Catchin' up!

Dadblog happening here,
We've been remiss in our posts, so the kids got sent to bed early in order to facilitate our talking about them. Not too bad a deal actually as Cole has developed a bit of a sleep deficit recently as a result of staying up way late on the day he returned from Great Wolf Lodge.


As you can see in the picture above, we went to Iowa to check in on our friends, the Vogelschmidts.
Their boys are growing like, well, boys in the country. We'd show a picture, but ended up not even breaking out the camera. The picture is from Google images, so I'm officially a poser.
While we were there, we got to meet their friends Dennis and Lauryn, former Seattle residents who also moved out to Iowa. They not only host a couple of really great radio programs (Crooked Sisters' Radio Hour and Gravel Road Radio at KRUU in Fairfield, Iowa) but also make up the duo Truckstop Souvenir, who sound about as right on a you possibly can. Kind of a blend of Robert Earl Keene, Gillian Welch/David Rawlings and with songwriting a little reminiscent of Iris DeMent.


We decided that we (by "we", I mean "I", since this is my side of the driveway) were tired of stepping out of the car door into the mud, so we (by "we" I mean Heather) widened the driveway a bit. In the process, Heather got to show off the pick and shovel skills she developed back in the day when she was on trail crew at Glacier National Park.

Here she is showing the hardpan that makes such a great growing medium (for rocks and muck, mostly)
The pour turned out to be a little scary, since we were short a person or two. In the end Cole demonstrated why 5-year-old boys and ready-mix trucks don't mix and we did our darnedest to give the driver a few things to talk about at coffee when he got back to the plant. The end result was pretty satisfactory, though.

Here's Heather showing her qualifications for a "guvmint job". I think she looks kinda cute in black boots!
Love those dimples!

Before (above), and after (below).



Christina a.k.a. "older sister" has a new beau, and they both came out to join us in search of a Christmas tree yesterday (accompanied by friend and longtime babysitter to Cole and Audrey, Lauren).

We initially planned to go to Stoneyridge Farm, since it's worked out so well for us on numerous holidays past, but when we got there, we discovered that they're closed on Sunday. We ended up doubling back to an unattended self serve organic tree farm we saw on Everson-Goshen Road which turned out to be a winner!

In a novel approach to marketing oneself, here's a great picture of me showing my best side to the camera. This is the tree that the gang selected while I was dropping a payment off in the proprietor's honesty box.

Like any self-respecting boy, Cole has to get his hands on any sort of sharp tool he sees adults using, so he tried about 3/4 of a stroke with the bow saw before delegating the rest of the job to the Dad unit. Now that I see what those $9 shades look like to others, I'm thinking I should have bumped my budget up a notch or two (they look pretty good from the other side, though). Elton John is probably jealous of me!

Cole and Audrey were pretty happy with the tree's height. It was about 11', 9 15/16". This is a good thing, since the ceiling in our living room is 11', 10".

I discovered the value in testing the Christmas lights we saved from the year before, but only after getting frustrated by the fact that there were several bad strings after we got them up. After a late in the afternoon run to the store for a few more strings, plus a few dropped glass ornaments, we got it all done. I think we're all pleased with the results;

Not wanting to miss an opportunity to climb the ladder, Cole helped out a bit but eventually got bored and demonstrated it in the usual fashion;

Audrey and Grammy had some quality giggle time;

After getting their fill of decorating, the kids got to enjoy the story of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer in a digital format, priming them for the display set of toys from the movie.

The trip out to the county with a Northeaster blowing from the Fraser River Valley left Simon a little sub-cooled, so he donned Audrey's hat and gloves while sipping a cup of mint green tea;

Clearly a renaissance man. A very nice guy, as well. We all like him!
Besides, he looks good in pink and purple!

Bathing Beauty

Cole is having an overnight at Great Wolf Lodge with Aunties Gabe and Taj. Audrey is too young for a big water park but she got the undivided attention of both parents this evening. Not an even swap but still fun.

