A Day to Remember

On one of the pretty fall days we had this month we decided to go for a treasure hunt. Well, treasures to Charis. She loves looking for leaves, sticks, rocks, pine cones, acorns...pretty much anything she can find outside. Near our house is a patch of woods and a small (and when I say small, I mean small) hill. So we packed up our basket and stroller, bundled up, and headed off.
This is Charis's first find. A stick. She was desperately trying to break it. I loved watching her...it reminded me of how small she is. It was such a struggle to break this twig, but she really delighted in the struggle. I glanced at her a moment later, and she told me she was watching the leaves fall. Well, "I yooking at tall yeebs tall down," translated as "I'm enjoying the visual splendor of the autumn foliage as it tumbles aimlessly through the breeze." Her daddy loves leaves, forests, land, and all things wild and secluded; she reminds me so much of him sometimes.

Lost in her sweet little thoughts...

It wasn't posed, promise. She was in her own little world, soaking up every bit of fresh air before I tortured her by making her go home and eat lunch. :)
And Atalie watched her sister tumble down the "hill" and roll in the leaves. Then Charis decided to try to teach Atalie how to roll around.

I think Charis was feeding Atalie a leaf...mmm....
I think this day will be etched in my memory for a long time.

Halloween '09

We had so much fun Saturday night. Charis was Sleeping Beauty and Atalie was a Hunny Pot from Winnie-the-Pooh. Friends joined us for pizza and then we headed out. I loved hearing Charis say, "Cheek or Cheek, please" at the houses.

Atalie was a little unsure of the whole costume thing, but took it in stride.

Notice she started the night in heels. Brian thought ahead and carried slippers in his back pocket. We could still see our house and she started limping along, claiming her feet didn't hurt. I mean, c'mon, the heels lit up when she would walk. It was almost worth the pain, I'm sure. Almost.

The girls got a little hot in their costumes. It was such a warm night! I can't remember a Halloween that we didn't freeze.

Charis was allowed to choose a treat from her basket. She chose Candy Corn (gag).

Love this one!

Later Wolverine came by for a visit. When Jason gave me a hint about his costume, all I got was, "I had to use a belt sander." What kind of crazy (and useless) clue is that?

Makes sense now.

All in all I think it was a lot of fun for everyone. Well, almost everyone. I don't think those trick-or-treaters liked it when they were told that we didn't have candy here. Um, hello? No front porch light on= no candy. Hasn't that always been the rule????

I still felt a little guilty, though.

But only a little. What happened to all that leftover candy last year? That's right. I ate it. I vowed to not make that mistake again and unfortunately the trick-or-treaters suffered. Sorry guys. Maybe next year.

Hunt Clubbin'

We had so much fun at Hunt Club this year. We met Ashley and Jason and took the kids to see the pumpkins, hay pile, and the petting zoo. Then off to Panera for dinner. Charis loved the hay...it was everywhere. Panera, however, not so much. She's still talking about the "tary paxapone" (scary saxaphone) music. Of all things not to like...

Taming My Wild Beasts

Brian's parents, Mimi and Da, brought by a bunch of costumes for the girls this past week. This is my little wild lion trying on her possible costume.



She wasn't sure what to think of the mane at first.









Practing her "roar"...no, really I think she was trying to eat the camera. The closer I got, the wider her mouth opened.

Brian got in on the fun, too. His head nearly came with the hood when he tried to get that thing off.









Appararenly Charis thought we were shooting a slow-mo shot for a kung-fu movie. Looks like Atalie is getting a roundhouse kick to the back of the head.


Why is it so hard to get a good photo of two kids at the same time?

These were my best shots of them together.

Sad.

Though Charis (again) looks like she's attempting to play whack-a-mole on Attie's head, and Atalie looks like she's using her Jedi skills to block her...

no. Actually Atalie is (again) trying to taste something. This time, Charis's costume. And Charis, well, she's just wiggling. What else is new?