Happy Halloween

Here's the little witch WORN OUT from trick-or-treating. We met some friends/neighbors for dinner and then walked home via about 8 blocks of trick-or-treating. This is a hard job in our neighborhood where many of the homes are up off the street and involve quite a bit of stair climbing. The light-up skirt on her costume came in handy on the dark sidewalks. By the time we got home she really needed some of that sugar. Her claims of not being able to go to sleep didn't last long once she hit the pillow.

Does This Look Like a Bad Witch?

CJ originally claimed she was a good witch, then a witches helper, but lately she says her costume is a bad witch. She fell in love with it at the drugstore when we were picking up some supplies for Little B's bad paw. You can't tell from the picture, but there is an under skirt with fiber optic lights that change colors. I bet she'll be the only kid at her preschool today with batteries in her costume.

Back In Business?

Well, we still have some things to learn about storing and accessing photos on this computer, but the blog seems to be back in business, including the ton of back-dated entries that just got posted. Enjoy.

Leaves Are Falling

CJ really wanted to go outside and help Mama rake. But she spent most of the time jumping in the pile and then moving an uncovered worm around on a leaf.

The best part of this job was to help Daddy stomp the leaves down in the yard waste container.

Tomatoes!

When we planted the garden, we thought we wouldn't have to buy tomatoes all summer. Turns out that we might not need to buy tomatoes this fall. We pulled all the green tomatoes off the Yellow Pear the other day and we are ripening them in a paper bag on the kitchen counter. This seems to be working well. The yellow pear were much better than the Isis Candy this year.

Jack O Lanterns

The Girls

Since this morning was dry, we decided to get outside for a little hike. Daddy had set out clothes for CJ, but when they went in to her room to get dressed, the clothes had magically changed from a brown hiking outfit to something pink and girly. CJ knows what she likes. Big B wasn't happy about staying home, but he survived. CJ enjoyed the hike and time with Little B.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we made it out to the pumpkin patch with CJ's school. She had fun listening to Farmer Don talk about veggies, viewing the animals, on the hayride to the "patch" and picking her gourd, mini pumpkin and pumpkin. We stayed for an early lunch with her classmates followed by songs, stories and cider. The most amazing part for Mama and Daddy was that CJ spent much of the visit off on her own with her friends. Much different from last year when she was clinging to us most of the time.

Where's That Table?

We haven't ordered a table for the kitchen and are in the process of moving the dining room table in for the time being, so CJ stood on the bench for her lunch today. She didn't mind.

Hiatus

It wasn't a planned month of non-blogging, but we've had a lot to do around here. With a computer virus, a cousin's out of town birthday party, a hops fest, an in town birthday party, half-marathon training, computer shopping and trying to finish the kitchen, the blog took a back seat. As soon as we get photos uploaded, we'll add the old posts.

Fancy Girl

At our house you never know who might show up in their fancy clothes, posing for the camera.

Bathtime - Then and Now

About three years ago:

Today:

Just as cute as ever...

Here's A First

CJ was the first kiddo at school today. The combination of her getting herself dressed and Mama's motivation to get to hot yoga worked. Yeah!

Sunny Afternoon

The sun brought out Big B:

Butterfly girl, posing on her house:

And Little B, showing off her toenail, I mean lack of toenail:

Near Misses

We had a rough afternoon, but all turned out well. First Mama slammed CJ's hand in the car door after gymnastics, but a little ice and she was as good as new. Then we hurried over to meet Daddy and Little B at the vet to check out her broken toenail and it turned out that when the vet tech removed the sock from her foot, the toenail had already been removed. Whew. Little B saved herself some sedation and Mama and Daddy some money and worry.

Stone Soup, Round Two

Tonight was the annual stone soup festival for CJ's school. Now that she is a big second year student, she felt so much more comfortable than she did last year. Since the kitchen isn't as together as we'd like, we just brought some cheese cubes, crackers and hummus, but those were pretty popular items with the kiddos. We did contribute tomatoes and basil from the garden for the soup.

Yessss!

Riding her bike makes her so happy!

Cotton Candy

Of course CJ was excited to go to Hood River, it is one of her favorite places. But instead of heading down to the water like we usually do, we heading to a hops fest. Did she mind? Maybe. But the cotton candy, face painting, pizza and ice cream probably helped ease the blow. And as far as the "kid-friendly" advertising for this function - there was a portable rock climbing structure and a few hula hoops thrown on the ground. Not quite what Mama had pictured.

Little B's Trauma

Here's the mangled nail that is causing her to wear her favorite cone around the house. Ouch.

Blankets, Blankets Everywhere

CJ's pretty good at keeping herself entertained most days. Today that meant creating a superhero cape with an old baby blanket and using another blanket to make a fort to hide in.