A bath is always a nice transition from crazy time to bed time. Bubbles were a must.

Halloween 2009

Cole had fun drawing the pumpkin faces (because he's "responsible enough to use a sharpie" but Audrey isn't as he is happy to point out) and using the special carving tool on his own this year.



Cole dressed up as an astronaut and Audrey was a ladybug (though Cole had her convinced she should be a princess).



Cole loves Audrey's preschool almost as much as she does. They made Halloween goody bags together on Thursday at her "Harvest Party". In this picture Cole's got the buzz cut to go along with the astronaut outfit. They don't let the kids dress up at public school but they did have a pajama day on Friday and they made halloweeny crafts.



A video would be better than a picture to illustrate the cuteness of this costume (second hand special). Audrey waddled as she walked.



Um, I ladybug.



It's next to impossible to get a decent shot of the two of them together, yet I try.



A kind gentleman at the park offered to take a picture of us three.



Saturday was a PERFECT day for Halloween. Chilly, sunny and clear, clean and fresh from heavy rains, and almost a full moon. Mom went with us to the "Dracula Dash" at Whatcom Falls Park. Volunteers were posted along a wooded path in costume to hand out dollar store "tricks" and there were a few "treats" to be had as well. We met one of Cole's classmates and her family. Her dad was a "clog". Ewww. He wrapped toilet paper around his body and carried a plunger. Cole thought it was hilarious and chased him around yelling "ka-plunge".

Cole collecting tricks and treats.



Grammy and Audrey.



Cole with friend Amelia.



Chasing clog.





Grammy helped bridge the gap between the excited running 5 year old and the toddling ladybug.



Next we hit Sudden Valley's "Halloween Carnival" where the kids really raked in the candy. They had a cake walk, ghost fishing, face painting and other fun things for kids. Both kids got their face painted. Cole looks a little sinister.





Finally, Alex came home from work around 6 and we all piled back into the car to do the more traditional trick or treating in Fairhaven. No sidewalks, shoulders, or street lights in Sudden Valley. The kids ate half their candy on the drive home (Alex and I helped them out a little) and we had a grand time trying to get them to go to sleep!

What doin'?

I paid for Audrey's late nap. She was full of energy and not interested in going to sleep so we stayed up together until just a couple minutes ago. The good news is that once I'd given in and brought her upstairs with me she was charming. She followed me around asking "what doin?" or "what's dis?" for an hour as I finished the day up with dish washing, teeth brushing, etc.

Cole and I carved pumpkins while Audrey slept this afternoon.



Cole wanted to take a picture showing the spooky spider web he'd drawn on the side of his pumpkin.





Audrey was excited about the pumpkins.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Creatures of habit, we visited the same patches this year as last. Stoney Ridge Farm (in Everson) and The Farm (in Snohomish).

Our family loves apples. Who doesn't? But, we really love apples and the kids eat them like crazy this time of year. Thankfully, we still have many orchards left in Whatcom county and enjoy fresh apples.



We met some families from Cole's kindergarten class at Stoney Ridge Farm on Friday. The day started out pretty dismal with serious rain but it cleared up and the kids had fun feeding the goats, picking apples, and running around like wild things.

Cole and classmate Amelia. Amelia's mom arranged the trip. Amelia and Cole sing silly songs together and the teacher Mrs. Lind "doesn't even mind". Amelia told her mom this story. Cole absolutely cracks me up. He is the extrovert to my introversion. He says hi to strangers. He strikes up conversations with adults about Star Wars or alphatons (a creature of his imagination).



Picking apples.



Best buds, Cole and Jacob.



Tractor ride back from the pumpkin and apple fields.



Feeding goats.



How tall this fall? At least a couple inches taller than last.







Last Saturday I took a pediatric CPR and first aid class and Alex took the kids to the pumpkin patch. Cole is still wearing his glasses and we are also patching his "good" eye 6 days a week. The patch is a drag. But so is being blind in one eye.