October Means Halloween

 

Hello Everyone,

 

How is it November already?  I know I am getting old because the weeks fly by and I talk about them with vague remembrance and fondness.  Anyway, enough rambling cause its all about the pictures.  We had a busy October with a lot of Halloween activity. 

 

First, Connor's school (where he takes afternoon science class twice a week) had a "Trunk or Treat" event.  Parents came and parked their cars in the school parking lot and decorated the trunks so the kids could walk around and trick or treat at each car.  The kids cleaned up on candy.  



 

 

Connor decided to be a white Ninja this year, and Finley was Jake the Neverland Pirate.  On the way home from Trunk or Treat, they were a little hyped up.

 

 

That Saturday night before Halloween, we had a couple families over with their kids to share dinner and just hang out.  Tanya and I broke out our costumes from last year.

 

 

Then, on that Sunday, it was time to carve pumpkins.  We want large this year with some big pumpkins.  Up to the elbow one, SIR!!!

 

 

Uncle Ian and Aunt Jenny were over with Kailey as well.  Kailey didn't know that pumpkin innards are gross, so she decided to check them out with her hand, and then mouth.

 

 

Connor was designing an alien pumpkin.  He did a great job.

 

 

Cousin Kailey could fit inside her pumpkin.  It gave new meaning to taking a "pumpkin ride" :)

 

 

And when we were done, the end result was good work.  My pumpkin is on the left.  Connor's alien pumpkin is in the middle, and Finley's Hello Kitty pumpkin is on the right.  Tanya's handywork is built in to all the pumpkins.

 

 

The day of Halloween, Connor's class had a part and Tanya was there to help make it happen.

 

 

 

We got lucky and Gramma was able to drive up for Halloween, and she brought these crazy sticky eyes that Connor and Finley really like.

 

There were some fun funny-glasses that came up from Portland too. 

 

And then, it was finally time to go trick or treating.  The kids were back in their costumes and ready to go harvest the candy crop.

 

When Connor had his hood on and get into positions, his ninja skills kicked in and he was near invisible to the untrained eye. 

 

Finley loved, and loves, her costume.  She has worn it close to 50% of the days since we bought it.

 

Trick or treating in action.  The kids collected over 7lbs of candy over Trunk or Treating and Halloween itself.

 

TRICK OR TREAT!!!

 

It was a good night.  The kids were high energy, polite to the neighbors, and good to each other.  They loved seeing all the costumes, and sharing it with Gramma.

 

Daddy, can you help me carry this thing?  It is HEAVY!!!

 

The Season is Turning

Well, you can feel the change in seasons in the air.  We had the furnace checked the other day and might actually turn it on soon.  And, when Tanya and I work out in the morning, only one window gets cracked for cold air to cool us down, not the sliding door anymore.  Of course, when you're working out at 6:15 in the morning, you might also notice that its now dark out.  Anyway, its been a great and busy summer and its high time we shared a couple pictures.  Enjoy.

Back at the beginning of August, we went to a local farm called Remlinger.  Yes, they do have some animals, but they know their market and have a bunch of other stuff too.  We all started on the diggers that are right inside the entrance.

 

 

Yes, they have carnival style rides too.  I had a bit of a "parent pride" moment watching Connor and Finley ride the Ferris wheel together.

They had spinning barrels too.  I have to honestly say that this thing almost made me toss my breakfast.  Connor didn't seem phased. . .

 

Finley was sporting some cool Cars sunglasses throughout the day.  Of course, they belong to Connor, but that's a technicality between siblings, right?

 

And of course, we had to take a break mid-trip to get the kids ice cream.  Look how big the treats are compared to the kids.  But, they diligently finished every last bite.

Now folks, you have to recognize that Tanya Scharpenberg doesn't get in many pictures, so this is a rare one on the train ride.

Connor is getting good with his funny faces.

Finley, practicing her driving skills.

Super extreme close up!!!!

