Neither place is here in Tulsa, so Brie is temporarily out of our diets. Although I really, really love it...
-The huge box of fresh basil. Buy it, and go nuts with basil.
-All the millions of trail mixes. At TJ's, trail mix never gets boring.
-Mac & cheese - totally cheap-o. Just like all the pastas, even if they're whole wheat and/or organic.
-Garlic basil linguine. Add some tomatoes, olive oil, and cheese, and you're in pasta heaven.
-Pesto tortellini and cheese ravioli. These bags were less than $2 each, but they made SO much, and Weston LOVED them. Our big stock-up supply of them (which now in retrospect seems small) is all gone.
-Baked cheese crunchies. I loved these, and I didn't feel like I was being quite so unhealthy (as if, say, I were eating Cheetos instead).
-Cereal bars, especially the fig. Really fruity and tasty, and not all full of HFCS like Nutra-Grain bars.
-Brown rice krispie treats. Not exactly healthy, but it's probably the only time that Weston has ingested brown rice.
-Sweet potato chips. Yum, and unique to boot.
-Yogurt. Fruit on the bottom, low-fat, AND missing the HCFS.
-Joe's O's - the TJ's Cheerios. Such a big box for so cheap.
-All the par-baked breads - especially the filone. Ohhhh I miss this. I have discovered an incredible boulangerie here in Tulsa, but still... it was really nice and convenient to have such delicious, fresh, hot, crusty bread for dinner.
-Hummus & pita chips. I don't even know where to find hummus at Walmart.
-The produce. There were certain types of produce that I would always buy at TJ's, but I'm forgetting now. I know I used to get tomatoes and bananas, and some pre-cut varieties like green beans (so fast and easy). And the edamame.
-Dried fruit, like dried cherries and the raisin mix. Mmmm.
-Mixed berry applesauce in convenient little cups. Weston looooved it.
-Canned artichokes - way cheap. Chop them up, throw them in pasta - done.

Well, I know there are other things that I'm forgetting, but that's what I could think of during this little brainstorm. AHH!! I'm forgetting!! NOOOOOOO!!!! So, I really miss Trader Joe's. All our food presently comes from Walmart and Target, so I feel like we're just eating a lot of boring, standard, name-brand chemical concoctions right now. All-natural... what's that? Organic... you hippie!! Sigh. I know, I could just do a better job of cooking with fresh, healthy ingredients. But TJ's absence is a major chink in the design of our nutrition/meal planning/household/lifestyles. And I really miss the unique products that it offers -- stuff you can't find anywhere else. Sniff sniff.

Trader Jooooooooeeeee's....................!

"Weekly" Dork Time with Microsoft Paint: Edition 3

Click me

Hahahahaha... get it?

Tim's Campout Report: Murphy's Law Strictly Enforced

For those of you unfamiliar with Murphy's Law, it states that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong." It's not Murphey's Suggestion, Murphey's Guideline, or Murphy's Word-to-the-Wise. It's Murphy's Law. It is with that definition that I preface my report on the Father-Son Campout this last weekend.

To be fair,  not everything went wrong. Only exactly the things that Jean mentioned in her post, and a few more for good measure. In fact, I've been resisting Jean's insistence that I write a blog post about the excursion, lest it turn into a bitter rant about all of the things that were... less than ideal. I wanted to give the scars (both physical and mental) time to heal before I wrote anything. I wanted to catch up on sleep and see if that would improve my outlook on the whole experience. Well, by this point, my outlook is as good as it's going to get, so I guess I'll go ahead and share some of our experiences.

Now, it's been said that "sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt." To which I reply, "yeah, right... I'll bet it is..." (followed by a dismissive roll of my eyes). In that spirit, I am going to break up my report into two lists. The first will mention all of the things I "loved" (the eye-rolling kind) about the trip, and then I'll mention the things that I genuinely enjoyed. I'm going into this without any real planning (and a reluctance to edit afterward), so let's see if Tim's the glass-is-full or glass-is-empty kind of guy.

Things I "Loved"About the Camping Trip
- I loved getting there just after the sun set, so that I could set up my tent in the dark.

- I loved how the last person to use our tent (we lent it to someone last summer, I can't remember whom) put it away inside-out. That made it particularly fun to puzzle out. In the dark.

- I loved how the location selected for camping was the swath carved out under the power lines instead of a real campground. The six-inch-high stumps left over from the small trees and other growth made for a particularly hospitable ground for setting up a tent. And it made it extra fun for Weston to walk around with his little legs. And the lack of dedicated camping space allowed us to set up our tents between our cars.

The camping area on Saturday Morning.

