Autumn Fun.

Unfortunately this year we had bad weather and sick children that made our usual whirlwind of activities diminish a bit, but we still managed to get some fun in.

Here we are at the Giant Corn Maze (corn maze...corn maze...).

Note the relaxed happy faces and clean clothes.  LOL

Moo showing off her muddy hands and pants.  Gravity was extra strong with her that night.  ;)

And the family triumphant!  (note the strained smiles and muddied clothes)

Word to the wise...it is best to go to corn mazes when the paths are still intact (ie:  NOT the last day they are open) and it hasn't been raining for days on end.  Heh heh...still trying to get the mud out of Moo's pants...

We had to skip Green Bluff this year, but we promised to go for the spring festival instead.

Since we weren't able to get our pumpkins in the usual manner (Green Bluff) we had to do some scrambling to find some!  We finally found three for the children, but D and I had to make do with something else...

Pumpkin night!

G1 went with a Egyptian theme (big surprise there...not), G2 and D worked on a piratey pattern, and Moo was just...Moo.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Did you see my and D's carving in that last photo?  In case you missed it--here they are!



Yes...those would be orange peppers. :D Hey, you do what you have to do and they looked totally awesome when they were lit. My favorites are the two on the right side. Hee hee. Too bad we forgot that peppers cook...and burn. Oh well...they looked more halloweeny that way. ;)

And one more picture...this is Moo after the Trunk or Treat. She went as a field mouse (along with little bunny Foo Foo and the Good Fairy) and fell asleep with whiskers and chocolate face intact.



Life is sweet when you're three.

Golden Afternoon

We had a beautiful Autumn day this week...probably our last until next year.  So I kicked the children outside and followed with a camera in hand.

We don't have any trees on our lot, but our neighbors to our West do.  Lots of them.  With lots of big leaves.  We took advantage of this and had a fun time playing in the leaves and making leaf angels.  Don't worry--G2 raked it all up into a neat pile when we were done.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Halloween!

The children were easy on me this year. They all wanted to go as ghosts. G2 even suggested that I just put a sheet over his head and cut out the eye holes. I think I can do a little better than that, kid. But thanks for being supportive. ;)

G1 actually went as a banshee, but it's all in the same spirit. (Get it? Spirit?!! Ha ha ha!!) Ahem.

G2 as Ghost number one...

Trying to be scary...and failing. Poor kid tries to be scary every year and just ends up being adorable.

The Moo as Ghost number two...

Trying to be scary...

Were you scared?  Yeah...me neither.

The three of them...notice the "ooooooohhhh"ing going on.  Cause, that's what ghosts do--right?

Aaaannnnd...one more.  Just because it's my blog and I can.

Boo!

(heh heh)

Quick Quips...

G2:  Urgle.

Mom:  What?

G2:  Urgle.

Mom:  Oh...OK.

G2:  You know what urgle means, Mom.

Mom:  No.

G2:  Me either.


Moo:  What are you making, Mom?

Mom:  I'm not making anything.

Moo:  Can I see what you're not making?


Moo walks up and hands me a pile of DVDs.
Mom: Are these movies you want to watch?!
Moo:  No, these are the movies I don't want to watch.


G1:  So we spent lunch exchanging puns and then in Advisory we were playing a game where you suggest a word and people try to figure out what the definition is, so I suggested anthropomorphism and Mrs. A knew it so I then suggested Ibu--I mean how easy is that--nobody got it.  Did I tell you that we get extra credit in math if we do the odd number problems as well as the even?  I did them all in class instead of talking.  I had a meatball sandwich for lunch...it was soooo yummy.  In band we played Jingle Bells...I LOVE Christmas music--why is that do you think?  We made maps in Social Studies--population maps, economic maps, terrain maps, political maps, religious maps, all SORTS of maps--it was crazy.  I finished reading Jane Eyre.  Tomorrow I'm getting a new book--did you know they hardly have ANY non-fiction books in the library.  I did the quiz Dad had for his class and got all the questions right--why did they have such a hard time with it, it was easy.  A lot of people liked my outfit today--the teachers especially commented on how much I like to wear dresses or skirts...do you think orange and pink look good together?  I think I'll wear my orange shirt with my pink skirt tomorrow.  Mr. S had some rebus puzzles again today.  They are awesome!  I got them all, but I had trouble with this one--where is some paper and I'll write it for you.  What does it mean when my jaw hurts?  Wait!  I think my tooth is loose.  Oh!  It came out--look!  Do you think I should put my hair up like this?  Does it look cool?  People think I'm weird--do you think I'm weird, Mom?

Mom:  Um...

