Garden Gnomes

I get so excited for Halloween. I love to see you guys dressed up. I especially love when you are still little enough for me to pick out your costume myself! It's been a tradition of mine to dress you guys up and find a location that matches your costume so that I can take pictures of you looking all "authentic" and stuff. Last year was the exception, since my camera broke sometime before Halloween and I didn't get a new one until Christmas! Let me tell you, it broke my heart not to have those pictures - especially since Claire looked so adorable in her little autumn fairy costume! I will probably never recover....

Now that Logan is too old for me to dress him up (I doubt very much he'd wear the adorable monkey suit and pose in a tree holding a banana...), it's Claire's turn for a little bit of Halloween torture....I mean, fun.

With the garden taking up more and more of my time every year, this garden gnome costume was an easy decision! And how easy was it to find the right backdrop - in our own backyard!

Sweetest gnome ever!

I confess. Your hair is totally photoshopped in this picture. I loved the shot but it came out with a gigantic sunspot covering your forehead! So I made the bangs. Oh well. I still think you're cute!

And then, AND THEN when our very best ex-neighbor Valerie told me she had gotten baby Louis the matching boy version costume??? Holy crow, don't you know I almost did a backflip and demanded they come over RIGHT AWAY for a photo shoot!!

Turns out, taking pictures of two crabby toddlers isn't exactly easy, but I still think you guys looked toooooo cute together!

One day this torture will end....

But for now, you are MINE!!

muah hahahhahahahaaaaaaaa

Love,

Mama

Pink Elephants (and Witches and Super Heroes and Cowgirls) on Parade

Logan,

Your school has a Halloween parade every year and this was your first year you got to participate, since you were in the AM Kindergarten class last year. You were so excited to take your costume to school and reminded me about 100 times to pack it for you, "in a bag." As in, "Did you pack my costume, Mom? IN A BAG?" and "Don't forget to pack my costume IN A BAG on Friday." With all that reminding I couldn't forget!

Since Daddy hasn't gotten that big promotion yet, I'm still babysitting here at home. It makes it hard for me to leave during the day to do all the things I'd like to do at your school. I knew how excited you were for the parade, though, and that is why I was working behind the scenes to coordinate with Grammy so that I could run down there for a half hour while Grammy kept the babies! I wish I could do more things with you at school, but I want you to know that I'm there as much as I can be.

Here you guys come!

There's your assistant principal - or is it Batman?

I was a little nervous I wouldn't be able to find you in this sea of kiddos!

There goes our friend Carter and our neighbor Colin!

SURPRISE!!

Our neighbor Jacob.

I don't know who these little Indians - ahem - Native Americans are, but they sure were cute!!

Heee - a hot dog!

Here's our cousin Jacob!

I thought the Coke machine and the Jack in the Box guy were cute...

I'm glad I got to surprise you!

Love you so much!

Mama

He's a Coooool Rider!

Logan,

All summer long Daddy and I have been trying to get you onto your two-wheeler, but you were content to ride your scooter and Rip Rider instead. No amount of nagging or peer pressure from the other kids on the block (who are already riding two-wheelers) would convince you to try.

Then suddenly there you are, asking Dad to take you outside for bike lessons. I guess it just had to be on your own terms.

Here you are:

And there you go!!

Awesome job, my man!

Love,

Mama

Getting Cozy by the Fire

This year I finally dragged out our old firepit from our last house, gave it a coat of paint to spiff it up and stuck it outside on the patio. I loved this little fireplace, but it rusts so bad that it seems to need a can of paint every other week! I guess that's why it's been in the garage for the last 5 years! Anyway, I had forgotten how much I loved sitting around it - and now that I have a couple of kids who can enjoy it too, it makes it that much better!

(secretly, I think Daddy hates it. But at least he doesn't say it out loud...)

I love a good fire on a chilly night!

Building memories, one day at a time....

Love,

Mama

The October Garden - Bidding a Fond Farewell Until Spring

Well, last night the frost finally hit us and did away with quite a few of my plants. It's always a mixed feeling I get this time of year when that happens. A part of me is pretty sick of all the work it takes to keep a garden looking halfway tended. Then another part of me hates to see it all end! Like these Heavenly Blue morning glories - they just started blooming in the front a couple of weeks ago!

(While I was out taking these pictures, Claire was fighting with the little girl across the street for the scooter!)

The dahlias had started to bounce back from the hail storm last month and were looking very good, too. See the yellow one? Those blooms are monstrous. Just look at the size of it in relation to the window! HUGE!

Here is a close-up. A real stunner.

Here's a little harlequin dahlia that didn't do a thing all summer! Finally - one bloom!

Of course the pansies will still be troopers until the freeze.

This pineapple sage didn't do much all summer, but started really showing off when the weather got cooler!

The marigolds survived the frost. It's good that we can take baby steps into this!

This cosmos also didn't do much during the summer, but look at it go now!

But without a doubt, the Heavenly Blue morning glories were the hit of October. They are so breathtakingly beautiful! And unlike most morning glories, they stay open most of the day - all day if it's cool enough. Sad to say, they got hit pretty hard last night. We may have seen the very last of our Heavenly Blues.......until next fall.

Here paired with a pink zinnia -

WOW!

See you again next year!