Ha Ha Ha!

Paige requests to look at old pictures and videos pretty much every day. Today we came across this gem.

Kids Learning Stuff

I was concerned at the beginning of the school year when Owen didn't want to read to us. He was ok with us reading to him and even though he's a great reader he just never wanted to read out loud. Turns out, he does love reading! But only to himself:) His big plan for the two days off of school last week were to go to the library and get lots of books. I thought he was getting a little ahead of himself when he got five chapter books but he knew better than I did because he finished them all in record time by taking one with him wherever we went.

Reading.

More reading.

Paige is in preschool this year but only for two days a week and I have to remind myself that if I make the effort to plan learning activities she gets really into them. She still loves reading together but will sometimes choose to do her Sesame Street workbook too. Last week I took her to preschool math night. We went to three different classrooms with different activities for twenty minutes at a time. Every time we entered a new room, Paige's eyes would go straight for the play kitchen in the corner or the dolls on the shelves. She was easy to steer back to the task at hand though and loved playing the different math games.

Paige taking her turn at Preschool Math Night. I was super impressed with the technology they had the kids using in this room. 

An oldie but a goodie, Paige saw this old picture of Owen and wanted to make one too! She dotted her way through the first few letters and then realized dragging the bingo marker was much quicker!

Whooloween!

Another year at Whooloween! The weather was miserable so I don't think we got to fully enjoy the event but nobody got sick so I'm going to count it as a win! (Actually Paige wasn't feeling in tip top shape but we're talking about puking here...). We got our train ride in, had some doughnuts and hot chocolate then made our way inside for more festivities. There was a craft area where I thought a rude kid was trying to edge Owen out of his seat. I had Owen move down but the kid followed and I finally realized that he was a volunteer trying to explain the directions to Owen...oops...

Princess dresses are not meant for bundling with layers...skeleton costumes? Apparently yes. I was trying not to be in this picture but Pat waited until I peeked out from behind the tree to take it.

Time for a snack!

Doughnuts and hot warm chocolate!

Halloween Crafting

Paige and I did some crafting a couple weeks ago. The first project was a bat she needed to decorate and return to preschool (homework!). Paige wanted one side pink, the other side purple and the face to be grey because "that's what color bats are." We threw on some sequins and a bow and it was done! The second project was something I found on pinterest where you take strips of paper, lay them out horizontally and cover with a pumpkin cutout. I knew Paige wouldn't need any help so I made my own:)

A Hike

It's my favorite time of year for long hikes but it's not always easy to fit them in with the crazy Fall weather. We got one in on Friday though! Owen and Paige didn't have school and Pat came home from work early. We had a general plan to head to the nature center but when we were driving through the metroparks on our way there, the street was blocked. We decided to park our car and hike around where we got stopped. It ended up being a ton of fun and we went to some areas we wouldn't have thought of going (also some areas I wouldn't thought the kids were even capable of going!). We ended up on a "messy" bridle trail but got to see a bunch of horses and the kids impressed me with how far they walked and in such steep areas too! 

Of course I made them stop for a picture.

Apparently I was "trailing" a bit behind. Pat would want me to point out here that what you don't see in this picture is the cliff on the left.

Harvestfest!

It was Harvestfest time again over the weekend and we had fantastic weather for it. The kids get dressed up and get to trick or treat around the downtown area. We sort of realized this year that it's not as much fun as we used to think it was. It's very crowded and hard to keep track of the kids while you're going in and out of the stores. It's fun to be with friends though and this year we had a little get together afterwards. That part was way more fun! This year we also headed back out for the nighttime part of Harvestfest, something we've never done. We spent a lot of time in line for a hayride but we were with friends again so the waiting didn't seem that awful. Then we got some free popcorn and cider and headed home in the dark with another family. We went through the park with only a couple cellphones and the kid's finger-lights (from the hay maze) to guide us.

Ready to collect some candy!

Paige emerging from the haymaze. They build it low and the kids have to crawl through it, not so good to do in a dress but she made it!

