This is really my favorite time of year.  Why?

• the colors
• the brisk fall weather
• the fun activities with the kids
• anticipation for the holiday season
• pumpkin desserts  (I'm in love with anything pumpkin.)
• my house gets to smell like cinnamon again

So what are my plans going to be for the fall season you ask?

• pumpkin patches
• corn mazes
• fall drives through the canyon
• bake yummy desserts
• carve pumpkins
• trick-or-treating with the kids
• halloween candy 
• my TV shows started again!

Oh I love Fall!!

This is Mack's preschool class.  He's making lots of friends.  His teacher told me today that he's doing a great job tracing his name.  What a stud!

Ok, so I was getting Mack ready for preschool today when I realized that he had Show and Tell.  So he is supposed to bring something that starts with the letter M.  As I started searching through his room and toys, I couldn't find anything that started with M. So what did I do?  That's right...I googled.  I needed ideas people!  So I googled something like "Show and Tell letter M" or something like that.  Well I found this forum of people that had lists of things that preschoolers could bring that started with the letter M. This is when I found really weird response.  Here is the exact list someone put up there:

mother
mouse
matches
mail
michigan
mobile
MOUNTAIN!
moose
chocolate moose
monkey
panda!


First of all, I was extremely disturbed by MATCHES.  What parent would think it ok to send Matches to school with their preschooler for show and tell?!  then the next one...MAIL...how boring.  "Hi new friends, my name is Mack and for show and tell I brought in some of my mom's bills that she got in the mail." BORING! the next few...MICHIGAN, and MOUNTAIN...a little hard to bring in to show and tell.  Then the most disturbing one of all...PANDA!  Does this person realize that panda does NOT in fact start with the letter M?! So sad.  This person was obviously "left behind" as a child. 

The other day, Mack got quiet.  For those of you who are parents, you understand my shear panic about what I was about to find...coloring on walls?  food pulled out of the refrigerator?  foreign objects clogging the toilet?  Not saying i've experienced any of these...(ok i am talking from experience.)  Anyway, this is what I found.

Initially, I thought he had just fallen asleep under his bed.  But upon further observation...

It's hard to see in this picture...but please note the oreo bag.  And then note the oreo in his hand...that's right.  My son fell asleep, under his bed, in the middle of eating an Oreo.  That's my boy!

This has been a big week for us.  Macy was blessed on Sunday morning.  We had so much support from people that had to wake up extra early for the long drive out to Tooele to make 9am church!  We seriously have the most amazing family.  Thank you EVERYONE!  Unfortunately, I wasnt very good at taking many pictures, but I did get a few:

Then today was Mack's very first day of Preschool.  I'm not going to lie...I was a bit nervous for him.  Not even 6 months ago he was so terrified to go to Nursery in church by himself that he would make himself throw up becuase he was crying so hard.  Can you say social anxiety?!  But this was our conversation today as we walked to preschool... (today by the way was the only day his teacher allowed parents to walk kids all the way inside.)

*We pulled up not even to the driveway yet...
Mack: Ok see ya mom.
Me: Wait...I get to walk you inside today and show you where to put your shoes. (you can't hear the desperation in my voice as I was trying to hold on as long as I could to the moment...)
*We walk inside and before I can even get his shoes off...
Mack: Ok see ya mom.
Me: Wait...can I at least have a kiss?
*A quick peck on the lips before he turned around and walked down the stairs.  Not even a second glance.

This whole thing was a lot harder on me that it was on him.  Then, when I went to pick him up two hours later and saw that he LOVED it and did amazing, I was relieved.  Here are his pictures from before school:

 Note...he has to have a backpack that big per his teachers request.  And you can't see what is on it, but you probably all guessed that it has Buzz Lightyear all over it.