halloween!

Unfortunately, the Puffy Dog changed his mind and didn't want to wear his costume for trick-or-treating. However, the Rainbow Fairy and Batman suited up on Friday for downtown and Sunday for our neighborhood candy gathering. They had a blast and gathered a bunch of sugary loot.

caught up

My beautiful and silly boys are having a great fall. Both are thriving at school (and "school").

Owen has taken to kindergarten- he loves his teacher and his friends, and loves learning each day. Last week they had lessons on magnets and it really sparked his interest- we heard all about the experiments they performed and what magnets can do. Each morning when I take him in, he reads me the Daily News- a worksheet that has 3-4 sentences on what the class did the day before. And Owen is really able to read it- almost all the words he knows or sounds out. It is so fun to watch him get confidence in his abilities and and we are excited for the adventure in front of him.

Ben is the gentle giant at his day care class. He brings his little books with him most days- right now his favorites are a Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck book he calls "mouse-duck" and a Peter Rabbit book he calls "rabbit". He loves all the art projects they work on. When he gets home his favorite things are Borca (Richard thinks it Porca) the Orca toy and his blankie. He's learning his colors- he's nailed pink, orange, purple and brown- and has grown 3 inches in the past 3 months.

pumpkins for my pumpkins

The Willamette Valley had a rough pumpkin year, and our usual pumpkin patch didn't even open this year (2009, 2008, 2007). We explored two new places- Muddy Creek with a HUGE corn maze and Davis Family Farm, with the traditional hay ride to a mostly empty pumpkin patch. Both were fun. Richard and Owen attempted to tackle the corn maze at Muddy Creek. Ben and Owen both had a great time picking out their pumpkins at Davis Farm. The sunshine stayed long enough for us to have a non-muddy trip this year. Owen's kindergarten class will be going back tomorrow in the middle of a predicted rain- I suspect we should send some dry clothes along.

kristi's crew!

The beginning of October marked a visit by Kristi, Jackson and Henry from Washington. All involved were very excited for the much over-due weekend. We had a blast at Avery Park (Kristi has the photographic evidence), at the bouncy place, romping around the house, and learning some yoga moves. We had beautiful weather all weekend. We miss getting to be involved in the boy's day to day lives but feel blessed to still be within driving distance and for the boys to think of each other as friends.

neighbors

I have to say, the new neighbors are real turkeys.

halloween preview

Overwhelming cuteness.

a decade!

Owen and Ben's parents hit a milestone of their own at the end of September. We celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Richard and I alternate years on who plans the anniversary events- I get even years so this one was mine. We spent 2 nights at a beautiful inn in Ashland, Oregon, home of the summer-long Shakespeare Festival. We had a celebration anniversary/birthday dinner at the inn followed by Twelfth Night at the outdoor Elizabethan theater. The next day we visited a spa and a park, and found time for a Scrabble tournament. We drove back home in time to have my birthday party with the boys and the Muhly's.

Where were the boys while we were off in Southern Oregon? Susie and Todd came over with Laurel to stay with them, and Laurel and Owen had their first slumber party on Friday night. All reports are that the boys did great, and we'll choose to believe them!!

end of summer

We had some beautiful weekends in September, so despite school starting we still got to have some play time outside. Even when it rained, we put on our rain gear like good Oregonians and headed back out. Plus, cloudy skies make for some beautiful sunrises out our back window.

corn maze

We joined Russa and Christian's family for a long Labor Day weekend at The Resort at the Mountain, on Mt. Hood. They have a daughter Nicole who is old enough to be interested in "watching" Ben, and a son Andrew, who's been Owen's friend since Monroe Center. Russa scored some great room rates, which included lots of tickets to their blues and beer festival. We all enjoyed the festival- sampling yummy beers while the boys terrorized the putting green. After a brunch we drove the fruit loop- picking some fresh veggies, apples and peaches and enjoying beautiful Oregon September weather. A very fun trip with good friends and a great way to cap off the summer.

inspired for august

I missed August in the blog- the summer was packed with fun and school came too quickly. Heather just updated her blog last night, having got stuck at the same time as me this summer- at our camping trip to the coast. I'm inspired to get back up to date, so here is August!

Starting with Ben tackling his big brother,

playing out in the front yard,

and celebrating Richard's birthday with a stylish new toilet seat:

We joined the Stokes' on their camping trip to the Oregon coast. We left behind 100 degree weather in Corvallis for 60-70 degrees on the coast with some peeks of sunshine. The boys had a blast playing on the beach with Sylvie, riding bikes around the campground, and eating outside. We also took a trip to some beautiful tide pools, saw a lighthouse, and went out for a few meals- we aren't exactly hard core campers! Ben did better this year then last- he actually slept a few hours on our chests the first night, and a few hours more the next night. Heather and Pete provided us with hot coffee in the morning. Owen did wonderful in the tent- he seems to sleep even sounder outside then in his bed.

My camera battery died at about hour 3 of our trip, so here are the last few pictures and some phone pictures I got. The rest of the trip is immortalized on Heather's blog, with much more beautiful photography than I would have achieved anyway- so follow this link to see our beautiful kiddos playing on the beach!

National Dress-like-a-Pirate Day? No- Owen dressed like someone from a fairy tale for one of his last weeks in Pre-K at Lancaster Center. He choose Captain Hook (and is currently very much into pirates- he also likes to talk like a pirate- quite cute!).

Ben, Richard and I at a duck pond in Albany. Ben still loves ducks.

Finally, ending the month where it began, with Ben loving his brother the best way he knows how!