halloween 2010 and a recap...

holy halloween batman. we have alot of catching up to do around here. it's been a huge week-- halloween and moving and all that jazz. for starters, we are officially moved and mostly settled and starting to feel like we are (mostly) unpacked. granted, the garage might tell another story, but we are starting to feel like this is home after a crazy weekend. there was alot of painting that needed to be done as we were moving in. this made the process a little more hectic but was well worth the extra effort. we still have alot more to do, but it's a good start. the girls have done really well through the process though they are surely tired of all the commotion. luckily we have the best friends in the world and all of their effort made it alot easier. from coming over and grabbing the girls for blueberry pancakes early saturday morning to spending hours here painting and cleaning with us, we couldn't have pulled it off without them! pics of the house will be coming later in the week, so you'll have to be patient on that front for now.

but, it wouldn't be a recap with atleast some pictures, so here are some good halloween shots! the girls had a blast this year and we had three days of festivities. there was a special in-costume ballet class on friday and of course trick or treating on sunday evening. unfortunately sylvi came down with the same virus isa had last week (we think) and ended her trick or treating at home with a high fever :( luckily she got sick after we moved and after she got to dress up and have her fair share of halloween fun.

so, there you have it. the week in a (really big) nutshell!

hmmm... anxious, much?

so, as it stands now, we are set to close on this house and move next friday... as in a week from tomorrow morning. *panic* like i said previously though, i won't believe it until they hand me the keys. or until i start painting over that less-than-appealing pink paint in the new living/dining room. oh yes, there will be great satisfaction in doing away with the pink.

in the meantime, we'll try to get some sleep and pack a few boxes and close up the shop in hopes that we will indeed be moving a week from now. fingers and toes crossed now? thanks.

thank you mother nature...

best city park in wyoming. i dare you to disagree.

more proof of previous fact.

roo dresses to match the season.

isa actually dresses to match too, come to think of it.

fall hike

daddy and the girls went for a hike up the sheep bridge trail yesterday. as you can see, winter isn't very far away up there! but here's hoping there is still more time to get out and enjoy the weather while we can.

the happy friday (weekend) sale!

we like to call an impromtu shop sale whenever the mood strikes. and as mentioned in the previous post, we were really happy yesterday to have daddy back home. so, we're having a weekend long Happy Friday Sale! ALL lounge sets are 15% off, this weekend only! if you're a shop watcher, you know that lounge sets rarely go on sale, so don't miss out. just enter 'happyfriday' in the comments section of your order and wait for a revised invoice via email. see the MAB Facebook Fan Page for more details!

welcome home

i know two little girls (and one big one) who are extremely happy to have their daddy back home :)

flashback friday!

believe it or not, these pictures were from last october. yep, nothing like sledding before halloween! we've been blessed by a much more mild fall this year (atleast so far) and for that we are grateful. granted, it was 25 degrees this morning, but it was beautifully warm and sunny by midday. we're enjoying every second of it and hoping it lasts atleast through the middle of november, until we get the moving and traveling done with. that's probably wishful thinking, but we can dream right?

potty style

the other day i briefly alluded to the fact that sylvi, at 22 months, is trying to potty-train herself. i say "herself" because i was really not ready for going down that road again so soon. i mean, let's face it, regardless of the kid, it can be alot of work. and it's going to be winter around here soon and that makes the whole thing even more inconvenient. snowsuits and a toddler who really has to go... right.

but how can you not roll with it when your not-yet-two-year-old is insistant that she go on the potty. and then actually proceeds to start potty-training whether you like it or not. you can't really object or tell her to just pee in her diaper! that would be a big fat parenting fail! so here we are... sprinting to the bathroom every few minutes and exthusiastically wiping and flushing and waving bye bye! who knew that kids actually did this themselves before they even turned two? i am pretty sure i secretly rolled my eyes when people talked about their magical self-trained eighteen month old... in my head, those babies were about as real as the ones that slept through the night on their first night home from the hospital.

p.s. i have no illusions that this potty thing will really stick in the next few months. with moving houses, traveling cross-country, and a birthday coming up... well, i am guessing it will be a little rocky. at this point we figure everytime it does work however, is one less diaper we have to buy!

for nanny

pumpkin patch extravaganza

wanna know what happens when you take two carloads of kids to a field full of pumpkins? you take over 250 photos in about a half hour's time! yeah, mommy got a little shutter happy this afternoon at the pumpkin patch. but how could you not, really... we're talking cute overload here people. none of us had ever made the trip (about 45min) to the pumpkin patch before, so it was the perfect monday afternoon boredom buster. and of course, it's even better with lots of friends!

