Daddy's Little Helper

Anton had to fix a leaky faucet last night, and Jack was ready and willing to sit on the counter and help!

Monica at Work

Here's a photo McNellis sent me of Monica pulling nails out of boards in the Silver Marmot Grill.

Anton told her she was a little trooper.

Monica asked, "What's a trooper?"

Sunday

Today we went on our second annual fall trip to the pumpkin patch with the Rutherford family. We went to Spooner Farms, the same place as last year. I have to say this has turned into one of my favorite family traditions.

I call this the "Halloween Christmas tree:"

You would think they would let the kids go inside the giant pumpkin, but no...

It was VERY muddy thanks to this week's insane rain. On a whim we stopped on the way to the farm at Target for two pairs of kids' boots. (They had both outgrown lat year's.) WOW--- I don't think I've ever been more glad about a purchase. Monica, Jack, and Hayden spent more time splashing and squishing in the mud than they did with the farm activities.

They had this weird Narnia theme going on:

Monica and Jack REALLY wanted to ride the ponies. This was our big splurge of the day, and luckily neither of them freaked out after mounting. Jack bounced around quite a bit and spent the rest of the day telling us "the horse was bumpy!"

More mud:

Lots of animals to see:

The fake horses aren't nearly as exciting:

But the duck races are still cool:

"You mean we're all done playing in the mud?"

Aftermath... pumpkins and muddy boots outside our door:

Saturday

Saturday Anton and Monica went up to camp for the day. Monica was excited about hiking and throwing rocks on the beach, but the weather did not cooperate. Instead, they apparently worked on the SMG renovation all day. Anton reported that Monica was a real trooper, helping out any way she could: pulling nails and hauling wood. I forgot to send the camera with them to take some pictures, but I imagine some will appear soon on Mike's Blog. Meanwhile, Jack and I stayed home and hosted lunch for some of my colleagues and their kids. I snapped one cute picture of Jill with Kate and Cinder.

Rock Around the Clock

Tonight was rather crazy. First Anton and Jack built a ramp out of books to try to jump cars into a basket. Then the kids "danced" on my knees while I sang "Rock around the clock." I'm not sure why that song came to mind... we usually just sing camp songs!

Last XC meet!

Monica and her teammates finished strong in their last cross country meet of the season. And they got ribbons to boot! Thanks to Grandpa Mike and the Carter family for coming out to watch.

Parallel Kids

What a FINISH!

The day started off great. We enjoyed tailgating with a large group from camp on a beautiful October afternoon. The Parsons flag was flying proudly. Then it was time for the game. I have to say it was one of the more frustrating games to watch, and my pessimistic self took over with thoughts like "we'll never come back" and "here we are in the toilet again." But in the fourth quarter we pulled out one of the greatest comebacks I've ever seen including the ball bouncing off an Arizona player's foot and being caught by a Husky for a touchdown, plus an amazing two-point conversion.

By the time we got to the car, my ear were ringing and my throat was hoarse.

GO DAWGS!

Cross Country Meet #2

Here are some picture from last week's race. Thanks to everyone who came out to watch. Monica had another fun meet!

Say cheese

Jack's Dirt Pile

We finally took down the sandbox, which had become a source not of fun, but of sand-throwing, mud-making, and toy-hogging annoyance. Underneath was dirt, no grass. However, Jack LOVES to play in the dirt area with his cars, shovels etc. He has spent hours and hours in his dirt pile over the last few weeks. Also hours and hours in the bath. :)

Never Too Late To Graduate

Although I (finally) graduated from Seattle U last June, it took until October to finally come up with a plan for a little celebration. I wasn't so hot on walking at graduation or having a party, but then it finally hit me what would be perfect: to have dinner at the Pope's table at Buca di Beppos. First Nick got to work pouring lots of red wine (first picture) and we had a fabulous meal. Seriously I think I could eat at Beppo's at least once a week. Later my mother led us all on a trip down memory lane of "graduations we have known," bringing memorabilia from the past including "Class of 97" wrapping paper and my 1993 Villa Academy yellow mortar board. And no, it did not fit very well. Anton was especially impressed to hear that at Villa I had been named "Viking of the Year" and now claims I am an honorary Scandanavian.

Good-bye Seattle U!

Time Flies

Has it really been just a little over a month?