- I loved the brief mention of the forthcoming Cobbler Bake-Off after the central bonfire program. In a culture where punctuality is about as high a priority as alphabetizing one's pencil collection (H before HB, by the way), I assumed that another announcement would be made when the cobbler was actually served. It was not, and by the time Weston and I returned to the site of the Bake-Off (one little stump-clearing step at a time), there was enough cobbler left for one or two people. And Weston and I had been sent to bring enough back for six people.

- I loved how Weston started crying to go home just as it was time to go to bed. Granted, he had never been camping before, so he had no idea what to expect. He was understandably confused, and it was way past his normal bed time. I can understand where he was coming from, but it did not bode well for our night to come.
- I loved how just as I was starting to doze off, a couple of people arrived at the campout and began to set up their tent. Right next to us. At 11:30 at night. Noisily.

- I loved how once our new neighbors got set up, they decided to play some dice game in their tent. I loved how they didn't hush their voices at all. And it was great that they decided that the hands God gave them weren't fit for rolling the dice, but that they needed to roll them in an empty tin can. The resonance of that can as the dice rolled around was especially wonderful for the entire 3 hours that they played.

- I loved that Weston would only sleep if I held him either on my chest or cradled in my arm (I did kind of sincerely like it a little; it was kind of sweet. But I'll get to that in my sincere list). The advantage to this was that I had to lie on my back for it to work. I don't sleep on my back. At all. If I'm ever in a coma --and Jean, this suggestion is probably mostly for you, as I'm not sure how many readers of our blog will be there in the hospital room with me-- but if I'm ever in a coma, just roll me onto my back; I'm fully convinced that I'd just wake up. I simply don't sleep on my  back.

- I loved that every time I tried to adjust to a more comfortable (and sleepable) position, Weston would wake up screaming. "No! I don't yike it! No!" I liked how each yell was accompanied by a kick or a punch. I loved how-- due to the position in which I had to hold him to get him to sleep-- his feet were perfectly lined up with my tenders (as Po from Kung Fu Panda so eloquently puts it). I'm sure our camping neighbors liked it a lot, too.

- I loved only getting about two hours of sleep all night.

Weston (in striped hat) looks for spiders in the grass outside of our tent.

Things I Loved About the Camping Trip
Okay, you've slogged through the bitter mire of sarcasm (or skimmed over it, I don't blame you), and now it's time for the things about the camping trip that I really did enjoy.

- I loved spending time with Weston. With work and other responsibilities, I rarely get to spend that much time with Weston. He's a great kid, and I really love hanging out with him.

- I loved watching him taking in this new experience. He didn't know what to make of all the stars in the sky. At the bonfire, he kept asking "Is that the fire, Daddy?" because we'd never hung out at a bonfire before. He kept asking where the sun went and if the sun was coming up (haha, I was asking the same thing for a while. See above list). A lot of it was so new to him, and it was fun to watch the discovery in his eyes.

- I appreciated the ride that Nate (father) and Wesley (son) gave me and Weston to the campout. This was the first father-son campout for the two of them, and it was fun to share that experience. Weston and Wesley (who is 4) get along really well, and they kept each other busy while we were setting up our tents.

- I appreciated the help that Nate and Kevin (another dad from our ward) lent in setting up the tent in the dark. Once I had puzzled out the whole inside-out thing, they helped a lot in providing light and threading poles through the tent and everything. I couldn't have done that alone.

- I loved holding Weston on my lap by the campfire.

- As much as it hindered my sleep, I kind of liked holding Weston a little bit at night. It was sweet that he wanted to be held; he's not often very cuddly.

- I liked hearing all the coyotes in the middle of the night. There must have been a dozen of them in the woods and fields around us, and it was kind of cool to hear them barking and howling to each other. I bet the suckers who were sleeping missed out on that...

- I loved going on a little walk with him in the morning and discovering about a dozen spiders in webs along the way. I hate spiders, but I loved his enthusiasm as he saw each one. "I have to tell Mommy about the fiders!"

- I loved the brief but rather confusing conversation we had on that walk...
Weston: Look, a snail!
Me: A snail? Where, buddy?
Weston: Snail? Where?
Me: What? You just said you saw a snail.
Weston: Why are you talking about snails, Daddy?
Me: *sigh*...nevermind...

Weston got his very own flashlight for the camping trip. We went through two sets of batteries in one night.

Same flashlight. New batteries.

All in all, it wasn't a terrible trip. In fact, it's probably good that I made a list of all the great things about it. We have begun a tradition that I always treasured growing up and that I hope to perpetuate in the years to come. We were safe and relatively injury-free (Weston did stumble and fall at one point, but that gave him some cool "owies" to talk about... for the next six months...), we were warm enough, and we spent time together.  On top of that, we saw some really cool spiders.