as you can see from the pictures, it was a ton of fun and well worth the short car trip. the kids had an blast and were really proud of the pumpkins they chose. grandpa skip (oliver's grandfather) even came along and volunteered to push the goods around. not only were there "thousands and thousands and thousands" of pumpkins, as isa described them, but there were also lots of cool varieties to choose from. we came home with a big carving pumpkin, a beautiful orange/red pumpkin, a green pumpkin, and two little white ones. that was another reason for the photo overload-- the colors and designs on so many types of pumpkins were really beautiful. none of the photos in the slideshow were edited at all, so you can see the amazing colors for yourself.

too bad we already have a porch full of pumpkins, otherwise we might be tempted to head back with daddy this weekend. or we can spend a good hour going through the photos again :) enjoy!

productions

i have to say, a four year old with a vivid imagination can be pretty amusing-- especially when doting little sisters are included. there have been alot of productions around here lately. we've had recitals, dance classes, nutcracker performances, you name it. there is usually an audience included of course, complete with their own costumes. life in a house with two girls is never short on entertainment.

no explanation necessary

sylvi at 22 months

this is the abbreviated version of sylvi's monthly update-- since mommy rarely gets more than 5 minute of uninterrupted time lately (computer or otherwise), it will just have to do. what's the roo up to lately? alot of silliness, alot of playing with her sister, alot of pushing her sister's buttons (she is very good at this), trying to potty train herself, still working on getting those *%&$ canine teeth to come in, talking in full sentences, and generally being one of the cutest and cuddliest almost-two-year-olds on the face of the planet.

phew. how's that for a really long, descriptive sentence? but there you have it, 22 month old sylvi in a nutshell!

sit down and buckle up...

that's pretty much what life is saying to us around here. or we are saying to ourselves? i don't know, but either way, this year is turning into one very wild ride. granted, most of it is a ride that we fully chose to be on, but that doesn't necessarily make it any less wild, now does it? right. that there door you are seeing (isn't it beautiful?) will hopefully be the front door to our new home. i say hopefully because these deals are never sealed under the last stroke of the pen. but the process is now in motion and the little boxes are being checked off as we go. we have a contract on our house, which we couldn't be more thrilled about, and we are all moving towards closing. if all goes according to plan, we will be the proud owners of that door, and the rest of the house that goes with it, by october the 27th. eep! that's crazy!

that's just a little part of the wild ride however, as we have so much going on in the next few months that buying a new house just seems like one more little item on the agenda. it would be squeezed in between one vacation (check!), the unexpected death of our cat (check!), work travel for phil (ugh!), a busy season of work for me, another cross-country family vacation, isa's performance in the nutcracker, the holiday shop rush, and hopefully a long visit from nanny.

yeah, like i said, we got nothing going on around here these days, but i guess you'd better sit down and buckle up anyway. it's surely to be a wild ride.

autumn in sinks canyon

we took a much needed trip up the canyon friday afternoon to get out of town, get some fresh air, and enjoy the gorgeous fall colors... and man, was it spectacular! this year it seems like the colors are especially vivid and i think i could have stayed up there, staring at the aspens, for a long time! rene, timothy, the girls and i had a really great time just hanging out by the river. isa was especially enthralled with every rock and stick and puddle and even found some feathers to bring home. the schell's dog (ava) came along as well, so there was the added entertain of playing fetch. not that anyone needed additional entertainment! we will most definitely be heading back up there soon. it was way too nice to not enjoy every last day of beautiful weather before we the snow begins to fall.

start 'em young

isa and daddy spent last saturday helping curtis install his solar panels on his fabulously old (and soon to be amazingly restored) house. sylvi and i hung out for a short while, mostly long enough to eat some apples from the apple trees, and then left the rest of the work to them. isa had a blast helping out and even got to get up on the roof. i hope she took notes on the installation, so we can call on her skills at some point-- she can be daddy's sidekick.

in memory of Otter...

this week was exceptionally hard for all of us. our dear, sweet cat Otter died unexpectantly. i can honestly say it was one of the worst moments of my life-- otter was hit by a car in front of our house. luckily for all of us, our neighbor was able to get to him quickly and get him out of the street, but it was a horribly sad event. to make matters worse, the girls saw him struggle and eventually die and were incredibly upset by it. no child should ever have to see their beloved pet die in such a way.

those who knew otter can attest to the fact that he was a weird and quirky little kitty-- he had his ways and insisted on making them clear! but he was also incredibly gentle and patient and never once showed the least bit of aggression toward the girls. he and isa were especially close and liked to hang out with each other every night after sylvi had gone to bed and the house was quiet. he would sit there all night and let her pet him and play with his ears and kiss him and snuggle him. the house is far too quiet without him here.

we buried him in the backyard under our fruit tree. the girls actually played a big role in saying goodbye and it was a really great experience for all of us, albeit it very sad. they helped bury him and say goodbye, with all the emotion that goes with such rituals. their innocence and resilience was definitely a blessing for everyone.

rest in peace otter, we love you and miss you.