We'd like to thank fall for this happy reprieve

Last week the weather here in Rochester was unseasonably delightful. We tried to take advantage and get our fill of outdoor activities. We were glad we could:

Ride bikes.

Play ball.

Slide.

Eat dirt.

Get muddy.

And get locked out of the house. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture for this one. It was just me, barefoot, locked out of both storm doors, with W1 and L1 living it up inside. Yep, that extra house key we have hidden outside is was useless on the storm doors. I eventually had to destroy the screen on the kitchen window and climb in. I used to think our house would be really easy to break into. Not anymore.

a lion and a bandito/cowboy/lion tamer/Pancho Villa

I guess W1's Halloween costume was a little ambiguous. It's just that we didn't want to let him loose among the general public carrying a whip. Which we do have, by the way. 3 of them. Lion tamer is what we were going for, but this is how he ended up:

And L1 was just as cute as all get out in his lion costume. For the 4.5 seconds before he ripped the hat off.

And getting a picture of the two of them together? I'm sorry, this is the best we could do:

W1, after a shy start, really warmed up to trick or treating and came home with a bag filled to the brim with candy for K1 and R1 to eat. Good boy! So, here's to sugar induced comas and not having to come up with Halloween costumes for a whole year!

well, you asked for it...

Based on the consensus of my informal poll, we gave W1's hair a trim. And how did we get him to remain still long enough to snap a photo? M&M's, of course:
I know, there was one dissenting vote, but I was wary of that person's judgment when it comes to hairstyle...

you haven't seen these two for a while:

Perhaps I am biased, but I think they are adorable.

And let me take an informal poll. Does W1 need a haircut?

our week summed up in numbers

3 changes of L1's outfits yesterday
1 dinner of BBQ pizza
3729 times W1 got out of bed after being tucked in
24 eye-rolls at the presidential campaign
25 apples picked at Brown's Berry Patch
1 adorable lion Halloween costume borrowed for L1
1 dinner of leftover BBQ pizza
25 minutes spent watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
6 times K1 used sleep deprivation as an excuse to have one more monster cookie
1 lawn finally mowed! (for the last time this year we hope)
12,078 Cheerios consumed by W1 and L1 after W1 dumped them on the living room floor
298 pages to go in K1's book
90 cents spent on a pumpkin for W1
1 all-nighter pulled by R1
67 times a day W1 asks to go in the garage
3 naps taken by L1 yesterday
9 boxes still to be unpacked in the basement (not really sure what is in them)
0 naps taken by W1 and L1 at the same time yesterday
2.5 minutes until K1 goes downstairs to eat another monster cookie...

*some numbers may be approximate.

Welcome back, little brother

My youngest brother is returning home today from a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He has been serving for the past two years in Adelaide, Australia.


I have enjoyed reading in his emails every week how much he loves serving the Lord, and teaching the Gospel. I'm sure his testimony has grown immensely, and his experiences as a missionary will continue to inspire and shape his life.

So, little brother, if you are reading this, we are glad you are back, and we can't wait to see you!


P.S. I hope you were able to sneak one of these into your luggage for me:


They are so darling.

our dinner conversation last night

R1 (in an effort to get W1 to finish eating): Do you want more fish?

W1: No.

R1: Do you want more potatoes?

W1: No.

R1: Do you want more corn?

W1: No.

K1: Do you want chocolate?

*I don't usually offer chocolate W1 for dinner, but I thought he wasn't listening and just automatically answering no, so I thought we could have some fun with it. Foolish.

W1 (after a long pause while he looked around the table in vain for some chocolate): choc, choc?

R1 and K1: *gasp*

K1: Uh-oh.

So, W1 topped off his dinner of fish, potatoes and corn with some chocolate. I mean, we had to reward him for saying chocolate (or his version of it) for the first time. And then of course, we used the chocolate to bribe him to finish his real dinner. (You all would have done the same, right?).

Tonight our dinner conversation will return to it's usual intellectual mix of culture, politics, and current events.

Hah.