My Nester

Norah built a nest for naptime today. I think it looks quite cozy, don't you?

My Weekend Visit Downtown

We took the kids to the Smithsonian earlier this month and caught a lot of great exhibits at the Museum of Natural History. But someone might have preferred the outside entertainment to the artifacts inside.

 

We asked a kind tourist to grab our picture before the kids took to running around the Mall like crazy folk. They fit right in with the touch football and ultimate frisbee players. We treated them to a ride on the carousel and a fancy spaghetti dinner. They enjoyed the trip and I'm sure we'll make it back to the Capitol again soon.

My Kids Have the "Christmas Can't Come Soon Enough" Wiggles

I think Toby might be highlighting his shirt as a possible gift suggestion to Santa....

We have had to explain several times to Toby that Santa will not be bringing him a DS or a Wii for Christmas. He has taken to drawing elaborate Star Wars scenes and Lego battles to illustrate his Christmas wish list. While helpful, not only for the time it keeps him occupied, it seems to me that we still need to work on the true reason for Christmas around these parts.

Norah just asks for a princess set for Christmas. When asked what a "princess set" contains she replies, "I don't know." So we decided that her main gift will come in the form of a tiny stainless steel cap that was placed on her baby molar that was infested with a huge cavity. The dentist called it a "princess hat" anyways. Merry Christmas, dear Norah, and we'll get you a real gift next year.

My Saturday Library Time

Ahhhhh....
I love times like this.

My Hike in the Backwoods

We had Toby's friend come over to play last weekend and we went exploring in the woods behind the house. There are tons of trails and it was really fun to see the kids out and enjoying nature. We went about 10 minutes in, stopped to eat a snack on a log, and then took another path home. Norah helped us along by saying "hut hut hut" as we marched up a big hill. Toby and his friend would run ahead and scout out the trail markings for us, or play-fight with stick-swords.

We'll have to head back in there for more exploring soon!

My Rainy Day Kids

Even on rainy day mornings we still try to have fun...

My Halloween Parades

The second of two Halloween parades--this one was at Toby's school on Halloween. The whole school packed out the blacktop with a parade, and parents lined the edges to snap pictures of their kids all dressed up. Norah and I walked to the school from a nearby playground and were very surprised at how many people turned out. (Coming from a school district where kids weren't allowed to dress up at school for Halloween this was a new experience for all of us.)

The first parade was a little neighborhood parade and carnival on Sunday. The kids had a really great time and came home with bags overflowing with prizes from the games. I was thankful that the weather cooperated enough for the kids to wear their costumes more than once!

My Keystone pictures

My mom and sisters in Keystone on October 8th. It was really great for us to have some quality time together for my Mom's birthday.

(And one that my dad took of me and Norah in the exact same spot on July 4th.)