Happy Halloween!

Our family really got into the spirit of the holiday this year! We have been very busy with recent Halloween activities. Tonight was beautiful, perfect for treking round the neighborhood and making a few stops at friends' houses. Eva poses on our front porch with our pumpkins. This is the first Halloween that we have lived in the country. Although I left a big bowl of candy and a "help yourself" sign, it doesn't appear that very many people visited our house. We did have one neighborhood family visit before we took off for our evening.
On Thursday night, Grandma and Grandpa came over for some pumpkin carving fun. Grandpa and Dad proved to be very artistic...and efficient. They had these carved in no time while Grandma and I played with Eva, who was wearing out from the week's activities. (The Hollingsworth pumpkin pictured at the bottom is a ceramic one made for us by my aunt.)

Eva and Les pose with our big pumpkin, purchased from the Amish at Farmer's Market. Eva was hesitant to reach her hand into the pumpkins, but loved to yell "gooey" as we cleaned them out.

On Wednesday, the Children's Center hosted a "Spooky Supper." After the potluck, we visited Dobson Hall where the college students put on a bash and trick-or-treating for the little ones. Eva is pictured here with her friend Emelia.

Crazy for Uncle Ryan

Lately, Eva shows an affection for young men. She often talks at home about "Unko Wyan" and Mr. Aaron (her teacher in the 2-year-old room.) She had a riot with Ryan during our trip. Every morning she ran into his room and acted as his own personal alarm clock. While we worked to clean and organize his new place, she would often tag along after him, being his little buddy. Hitching a ride during our hike. She is wearing her WP fleece, a gift from him last year.
Notice the hands in the pocket...she was quick to imitate his every move.

Enjoying a gourmet McDonald's meal on our hotel room floor. Ryan and Eva dined and swam while Les and I went out for a grown-up evening with his coworkers. We had dinner at Maggiano's in downtown Denver. We were big fans but felt that one dish alone was enough to feed an entire family. Those Italians know how to eat!

Colorado Escape

Our family enjoyed a trip to Colorado last week. The timing couldn't have been better! Les had a conference to attend in Denver and Eva and I tagged along. Ryan had recently bought a condo in Winter Park. While Les worked, Eva and I stole away for a couple of days to visit him in his new place. We had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures (unfortunately they loaded in reverse, so we'll work backward...) Eva, Ryan, and I enjoyed a hike on a local trail. I was curious when I saw boxes that resembled file cabinets along the trail. Ryan filled us in. They were really secure trash cans so the bears can't get in them. Bears??!!

Sunday was our first full day in Denver. The Denver marathon was also going on. We enjoyed walking around the downtown and cheering for the 3 Luther runners who entered the event. In this picture, Eva shows Ronald she can spin plates with the best of them!

We landed in Denver on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Shack right across the street from our hotel. Les and I split the "Big Bucket of Boat Trash." We had a lot of fun with the lobster claws.

Eva loved the restaurant. It was equipped with colors, balloons, and lobster....she loved playing with the claw and, later eating it.

All smiles on the plane. Les and I actually flew out of different airports. (His flight was booked through work and I found cheaper fairs at another nearby airport.) I was a bit nervous about traveling with my "busy" two-year old at 28 weeks pregnant. But, my fears were for nothing. Traveling was very easy and Eva enjoyed the airport, plane, train, and taxi that we took on our journey.

The Pacy Fairy

Yes, Eva is a pacifier user. For the longest while, her need for the pacifier was limited to naps and bedtime. She had a tough time while Les was gone this summer. It was very apparent she missed her daddy. Suddenly comfort objects like her blanket and pacy were used to calm and comfort herself. While this has improved, she is more dependent on her pacifier than we liked.

Last night we started to tell her about the "Pacy Fairy:" a fairy who comes to the house and takes pacifiers from the big kids who no longer need them and gives them to babies. (Yes, already we are telling our child made-up truths.) She listened carefully to our story and pondered the idea.

After some thought, she responded, "Pacy help me be happy." Followed by, "Pacy help me feel much better." (You've got to hand it to her, the kid has logic).

Later, after more mention of the fantastical Pacy fairy, Eva replied, "I think about it."

We'll let her marinate on this one for a few more days until the Fairy's appearance sometime soon.

Apple Pressers!

For the first time in many years, Grandpa Ron's apple orchard produced some great results. Earlier in the fall, we harvested the McCintosh apples and made apple crisp and apple butter. Yesterday, we shook the remainder of the McCintosh and Red Delicious apples and made cider. 50 gallons of apples yielded 15 gallons of cider. Yummy! We had the perfect fall day to tackle this project. Enjoy the pictures of the pressers at work:

Mom's Trip to Maine

Last week I was fortunate to attend a conference with a favorite coworker of mine in Freeport, Maine. Our adventure began with a trip to Milwaukee and visit to the Johnson Creek Outlet malls. We spent the night at an airport hotel and caught our 6 am flight the next day.

Our first day there was a free day. We rented a car and drove up the coast from Portland. We ate Lobster Bisque at a little restaurant on the ocean, did some sight-seeing and more shopping (Freeport is the home of L.L. Bean) before catching a little nap. We enjoyed appetizers and drinks in the hotel lobby and a beautiful evening walk before calling it a night.

The next day we attended a conference put on by Katie Wood Ray, a guru in the field of teaching writing to students. I was familiar with her work and was excited to see her in person. Her approach was new to Nancy but she found it engaging and refreshing. Our afternoon consisted of a visit to a local State Park and a great hike. Then, we enjoyed a fancy dinner that night in downtown Freeport.

The next day was our return home. All in all, it was a great little adventure!

Nancy and I at the Park.
The beautiful colors of Maine in the fall.

Homecoming Week

Eva has been living up Homecoming week...more so than her dad and I, although we do plan to take part in festivities this weekend. The Children's Center is hosting dress up days all week. On Tuesday, she wore her new pink Elmo hat for "Hat Day." Today she was a "cool dude" for sunglasses day. And tomorrow, she has the choice of three pairs of socks to wear for "Silly Sock" day. She has been having a lot of fun with all of the themes.

Every day we get a daily report on how her day was. Sometimes they have comments. I have saved a couple of my favorite ones. Oh the life of a 2-year-old! Read on:

"Eva had fun on our walk today. She especially enjoyed climbing on the big rocks with her friends."

"Eva had fun rolling down the hill outside today. She also played with boats in the sensory table for awhile."

"Eva had fun decorating a paper air balloon for art today and enjoyed crawling through the long red tunnel."

Such innocence!