Halloweeny Fun

We have LOTS of dress-up clothes, especially since a couple months back, Aunt Tia donated her old costumes to the bunch we already had. So Halloween really offered so many choices for the girls. Denver really stuck with her initial desire to be a mouse. But Willa wanted to be something different every time we talked about it. Their school had a mini-parade, so for that she was "Fairy-rina." A combination of a ballerina and a fairy.

Side Note: Dear Manufacturers: I do not want a costume that will make my sweet innocent darling daughters look anything close to sexy, hooker-like, or show way more skin than would be apporpriate at the beach. I want my kids to look like KIDS! OK, I'm ready to move on now.

For trick-or-treating we convinced Willa to be a crayon, our personal favorite. We waited a little too long to get the face paint(turns out 4pm on Halloween is a tought ime to find face paint in any store) so I just used water and eye-shadow and I think it worked for our purposes well enough. Ady was a Ladybug. She was going to be a pea in a pea pod, but my little Fatty was about to bust the seams apart, so we had to use the 12 month outfit instead.

Denver and Willa were good for about 3 streets this year, up 1/2 a street from last year. Even so, their pumpkins were full and both complained their feet were tired and their pumpkins were much too heavy to carry themselves by the time we finished. We met up with some friends for the big event and Denver's little friend, Annika even had a light up dress. I was quite impressed and wonder if it comes in my size:)

So now we must endure the repetative question of, "Mommy, can I have just one more piece of candy??...PLEASEEE!!!!" I have 3 schools of thought. 1. I can dole out small bits here and there, after meals and such and extend the candy supply till Christmas. The downside is I have to listen to the candy question from now until Christmas. or 2. I can let them eat it in unhealthy amounts so that it goes away faster! or 3. I can do #1 and then at night, Mommy and Daddy can help work on the supply for them. Besides, that much candy is really not good for them!

Fun Fall Pics

Notice Denver still has no hips to hold her pants up:)
Leaf Angels!

Fall Birthdays

Since getting together for individual birthdays would tax everyone's schedule to the max, our family gets together 4 times a year for Birthdays. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Altogether there were 5 Birthdays and one Anniversary to be celebrated. Denver being one of them as she turns 7 this November. Also my brother Kurt, my Uncle Paul, my nephew and Godson Tyler, my niece Mikayla(Happy Sweet 16!) and also my Parents Anniversary. Here is our gang, minus Wayne's folks who were there but had to leave before the photo was taken:(

Family is Good.

Garden Factory

Last Friday we took Possum to a one of our local nurseries for a doggie Halloween party. So many pups in costume. Possum was a Hula Dog, although the skirt really wouldn't even stay long enough for a picture. The girls had a blast because they got to dress up in costumes and Possum got a little stimulation. Wayne and I got to feel a little less guilt over our dog, who does not get nearly enough exercise during v-ball season. They had a very clever Bobbing for Weiners, which Possum became VERY good at VERY fast!

I have one more week left to my season. Then comes Post season, which is another ride altogether. I have only had one other year when I felt at the end of the season, like I would like it to go a bit longer. Crazy enough, I would like a little more time. I feel I could get them just that much better if only there were time...Oh I will be plenty glad to have a spare moment to breathe and I know my family will be glad to have me back to my regular duties. But I love this sport. The more I coach it the more I love it. The more I wish I could find a competitive way to keep playing. On the chance days when I am needed to fill a drill at the varsity practice I am always struck at how cathartic it feels to play, not just stand around like gym class ball, but really play with intensity. It's hard to feel more alive than when you are doing something you absolutely love that requires so much effort from you physically and mentally. That, and I think I've mentioned it before, but Nazareth has GREAT kids. They are the kind of girls I hope my kids look up to.

(Sigh) Volleyball is dreamy.

What Tree Is This?

I have long admired some of the trees around our neighborhood. Every Fall I just Fall in love with the way this particular tree changes its' leaves. But I have no idea what tree this is. I took the picture and some fallen leaves into our local Garden Center but to no avail. For you locals, there are many of them planted along the street on Pamona. So if anyone out there can give me a clue, that'd be great! I did try knocking on a few doors to see if maybe the owners knew, but no one was home and I started to feel a bit like a stalker. So if anyone has any suggestions...

V-Ball Season in Full Swing

Volleyball Season has descended upon us like a tornado. I love coaching and like my team very much, but I will be the first to admit that it is crazy in our house for the 12 weeks of season. I had them over for a pizza/t-shirt decorating extravaganza last Friday. Combined with Adalyn's recent sleeping habits and an increase in hours at work, I am one tired puppy. I could really use a Rumba, one of those automatic vacuum cleaners but I think the massive amounts of dog hair would really bog it down.

No teeth on my baby yet, but I can't figure out the magic sleep schedule that will help get me more than 3-4 hours of sleep in a row. We are just so busy as a family that trying to get her into a schedule is more difficult than I would have imagined. But we muddle through. By this time next month we will be in playoffs with Varsity and hopefully doing well. And after that, I will have more time to figure out how to work this whole 3 kid thing.

Still, we try to have fun despite our crazy schedule. We've been hitting a local Farmers' Market regularly and last week we found the largest head of broccoli I've ever seen. After that picture I cut it down to a more manageable size and nearly cut my middle finger off. Did I mention how tired I was?

And we met a couple friends to go on a short little hayride on one of our fabulous Fall days. I love Fall and it always seem to fly by me with lightening speed. My tomatoes in my garden took a while to get going but really produced well. And it turns out, that since I am the only one who likes fresh tomatoes in our house, 7 plants was a few too many. Our co-workers got to enjoy much of our harvest as well as some family. Still there were many tomatoes I could not get to and I think they will reseed next year and try to invade the house!

Changing Pad Chuckles

Why are babies so happy on the changing pad? I remember with each one that that's where they always giggled and cooed and just thought they were the funniest things ever! This one has sound affects that I should try and get on video. It's like an elongated growl, which she tried to make all through dinner the other night. Not sure, but she may have her first little tooth poking through. She slept awful this week and last night finally slept through the night again. But I'm almost certain I felt something poking my finger when I checked. If only she'd stop wriggling so much!