A favorite over the summer has become the beach.  Both kids are comfortable in the water now, but most of the time is spent playing in the sand.

And of course, the beach is another chance to nail down a treat.

Once the summer started coming to an end, the season of lessons and routine returns.  Finley is taking gymnastics, dance, swimming, and soccer lessons.  This is her first day at dance.

And her first day at gymnastics, starting a front roll.

And on the flip side, besides also taking soccer, tennis, science, swimming, and Spanish classes, Connor also started 1/2 day kindergarten.  This is his first day.

Connor wrote his name on the sign he's holding.

And, it just so turns out that Aunt Jenny is a teacher at Connor's school.  He doesn't yet know he should be embarrassed.  Well, maybe not since Jenny is a favorite teacher for a  lot of kids and carries some "cool cred". . .

Connor takes a backpack with him every day.  He's unpacking for his first day in this picture.

And, wouldn't you believe it, we get door to door service from the school district.  The school bus that Connor takes home from kindergarten stops in front of our house.  I'm not talking down the block or a few houses down, but across the street from our front door.

There is a behavior chart in Connor class for kids that are having trouble or are behaving really well.  Connor was really worried about "advancing to WOW" every day, and we told him it was okay to stay where the kids start every day.  And then, after a couple days, he comes home with a WOW.  We may have created an achievement monster.

And most recently, Oma and Opa came out to visit from Chicago.  Roger and Cindy also surprised us and made it up for a  day from Portland, but we didn't get any pictures of them to our regret.  But, we did see a very precious and rare thing during this trip.  Opa read a book to Finley.

Finley is in love with tomatoes, so Opa went out and helped him pick a few from our tomato plant one night for dinner.

Finlay has a tendency to eat a few before they make it into the house.

 

 

The kids also had a blast with Oma.  I believe Connor got in the habit of getting her out of bed every morning to come downstairs and watch a few kids shows together.  I'm not sure, but I'm thinking they also did some of their colluding during those morning hours, especially about how to get an ice cream snack each day :)

 

Summer Insanity

Hello Everyone,

Summer is flying bye and I realize we just haven't done a good job of sharing it all.  And, things haven't slowed down yet, so I'm taking this chance to share a little and we'll hope to catch up again before it starts snowing again :)

Since the last post in May, lots has happened.  June was the month of Father's Day, Connor birthday, and Sunriver.  July saw me go to Toronto for a week, a successful summit run on Mt Adams, and recently Connor's first overnight camping trip. 

For Connor's birthday, it was an all out event again.  It turns out that Tina and Bob were in town, so they got to hang out as well.  And, to top it off, Gramma and Grampa came up from Portland.

As usual, Gramma got some quality time with the grandkids, Finley and Wyatt in this picture.

Tina and Wyatt were at the party, sporting some great smiles and fun attitudes.  But, you have to question Aunt Tina's outfit . . .  Where is the eye patch? 

Uncle Ian and Kailey were there to party too!  Yet again, it seems like the older generation didn't get the dress code memo . . .

There was a "walk the plank" game in the back room, and Finley was there to rock it!  Does she look happy to you?

 In the living room, there was a big treasure map on the wall that the kids loved.  Did I mention that there were ~20 kids at the party, and we armed them all with foam swords?

And then there was the cake.  It fed everyone at the party with room to spare, tasted great, and had candles coming out the side that looked like cannons (not to be confused with the fondant cannons sitting on the ship's deck).  Just remembering it I want another piece.

And then, just this past weekend, I had a chance to take Connor on his first overnight camping trip.  We went with a father/son set of our friends to a mountain lake.  Connor had a great time, carrying his new backpack that he'll use when he starts kindergarten.

Once we made it to the campground, we dropped our stuff and then head out to another lake a little farther out.  The kids got up on the log bridge at the farthest end as we appreciated the beautiful surroundings.

Finally, we made dinner Saturday night at this platform on the lake.  Nothing like good food, the great outdoors, and awesome company. . .