Halloween 2009

The kiddos enjoyed going out for Halloween tonight. There were several ghosts and gobblins around the neighborhood but not many on our street. Christopher and Clara went up to where most of the action was and visited 15 or so homes while Sabrina stayed behind with Granny & Grandpops for a quick nap. This was the first time in a long while when both Adam and Annette got to go trick or treating with the kids. In fact, this may have been Clara's first real experience with it. Christopher was 'Dash' from the Incredibles, Clara was Tigger and Sabrina was the bumblebee which can also be found here and in the last photo below.





(Photo below is from October 2007 featuring Clara in the Bumblebee Costume.)

Caption contest

(Photo below was taken on October 4 during a very random event in the basement.)

It's been a while since we've done this ... What captions come to mind for the photograph below?

"Dad, why do you have that stupid camera out again?"
"Wonder how I'm ever going to get up there?"
"I know this walker chair has reverse on it somewhere..."

Pump-in Carving 2009

We're calling this "pump-in" carving because up until recently, that's how Clara pronounced the word "pumpkin." We're kind of sad to see her with the correct pronunciation but we know she'll score better on her LSAT if she learns this lesson now.

Anyway, this past Sunday night we partook in the annual Pumpkin Carving ritual over at Howardland. A good time was had by all especially with LaRosa's pizza, Bengals on the TV (trouncing the BEARS!), and most importantly... no severed fingers this year. Come on people ... it's Halloween afterall.

Here are a few photos from the day.




Clara really enjoyed scooping out the seeds!

Update on picture day clothing

Clara has changed get clothes willingly. Still working on Christopher.

Sent from my iPhone

Picture Day!

We are having some friends over today to do a photo swap. We're going
to take their photo and they'll be taking ours. To prep for this,
Clara and Christopher picked out their own outfits. I don't know if
Christopher chose to wear this tie on his own or not. The bad news is
neither of the kiddos are supposed to be wearing what they have on in
the photo below. We'll post the result of the shoot on our blog
later. Look for it in November.

Clara and her books

Clara decided to go through all of her books last week. She sat in her
big red chair right in front of the book shelf and after looking thru
a book she tossed it back.

First Campout

Adam and Christopher spent the night at Lake Kincaid State Park last weekend. Among the highlights were S'mores and Hot Chocolate. Christopher had a pretty good night of sleep except, "The trains and the owls [which were actually crows] kept waking me up."

Takes One to Know One

(Annette here) Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am so proud! While hanging out in the livestock tent at Pendleton County Woolfest this past weekend, we discovered proof that Adam's practice with his turkey call and instructional CDs is paying off... Maybe he'll bring home the big Tom this fall. Turkey season opens on Oct. 24 for those of you playing along.

Apple Festival

Went to the Apple Festival on Saturday in Batesville. No photos here
of apples but rather the kids playing at the park where the festival
took place. We ate pulled pork from a Catholic Womens organization
and apple cobbler from Boy Scout Troop 634. Seriously. Haven't had
cobbler this good since Ted Kleier was making it back in my scouting
days.

Christopher is usually the reluctant one at playgrounds. Generally
he's worried about falling but yesterday he took the bull by the horns
and charged across this chain obstacle thing. We were very proud.

Happy Birthday

I snapped this photo of Annette shortly before the two bigger kids blew
out the candle. It was cute to watch her compete with them. We just
finished the cake tonight - 2 days later.

First Day of School

I'm sure many of you have been waiting for this... here are a few photos from Christopher's first day of school. Pre-school that is. He was brave and seemed to enjoy the classroom. He's not sure why he's still going the next week, but we're gettin' into the groove.

Real Deal

One of us was more excited than the other to be in this photo ... I'll give you two guesses as to who that was (but you'll only need one ...)



On Saturday, Sept 19, the 501st made a guest appearance for a Star Wars event at our local library. Christopher, Clara and the gang grabbed their lightsabers and went for the fun. We missed the lightsaber duel at the beginning, but the storm troopers made it an awesome experience. Seriously - these guys are cool.

Night time reading

Wanted to share with you an image of a normal evening around the house. Recently Christopher has taken an interest in chapter books ... that is, books without photos. Here he and Clara are listening to one of his favorites: "The Magic Tree House Books." Clara waits patiently (most of the time) for her turn.

More from Oktoberfest

As promised, below are two photos from the weekend. Clara on her
second ride which she thoroughly enjoyed and Sabrina asleep on my
shoulder. This is the only time I can remember when she has done this
so I asked Annette to snap a picture.

St. Tim's Oktoberfest

(Adam here...) Took this quick photo on Saturday night at St. Tim's
Oktoberfest. This was the only ride where both of the older kids rode
together. I'm not sure what either of them were thinking when this
was snapped, but I'm pretty sure Clara was excited and Christopher was
only along for the ride because of his sister. There are two other
photos to share - one of Sabrina asleep on my shoulder and another of
Clara on another ride by herself. Christopher did go into some kind
of preschool-er maze thing but didn't make it all the way through and
abandoned ship.

Then and Now

Now ...



and Then.

(Some things just don't change much...)

Two photos

Annette and Sabrina were learning comminication together sometime last week. Sabrina does this silly thing with her mouth and Annette tried
to mimic it. Nothing profound, just good old plain fun.

(By the way, is mimic spelled correctly?)

Morning at the Howards

From last Saturday morning...

Sabrina doing her morning exercises...


Christopher doing what he enjoys - blowing bubbles with his straw...


And Clara reaching for the bran.

Geocaching #2

Here is kiddo #3 as promised.

Geocaching

Here is a photo of the older two kids rifling thru some geocache loot.
We went to a local park and searched for this treasure. Look for a
photo of kiddo #3 in a future post.