Half a Dozen Hugs

Touch of CA

Okay, so neither we nor they still call CA home (except maybe in our hearts :), but having a housefull of memories to share and new ones to make (as moms!) was a real treat. My FIS writing buddy, Courtnee came to our home and brought along her husband and darling baby. They spoke at church about their work in full time campus ministry, what a blessing! Even though baby Lu was feeling under-the-weather, my kids enjoyed every blue-eyed glance and chubby-cheeked smile. Dave was amazing with the kids, giving C and I a chance to catch up, compare mom notes, check in on each others' families, and of course to reminice (there may have even been a re-discovery of a CA Christmas PJ Party where we all sang Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus :) Such a wonderful weekend!

A Walk on the Riverbottoms

Our dog needs adventure. The first time we let him adventure, the pictures were deleted from the camera (some memory card malfunction). But this time, we have documentation of his mountain dog genetic love of climbing, his lab love of water, and his husky love of . . . smiling? :)

Graysen found another little friend :)

Once they're picked . . .

It's time to carve those pumpkins! This year, Caelan was able to do her own carving with a special pumpkin carving accessory. They each drew a face on paper first, then Buck and I added the details to the squash. Everyone helped with the de-seeding. Graysen thought the guts were funny to talk about, of course, he would :)

Punkin Patch

With time running out ... the weather staying warm ... and no husband days left before the big event ... I packed up the four and we raced to the patch before it closed. Two years ago, even last year, I probably wouldn't have attempted this on my own, but the ages are so much easier now. We had fun together! Even if Bren did end up with a monster ear ache the next day . . . anyway, back to the fun!

A couple random things . . .

There always has to be a blog post about the random things that don't fit any other category or order that I've selected, here's that post :)

On the weekend of the community festival, they scrapped the horse-drawn wagons for school bus shuttles to various areas of the town. For our kids, this was a dream come true! Having never ridden a school bus before, they were delighted to ascend the steps of the big yellow Blue Bird and immediately choose seats directly behind the driver (further proving they've never ridden a school bus before :) Here are their big happy grins . . .

Humor me, more examples of why I think my kid is hilarious :) A couple are from this summer . . . Things were disappearing around our house. The first thing I noticed, the Go Go Squeeze Applesauce from the pantry. When questioned, no one would fess up, but Graysen had plenty of theories. At one point, even the dog was under suspicion (the dog, who at that time was not allowed into the kitchen). But my favorite came at about 10 PM, when a sleepy-eyed boy stumbled out of his room to go potty and said, "Mom, I think Baby Ezra take the Go Go Squeeze." That's right, blame it on the little guy who can't defend himself (or at the time, crawl :) [P.S. We later learned who the culprit was, and Graysen, the dog, and the baby were all proven innocent]

Okay, I think I may have gotten this down before, but just in case . . . we were burying the underground fence for the dog, and our neighbor girl kept telling Graysen she could be his assistant. He vehmently declared, "But I'm not a girl!" Not sister, assistant! :) And when my nephew got an email account, "He got a dress?" No, an email address! :)

But my latest favorite is Mr. GameShow. He will come out of his room holding two pairs of pajamas. "Mom, which one I am gonna pick?" . . . me: "Spiderman." . . . him: "Wah, wah, wah, waaaaaahhh." His grinning, you got it wrong sound effect. It could be the snack he picked, the shoes he left in the yard, pretty much anything, you feel proud when you get the "Ding ding ding! Correct!" :)

(The other two pics are Chauncey begging for pizza and looking tiny & Cae eating a wheat-filled carrot bar . . . she did not like it at all :)

Birthday Boys!

Born a month apart (working forwards), the boys have the monopoly on fall birthday celebrations. Throw in cousin C, and we've got shindigs worth digging!

We began with a community-wide celebration and parade for Mr. G's 4th! Cousin C also partook in the celebratory revelry that included a mile long parade! At one point, the girls jumped into the parade and got to enjoy floating along, waving, and handing out candy. What an adventure! Graysen was happy to drive the motorized monster truck around and around and around the yard. Exactly what he asked when Maga called for birthday wish list ideas. A month or so later, he especially enjoys driving it around and around and around the dog, who despite his size, is really an overgrown baby :) Oh how Graysen giggles. It practically throws Chauncey into fits of hiccups (which he still gets ALL the time!)

Fast forward a month or so, and it is nearly time for Brennen to hit the birthday candle day on the calendar. The weather has been stunningly beautiful, so trick or treat night proved a fab opportunity for my sis and her crew and my mom and her two to scoot our direction for a candy-gathering fest and early "happy to you" party.

In the midst of all this, Cae is on a full diet, wheat/gluten inclusive. She's eating pizza, cake, big soft pretzels, any cereal she wants . . . that Atkins fella would shake his head in dismay :) So far, she's been fairly unsymptomatic. Her emotions are mostly in check, though she's a touch more sassy, bossy, and dramatic than usual. Buck sees a big difference, I think she's just a little extra caught up in the excitement of being "normal." :) Bloodwork will tell us in the next couple weeks what her future dietary outlook might be.

Wow, that was a long way from "Birthday Boys!" Just letting my thoughts flow through the keyboard, I suppose. I just caught up a month in one post (well, sort of :)