And maybe even a snail.

What They Say Is True!!

What they say is, indeed, true. The father-son campout is the GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD.

The father-son campout is something that, until now, has been completely off my radar. Then, last month, I read this blog post. And I thought to myself, wait!! I have a son! And he has a father! And we belong to that same church! And therefore, they will probably be able to attend a father-son campout, too!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!

And now... that day has come. I must admit, it's unusually quiet here. (Not a bad thing.) And I'm a teensy bit concerned that Weston might keep Tim up all night long in the tent, kicking and punching him. (We learned in Bartlesville that that's his sleep style when he's in a shared-bedding environment.) And I'm really hoping that they made it to the ranch in time to set up by daylight instead of by flashlight.

But most of all, I AM GLEEEEEEEEEFUL!!!!!! Okay, my night started with some errands - Party City and Walmart. But they were kid-free errands! And then I ate at one of my favorite restaurants - Panera! (Thank goodness Panera is in Tulsa!) And next up -- a chick flick, a Warm Delights (no sharing required), a good book, and an early bedtime. Honestly, the only thing that could possibly make this night more perfect was if I owned a Snuggie.

And maybe tomorrow morning, instead of waking up to a "MAMA!!" yell, maybe I'll wake up to the sunshine, and then go on a walk, and then eat -- and really, truly savor -- my Panera bagel with honey walnut cream cheese. Sigh.

So... THIS is what it was like! I have vague memories of this degree of quiet, peaceful independence, but it's soooooo nice to be reminded sometimes.

(Here's hopin' that Tim is surviving! I love that feller!)

Tulsa State Fair

Well, the Tulsa State Fair has come and gone. Usually we go to fairs once, but because I love it so much, I went a second time just with Weston. Wheeeeeee! STATE FAIR!!!

Here's the recap:

Things we saw:
-A seal show in a tractor-trailer
-A lumberjack competition
-About a million fluffy, blow-dried cows, pigs, and goats (many with their own homemade goat outfits)
-A pig's attempted escape
-A petting zoo with zebras and an ostrich (??)
-Lots and lots of carnies
-The "world's largest sandbox" (maybe they've never seen the beach... this is Oklahoma, after all)
-Bubbles big enough to enclose me
-A stellar exhibit of plumber's cleavage
-A little girl puking into a trashcan right next to where we were eating

Things we did:
-Rode the skyride (gondola)
-Explored the shopping
-Avoided animal droppings left and right
-Yelled at some jerkwads in the parking lot
-Rode a camel
-Purchased some knock-off Star Wars paraphernalia
-Played with a huge assortment of lego blocks
-Poked not one but two bored tortoises
-Paid $8.00 to ride the ferris wheel

Things we ate:
-Indian taco
-Two sausage sandwiches
-Hot dog
-Cheeseburger
-Fries
-Funnel cake
-Fried oreos (against my better judgement)
-Three lemonades

Things we did NOT eat:
-Huge greasy turkey leg
-Cinnamon rolls the size of my head
-Fried pickles
-Fried butter
-Krispy Kreme donut burger
-Chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick

Things we heard:
** “Look at all them kids, playin’ together. Racialism don’t come from the kids. It come from the parents.” - the friendly, snaggle-toothed, gray-hair-ponytail man, who went on to tell me that he was near perfecting his fried frozen lemonade recipe.
** “Remember when you ate a cigarette?” - sister to her younger brother, sharing our picnic table.
** “Tha’s good lemonade. I got 7.5 of ‘em in my car. I want ‘em.” - the creepy, slightly-retarded, wife-beater-tattoo-man next to me, waiting for his food.
** “Git over here!!” - pretty much everyone.
** “Actually, camels aren’t afraid of lightsabers.” - the extremely wise guy in charge of the camel rides (citing the camel's experience performing on stage with the Rockettes in NYC).
** “Where are y’all settin’ at?” “Ah, we’re jus’ wanderin’ 'round.” “Y’all watchin’ the concert?” “Yeah, but we ain’t settin’ nowhere, we’re just walkin’ ‘round.” – two dudes in the men’s room.

Things we photographed:

The Krispy Kreme donut burger stand:

Weston & Mommy on a camel:
Weston's lightsaber knock-off:

(The salesman told us that it alternated between seven different colors. It turns out that those colors are blue, green, blue, green, blue, green, and finally, flashing-blue-and-green.) :-)

Bartlesville, Ho!

