October 2015- Threefold | The Harris Family Blog

Three important things happen in October.

(Truth be told, I want to say just one important thing, but that would be incredibly selfish of me).

Before we discuss MY birthday season, I first have a few Reese-related items to document. First up was the day that I had been dreading for a LONG time.

“Mom, when can you teach me to ride my bicycle?”

(She’d been asking for a few months, but thankfully I was able to put her off with the broken arm and all).

“I think that’s a good job for your dad.”

(As it was coming out of my mouth, I knew it was a terrible idea for many reasons. #1. Reese is the hugest pansy I know, and the inevitable skinned knee was going to cause a meltdown of EPIC proportions. Like the neighbors would hear the crying and wailing and think something awful had happened. #2. John is not the most patient teacher in the world when it comes to….well, anything. This was a recipe for disaster. When he taught Jackson, there were several sessions spent running along behind, a few crashes into the ditch, but eventual success. I know some of you are thinking….”why don’t you just teach her?” I’ll tell you why. I potty train them. This is HIS job.)

Anyway…..we’d put her off long enough and so one Sunday afternoon I prepared the first aid kit, drank a few shots of Fireball for my nerves, and got my camera ready. John took her training wheels off and she hopped on. And off she went. That was it. No running behind, no falls, just riding….like the wind.

Secondly for Reese, we did not manage to get her requested birthday party squeezed into the month of September where it belongs, so we held a very pink, very frilly American Girl party in early October. Everyone brought their dolls and we had a fashion show, followed by lunch and dessert, followed by hours of doll playtime. She was in heaven….and the little person enjoyed being part of the day too.

And, now the event we’ve all been waiting for…..MY BIRTHDAY. Wait….just me?

Off to Vail we went to celebrate the 13th anniversary of my 29th birthday. Fall in the Vail valley is really one of my favorite times, as is spring, summer and winter. I used to go there with my Mom often, and even lived there for a while in my pre-family days. It’s just my special place…..especially when you have a suite at the Solaris!!! My hubby rocks.

We were also lucky enough to have some of our favorite people join us for the weekend. Reese and Libby are little peas in a pod. They don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like, but when they do it’s a constant stream of dolls, giggles, and make-believe. Mary Elizabeth was listening to them while they were at the pool, and their conversation was about their husbands watching the kids while they went swimming. See what I mean about make believe?

Anyway, we had absolutely gorgeous weather for our weekend, enjoyed a nice mix of family and adult-only activities, and ate and drank to our heart’s content, which anyone who knows me well knows is all I ever want 🙂

One final birthday bonus was having dinner with this lady, we share a birthday. She is an old (meaning long time ago…geez) friend who I haven’t seen in 20+ years. She is exactly the same as I remember her and we were able to pick up right where we left off.

So, remember about 1000 words ago when I said there were THREE important events that happen in October? Well, we’ve covered exactly one. Next up is another birthday, but this time for a certain young man who was turning NINE!!!! I cannot believe I have a little person who is almost in double digits; someone please stop the hands of time. Jackson chose to celebrate his birthday dinner at The Melting Pot this year, which is always approved by Mom since there’s LOTS OF CHEESE AND WINE!!!

But, this isn’t about me…..

The young man’s birthday falls exactly a week before Halloween, and luckily enough both events fell on a Saturday this year. So, he was treated to TWO parties. First, after a quick birthday breakfast of cinnamon roll waffles, we took some of his closest friends for a day of bowling, laser tag, and arcade games at The Summit.

You know what I learned about a party for a bunch of 9-year-olds versus the youngins’? These kids can EAT. We had pizza, and soda (gasp!), and cake and various other items, and they were STILL HUNGRY. Thankfully, Uncle Eric, Aunt Jodi, Tyler and Allie were there too and had ordered some french fries….otherwise I might have starved. If I attempted to get near the pizza, I would surely lose an arm. For his 13th birthday, I am taking them all to COSTCO for the samples and bulk items.

One week and one round of stomach flu and bronchitis later, Halloween arrived. The weather was unseasonably warm again this year, which was great given Reese’s (and my) costume.

(John and Malory and I had a farm theme….this picture is missing our Onion)

Because we were going to be on vacation over Christmas this year, we decided to move the annual Harris Holiday Party up a couple of months. There were some AWESOME costumes (Cousin Eddie!!, Pulp Fiction, etc.), but I was either too busy trick-or-treating or trick-or-drinking to snap any photos. I did manage to get my hands on this picture of me and my neighborhood faves. Each spouse had a coordinating costume, but they were busy….(see above drinking statement).

Lastly for the month, I want to document the cute mummy snacks I made for the party because I was shamed by my group of sugar-hating, fun-hating, health fanatic girlfriends. Yes, they are Twinkies and yes they were delicious. Take that!!