HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It feels like it has been Halloween for weeks now. The lead-up has been pretty intense this year, now that Anna is old enough to truly appreciate the art of trick-or-treating and costume selection. She had a costume parade at school on Friday (and you can check out her pumpkin painting above), went trick-or-treating at Mom's office, and then was on a local TV station modeling her costume as Mom talked about Halloween Safety. This year Anna masqueraded as Tinkerbell, although she had also asked to be a princess, a ghost, Spiderman and Batman. Halloween night, cousin Ryan and BFF Rebecca came over for pizza and neighborhood trick-or-treating. At this moment she is in a near chocolate coma, lying on Daddy's lap, watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." She really enjoyed it this year. Happy Halloween, everyone!

H1N1

It was a miserable day, but we were able to get Anna's H1N1 vaccine this past Thursday. We arrived 45 minutes before the door opened and waited with a few hundred people in the cold and pouring rain. To quote Anna as we stood in line outside, "This is NOT a beautiful day, Mama." About an hour later, we finally made it inside where we waited for another two hours before we finally made it to a station for the vaccine. By then, both Anna and I had just about hit our threshold for patience. I had to put her in a body lock while she made it known that there was no way she was letting anyone spray ANYTHING up her nose. Much screaming and crying later, we left. I can't believe we have to do this again in a month. Here is a picture after we'd been in line for about 45 minutes. The line in front of us...and the line in back of us. At least they didn't run out before we got ours.

Taking to the Trails

Sunday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather while it lasts. We visited some local trails, crunching through the leaves, going through tunnels of foliage and over a cool suspension bridge. We even found evidence of beavers at work. We know the days are numbered now, especially with Daylight Saving Time just around the corner. What a great day!

Carving out time with my Pumpkin

Friday night Anna decided it was time to start in on the jack-o-lantern carving. She carefully drew the design onto the pumpkin and Mom made the first cuts. Anna carefully scooped out the goop, but didn't like getting it on her hands. After popping out the eyes, nose and mouth we took it outside for the final test. Ta da! A masterpiece, for sure.

Less than Distressed Damsel

Unbelievable, but another Renaissance Festival has come and gone. The kids had a magical time. Both Ryan and Anna picked up a sword and shield. Very handy considering all of the dragons and surly characters they encountered throughout the day. Anna mustered the courage to ride the swings she so desperately wanted to ride last year. During lunch we watched the Amazin' Jazon juggle and swallow fire. The kids met a real (puppet) dragon. Anna practiced jousting. The kids posed for lots of pictures and trick-or-treated at the various vendor booths. We visited the petting zoo. Anna and Mom even rode an elephant! Whew - I'm tired just remembering everything we did that day! But we couldn't have wished for a more beautiful day.

Homecoming

Saturday was Homecoming for Mom and Dad's undergrad alma mater. While we haven't yet attended an actual homecoming football game, ever, we always enjoy watching the parade. (Pity, since we live a whopping two blocks away from campus.) Anna brought home lots of candy, and her favorite part was certainly the horses. Parades can be very exhausting for the spectators, in case you didn't know, so Anna had to ride home on Daddy's shoulders. Gee, you'd think with a haul like this, the sugar rush would sustain a person of her size for a few minutes, at least.

Cooking with a little Sage

Sorry for the groaner of a pun, but I couldn't help it. Today is a cold, drizzly fall day. Perfect for cooking something in the oven to warm the house up a bit. Anna helped me make some corn spoon-bread and black bean enchiladas for dinner while we listened to the music of Vince Gauraldi -- the perfect soundtrack for fall. The smell wafting through the house is mouth-watering. And, as you can see, Anna was an enormous help in the kitchen (and cute as a button in her pink apron.) Lucky for her, we used the last of the foil on the tube, creating an instant telescope. Life is good.

Farm Tour

Yesterday we went on the annual Farm Tour. Farms across the region open their doors for the weekend. Pumpkin patches...animal farms...honey bee farms...orchards...vineyards. Our first stop was my favorite, Pendleton Farms. Just after we arrived, a green tractor pulling a blue hay wagon pulled up to take us out into the fields. We made a stop at the butterfly bio-villa where we identified different types of caterpillars, watched the quivering chrysalis, and watched the butterflies sucking on blooms and fluttering around their temporary home, getting ready for their migration. Then the kids jumped into a bin of corn-filled bliss. This always seems to be the favorite activity for the kids. They rolled around, buried themselves, and tossed the kernels into the air. Of course we would find corn in all sorts of nooks and crannies for the rest of the day. Then we jumped back onto the hay rack to make our way out into the pumpkin patch. We gathered up enough pumpkins to fill our wagon, and Mom picked up some chrysanthemums. We skipped the maze, as we still had lots of stops to make for the day. Then we went to a sheep farm where the kids tried to feed sheep that obviously had already been well fed. Our last stop of the day included another corn pit, kittens, a small pony, a pumpkin vine house, and cookies with hot cider. Whew! And we barely made a dent in the list of all the farms on the tour, but we had a fantastic time. Can't wait 'till next year!

The South Dakota Files - Part 5: Mt. Rushmore - The End

The last day of our trip (save the 13 hour drive home) was incredibly windy, so we spent the morning visiting a woodcarving museum and the afternoon visiting the presidents. Mt. Rushmore is always impressive even if it's not your first visit, and I always love seeing the collective of visitors from a multitude of countries, not to mention states. The boys went on one of the trails along the boulder field below the monument and saw three mountain goats. While we wished we could have done more biking this trip, we feel more prepared for a trip back in the future. The Mickelson Trail calls!

The South Dakota Files - Part 4: Camping, Skywalk, and Biking the Mickelson

Our vacation also included many mini-adventures. From toasting marshmallows by the campfire, to climbing a huge trail stairway just to see where it

goes, to watching Mom run over a snake on the bike trail, we had lots of fun just hanging around the Black Hills.