When you think "Oklahoma day-trips," what comes to your mind? (Or does your mind go blank, like mine?) Haha... well, it seems like a lot of people here travel to places like Dallas, or Branson, or even Kansas City for mini-vacations. Tim and I were in the market for a mini-vacation last weekend, when our month-long plan to go camping evaporated thanks to a firm forecast of rain (which never came... argh). We had been REALLY excited about our first family camping trip, which had the potential of being either spectacular or dreadful. We did our research, and I requested off work on Saturday while Tim requested to get off early on Friday. But instead, in light of the forecasted rain, we completely changed our plans at the last minute and decided instead to have an overnight in...

EXCITING, CHARMING, HISTORIC BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA!! Wooooooohooooooo!!

Okay, I'm not even exaggerating. Bartlesville (about an hour north of Tulsa) is actually a pretty cool little town. Well, if you're a "Sooner" (aka, an Oklahoman). If you're, say, a Californian and accustomed to extreme attractions, then you might get kinda bored. But I headed out to Bartlesville with Tim, Weston, a tentative schedule, and a whole lotta gleeful optimism; after all, any adventure is a good adventure, right? And you can never go wrong with having 100% family time, free from work, errands, and chores. So anyway, I ended up photo-journaling our entire 21-hour mini-vacation there, for your pleasure.

[Editor's Note: this blog post is dedicated to Rob and Rebecca, because wouldn't you know it, but Bartlesville happens to be Rob's old stomping grounds!! Here's a tribute in your honor, Rob.]

On Friday evening, we checked in at our hotel (hahahahaha the Weston Inn):

... and then headed to dinner at Frank & Lola's, the talk of the town:
You can't beat a longhorn with a flower on its head:

I loved these huge picture windows (and hello, Random-Man-at-Bar):

We displayed our "smiles" for the camera...

... and ultimately got very full.

Then it was off to Crossroads Raceway, a sketchy little go-kart track, for some racing! (It was really fun, especially for Weston, but seriously, isn't it majorly sketch?? Maybe not so much in the daytime...):

Then of course we hit Braum's for a Mormon-style nightcap:

We spent the night in our hotel room with Weston sandwiched between me and Tim on the big king bed. We realized that Weston is much too big for those portable hotel cribs, but much too unstable to sleep in a bed by himself. So, we got to act as the barriers to keep him from rolling off, and he got to kick and punch us all night. (There's nothing like coming home to your OWN bed after a vacation, huh?) Anyway, all was well in the morning thanks to a few cartoons:

Then it was breakfast time! Our hotel offered a made-to-order complimentary breakfast, which I've never seen before. Pros: you get exactly what you want, hot and fresh. Cons: it takes 20 minutes, instead of zero minutes.

Pancakes AND eggs? Weston was in heaven:

Next up: a quick stop at Walmart, complete with a special new toy for the kid:

And then, off to the beautiful Frank Phillips home!

Frank Phillips (of Phillips 66 fame) struck it rich in Oklahoma on black gold, and then built a residence in Bartlesville for his family, plus a big ranch just outside of town. OIL!

We took a tour of the inside of the home (the kitchen was comprised of four different rooms); unfortunately, photos weren't permitted indoors. But it was lovely!! Back outside, we explored the yard:

... and played in the weeping willow (while taking pictures of Mommy's brilliant albino legs):

... and hid a little bit in the weeping willow:

... and looked at pretty flowers:

Then we made the one-minute drive from the Bartlesville suburbs into "downtown" Bartlesville for a drive-by of the Price Tower, a big tourist attraction and the only Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper in existence. Doing a drive-by was pretty lame, as there's a lot to see inside the building; however, we were on a schedule!

And then it was off to the countryside and the Keepsake Candle Factory for some super smelly-goodness. (I bought, among other things, a mulberry candle, and it is heavenly.)

There were also train cars:

... and kitties:

... and even a couple cows across the street (this is the Oklahoma countryside, after all):

And finally, the Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve! (That's Mr. Phillips' big ranch that I mentioned before!)

We ended up really enjoying Woolaroc, and we definitely could've spent much longer than a couple hours there. Native American and Western heritage aren't exactly our passions, but the museum and the grounds were amazing. Just a word of advice, though: be careful around this big fella, and do NOT make him angry:

In addition to cattle, we saw bison:

... and butterflies:

... and lots of Western/mid-western art:

... and some interesting chairs (rustic Western meets Tim Burton?):

... and more Phillips 66 memorabilia:

... and a ridiculous number of Colt firearms (Tim and Weston were excited, I was bored):

... and a playground:

... and a petting zoo:

... and of course some zebras (??):

Haha! Overall, the trip was quick and interesting and fun, and I'm so glad that we still had a mini family vacation even though we couldn't go camping. Yay Bartlesville! After Woolaroc, we grabbed lunch at Sonic and then drove home, giving me just enough time to get dressed and head to church for a training meeting, a Relief Society dinner, and a Relief Society broadcast. It was a fun-filled weekend!