Ruby and Paige held hands the whole walk home. So cute!

On the walk back to Harvestfest. Owen is not usually the one that throws off these pictures...but this will need to be cropped...Look at those cuties on the left!

We took the time to get some family pictures while we waited for the hayride

Paige took the opportunity to be cute.

Playing with finger-lights. Power up?

Walk to School!

Last Wednesday was (national?) "Walk to School Day" and although that's something we do everyday anyway we decided to make it official and participate in the school's event. Even though getting there meant driving past the school to gather with everybody...I'm glad we decided to go for it. McGruff the crime dog was there as well as some police officers who shouted out some safety tips as we made our way. Paige made sure to steer clear of McGruff but I think she was a little jealous when she saw him holding her friend's hand:) 

That's us on the right!

Listening to safety instructions.

Owen and some friends all bundled up for the walk and waiting for the journey to start!

Owen wore his "I walked to school today" sticker proudly.

A Visit!

Last weekend we went on a road trip to visit some friends from college that we don't get to see nearly as often as we would like. We drove down Saturday morning and left Sunday so it was a short trip but luckily it took no time at all for the kids to become fast friends (again! Check out these adorable pictures from two years ago.)

These boys played a lot of pinball. And when they weren't playing pinball they were running around the house in a big circle. Or eating.

Seriously. I didn't even ask them to be this cute when I took this picture. They did it themselves!

The group! (minus some sick people that couldn't make it)

More cuteness! And some serious muscles from Owen. I didn't even notice he was doing that when I took the picture!

3.5 and a Visit!

Paige's half-birthday was last week so we continued our new tradition of sprinkle pancakes for breakfast and half a card. She was slightly confused but ultimately pleased by the whole situation. She had dance class in the morning and then we met Pat and some friends who were in town for a short but very fun lunch. We got a chance to meet their daughter for the first time and Paige was extremely shy but then wouldn't stop talking about her after we left. 

Half a card? Hmm...

Visitors!

Danger

Me: "STOP! That's dangerous. Wait, let me take a picture first."

Kids have the best ideas. Owen was pulling Paige in the wagon while she sat on top of her bike. This would be a bad idea on a flat driveway but on our cracked and uneven driveway it's an even worse idea! At least they were wearing helmets?

More (Cheesy) Food!

What's with all the food? I don't know. Three out of four foods contain cheese. Sorry about that.

Garlic Cauliflower Breadsticks-Stop it, these were amazing, don't try to argue with me. They're breadsticks made with a cauliflower crust.
(Changes- I made the crust with slightly less cheese. I changed the topping considerably-very light spreading of garlic butter, and a little over half the amount of cheese it suggested.)

I made these up but I'm sure I wasn't the first one. I took some store bought sugar cookie mix and added pumpkin pie spice and then we put some pumpkin M&M's on top and baked them. Very tasty!

Remember the spaghetti squash debacle of 2007? Well, it still felt too soon to try spaghetti squash but we got one in our CSA so I couldn't avoid it any longer. I thought about why we hated it-too watery and looked for a recipe that would help us avoid that. I came out a winner! Roast and shred squash. Saute garlic in some olive oil and add squash until warmed through. Stir in some parmesan cheese. Eat. I added finely chopped kale and chicken and ate it for leftovers the next day.

Chicken Parmesan with Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce- This doesn't really need an explanation. Very good! Oven roasted tomatoes really are the best. (Changes-no shallot, substituted water for the white wine)

Evidence

Need some evidence that Owen is getting old? Here it is. 

(Full explanation-this mustache is a super awesome prize he got from his super awesome dentist)

Library Ballet

A few weeks ago I took Paige to the library for an Angelina Ballerina class and apparently never posted about it. A lot of the girls were in understated tutu dresses or were wearing a shirt with a ballerina but I totally let Paige wear her giant red tutu from Halloween. She doesn't get to wear one in dance class so I thought she should go for it! The class was taught by her dance teacher and was very cute. She read an Angelina Ballerina story and she managed to fit in more actual dancing than I thought they would.