G1:  Mooooooommm!  I think I'm going to have a Christmas themed birthday this year.  Don't you think that would be fun?  We could have hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies.  Did I tell you... 

Nonsense jokes...

G2 has reached the age of nonsense jokes.  You know the kind that don't make any sense but makes the teller chortle gleefully.  Yeah...those.

G2:  Knock, knock.
Mom:  Who's there?
G2:  Banana.
Mom:  Banana who?
G2:  That banana just got squished!!!!
(maniacal laughter)


G2:  Knock, knock.
Mom:  Who's there?
G2:  Banana (they always start with banana?).
Mom:  Banana who?
G2:  Now there's TWO bananas!
(more laughter)

He can tell real jokes, but his repertoire is limited--and, somehow, they just aren't as funny in the eyes of this particular 6 year old.

Moo--who adores her older brother--has gone from favored straight man to copycat extraordinaire.  Well...at least she gets the structure correct.

Moo:  Knock, knock.
Mom:  Who's there?
Moo:  Apple!
Mom:  Apple who?
Moo:  Apple on your HEAD!
(giggle, giggle)

It's going to be a looooonnng week.

Pictures!

So...my niece has decided to be a professional photographer.  I really liked the pictures she did of her sister's family so I asked her to do some of the children for me.  I couldn't be more pleased.

Here are a few of the sneak peeks she gave me!

G1 (looking far too grown up!).

G2 looking dapper.

The Moo being glamorous...

And a candid of the three of them.

I can't wait to see the rest!

Mini Golf!

If at first you don't succeed...

Try...

...and then just stick it in the hole.

And so it begins...

The end of Summer and the Autumn season is our busy time. For some reason, we just laze about all summer and then cram every thing into a few months starting with Moo's birthday. It's nuts really, but we like it.

Tuesday was Moo's third birthday.

She is now "free" and a "big girl". All trace of baby has gone. **whaaaaaaaaa!**

Since we don't have friend birthdays until the children are four, this was a quiet family birthday that started out by giving Moo her first real hair cut. She went from long and cute...
to shorter and adorable--if I say so myself.


I made a sun cake because it sounded like a good idea at the time--promise you won't submit it to cakewrecks...thanks. After duly enjoying the gift opening (including a bar of Willy Wonka), we got down to the real fun stuff.

The county fair.

We played it smart this year and interspersed rides with chicken/horse/goat/sheep/etc. watching. It made for much happier children and less grumpy parents. G2 finally got to ride the ferris wheel (much to G1's dismay--she had to go with him) and Moo surprised none of us by absolutely loving the mini roller coaster. She rode it twice with G1 and would have gone again, if it weren't time for us to go. (watch for the picture with her arms in the air...LOL! The child has no fear) However, I had one more surprise up my sleeve. A camel ride! Whoo! G1 was thrilled! (she wants to be an Egyptologist and anything that even suggests Egypt is met with great quivers of excitement!)

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

All in all...an exhaustingly fun day.

Let the merrymaking begin!

Mini Vay-Cay

Clicking on pictures will make them bigger and sharper!


This past week I was able to take my mother on a short trip to the Washington coast to visit my grandmother who is living with my aunt in Bremerton. It was a trip that we had planned in early July, but had to postpone due to Dad's passing. Since it was just a short trip (four days total), I took G1 along to have some women bonding time. Don't worry...she survived.

Since it's a fairly long drive, we stopped a few times to stretch our legs. One of the places we stopped was at Wild Horse overlooking the gorge and river. You can see how thrilled G1 was about the local wildlife.



This picture shows how she feels about being in pictures. It didn't bode well for the rest of the trip...



We were lucky enough to find a B&B that was just a few minutes from my aunt's house, so we got to be spoiled for a few days. The innkeepers were very nice and due to some family issues, we pretty much got run of the entire inn.


This is the view from the grounds...


...and this was G1's favorite part. Not that I can blame her, it was pretty wonderful.



We stopped briefly in Port Gamble after our innkeeper suggested it, but the most interesting part about it was the sign. Evidently Port Gamble was still a company town until the 90's. Call it the history geek in us, but we thought that was pretty interesting.


After Port Gamble we wound our way to Port Townsend...best known for paper bags and nearby sparkly vampires. It is also a tourist town--which is why we were there. This is the main drag that we wandered. G1 got some school accessories at various stores...including a jewelery store that had all of us wishing we had more money.


These are a few of the ships that were in the Sound that we saw from our table at lunch. I have a thing for sailing ships...so you get to see them too.



This gentleman here made it to the blog because of the fit of giggles he gave Mom and G1. He had been sitting down and when he stood up...it looked like he had laid an egg on top of the umbrella.

