this little guy is 15...

dang, he was cute then! he's still cute now...

not just from the front, but even from the side...

and, dare i say, the back...

but none of those are his best side. 

his best "side" is his heart. 

this teenager is thoughtful, respectful, 

responsible, and kind. 

not perfect, but perfectly delightful.

then and now. outside and inside, i love this kid. 

he holds my heart in his hands...

the hands that he uses to shave. 

the hands that can now turn a steering wheel. 

his 15 year old "man hands". 

and man, do i feel old.

happy birthday, tatertot.

and on this day, we remember my mommy too
since she and tate were birthday buddies...

we miss you, gunga.

you're not THAT old

not just on his birthday, but everyday, i love this man...

 and they love him...

we also respect him...

and enjoy him...

we appreciate his tenderness, his strength, his patience, his passion, his steadfastness, his contentedness, 

his work ethic, his brains, his H-O-T and his "little bit of weird"...

happy birthday, baby.

just when i think i couldn't love you anymore,

i do.

florida is messin' with my head

it's not really florida's fault. i'm plenty messed up in the head all by my lonesome. but this climate thing is just so weird to me. it's like i don't understand the passage of time because i no longer have the crisp fall weather. now by florida standards, it is definitely cooling down. and i am NOT complaining. it's beautiful here. like, every day. and i kind of dig it.

but i still have no concept that thanksgiving is just around the corner. i just can't wrap my head around it. and we are in the thick of birthday season (we have three in november) and i have no plans and no presents. that is NOT like me. when it comes to celebrating, that's the only kind of planning i know how to do! i am just now feeling like it is fall, but "fall" is actually on the outs and "winter" in on the way.

though it just now finally feels like fall, fall has been in full swing for quite some time. fall sports have come and gone...

fall decorations are almost ready to be replaced by christmas ones...

(my pinteresty attempt at painting a pumpkin to match my decor. slightly weird.)

fall festivals are all the rage down here...

though there was something strange about wearing shorts and seeing these guys wandering through the parking lot...

i may be a bit messed up in the head by experiencing fall in a totally new place, but i am feeling a peace that i haven't since we moved here. and that feels even better than the beautiful weather!

spooky.

halloween was "cold" this year. at least that's what the thin-blooded folks were saying around here. but this nebraska girl has been waiting for fall. i have been whining that it doesn't feel like fall in florida for 2 months. and i think it is beautiful weather now. sunny days with a slight breeze. crisp chilly nights. it's all relative. what was a "cold" halloween here (63 degrees), would have been a perfectly warm and delightful halloween in nebraska.

i was glad it was cooler to help it feel normal. though it still wasn't quite normal to go trick or treating on a landscape with palm trees and this guy sunning himself in my neighborhood on halloween afternoon...

how's that for a fright? it was actually my first gator sighting in the time we've lived here and i was kind of excited. apparently, as the weather gets "cold" they come up out of the water to warm up. this is something i need to get used to, even though it's not quite as delightful to me as the weather change.

also delightful to me is this crazy holiday, halloween. i don't like the evil parts. and i don't like the nasty candy that my children should not be eating (dots, anything sour, pretty much all of it except almond joys). BUT i love that this one night most of the neighborhood is out. here is the neighborhood gang...

i love these kids. especially my very own "gang members"...

Rapunzel...

(we had some wig issues)

Harry Potter...

Woopy Cushion...

 And Big Baby...

(making good use of his christmas footies)

i love these guys and it warms my heart to know they love each other too...

this is lulu telling tate "you're my mr. flynn"...

it was a good halloween. we were missing our traditions, especially the ones with our family. but we still have each other. and there are new traditions waiting to be made.

like rapunzel throwing up in the night. that's definitely not a treat.