Well, when you are tired--everything is funny. :D




See this beautiful building. The entire top two stories are completely deserted. It looks right over the sound and the downtown proper. It makes me sad that such a beautiful piece of architecture will probably be torn down for more modern apartments. **sigh**



This building below is for sale (see second picture below). It also looks over the Sound and is right downtown. I'm thinking we could convert the one bedroom to connect to the three bedroom and have a four bedroom home. Then we could enclose the lot to the west into a garden and play area for the children and have our candy store in the store front below...

Ah yes...pipe dreams--I haz them. Anybody have any money they want to lend me on good faith?


Enjoying our $3.00 scoops of ice cream (I told you this was a tourist town!) before we collapsed in the car and headed to the B&B.



The next day we picked up my grandmother and her sister Ella (who was also visiting, by chance) and took them to nearby Paulsbo. Paulsbo is a tourist town with a Scandinavian theme. We didn't spend as much time there due to the fact that we had two ladies in their nineties and one in her seventies. Now you all know where I get my white hair. LOL!

L-R Grandma, Ella, Mom

G1 and I got really excited about this shop. SUGAR, CARBS, CHOCOLATE!! It all looked soooo yummy, but we behaved ourselves and only got a cookie each (much to G1's profound disappointment).

The next day we said good-bye to everyone and headed to the ferry to take us back to the Seattle area and on to Leavenworth. Since the ferry was late (by about 1.5 hours) we had some time to take pictures on the wharf.

I just like this one of G1.


G1 and I being silly.


Once on the ferry, we found it to be...exhilaratingly breezy.


G1 sporting a "Bride of Frankenstein" look. ;)


Traffic snarls kept us moving slow, but we finally made it to Leavenworth mid afternoon. Yay! Leavenworth is one of my favorite places in the NorthWest. This is the main shop area.

Did I mention that Leavenworth has a Bavarian town theme? Every shop (even the McDonalds) has to have a Bavarian themed exterior...if not interior. We try to make it to Leavenworth at least once a year. Yes, we like it that much.

G1 models an Egyptian hat in The Hat Shoppe.

G1's favorite store in Leavenworth...possibly the world. Kris Kringl's! It's two stories of nothing but Christmas (OK...they have a tiny section devoted to Halloween) and G1 LOVES Christmas. See the smile on her face? LOL


The sun was setting...time to say Auf Wiedersehen!



Just for kicks...two random signs that made me giggle while on this trip. Yes, I have a strange sense of humor.




It was fun, but as always--glad to be home again.

Sugar and Spice...

Isn't that a sad face...or perhaps defiant? It's kind of like the Mona Lisa--depending on which side of the face you cover up you get different stories.

This is the Moo.

She is my tomboy...my walking disaster...my dare devil...my Daphne.

There isn't a day goes by that she isn't sporting a new bruise or scratch somewhere--that's just the way she rolls.

However, she has really outdone herself this year.

Note, please, the glorious shiner below. This was caused when she tripped coming up the back (cement) steps. It lasted several weeks...during which we endured many nasty looks from strangers in stores. She was our first to receive a black eye...it was a surprise to have to try and explain to the disbelieving public.


This last week we left to go pick up some fast food for dinner. When we got home we found a white faced G1 (who was in charge), a very penitent G2 (who was responsible), a Moo in the comfy chair with her hand in ice, and our neighbors who had been called in to help. It was rather exciting--in a sick in the pit of your stomach sort of way.

Evidently G2 had accidentally slammed the door on Moo's hand. One hour and four x-rays later it was determined that the door had compressed the bone on her finger (dented it). She was sent home with a finger guard (see below) that we laughingly promised to keep on as long as possible, and a healthy dose of tylenol. By the next morning we were not surprised to see that the guard had become a thing of the past and we quickly buddy taped the finger to her ring finger. Yes--it was the middle finger that was hurt...we had to warn people not to ask her which finger got hurt. LOL



Two days later, she decided that the huge rock that she was carrying around (who knows why) was too heavy and dropped it. On her foot.

It didn't slow her down much, but it did turn a fantastic shade of green, purple, and yellow. Sigh.


We have always thought that G2 would be our child that broke bones, twisted ankles, and blacked up his eyes. After all--he is our boy...our snips and snails and all that. Who knew that he would be upstaged by his baby sister?

He did try. The week Moo got her shiner, G2 decided to run into Moo's head full tilt. It wasn't nearly as pretty.


We did, however, warn G1 that under no circumstances was she to black her eye in the following weeks.

There's only so much the stranger in the store is willing to believe...