Make-shift pumpkin patch

 Due to busy schedules and weather issues, we missed out on going to a real pumpkin patch this year. But, a quick trip to the grocery store, some decent afternoon weather and a few creative hiding spots around the yard turned out to be almost as fun as the real thing.

 Found one by the rosemary!

 This one's just my size!

 Almost as big as my head!

 This might be a little to big for me...

 Uh oh. One rolled under the deck.

 Decorating the front of the house.

 Can I get a hand with this?

These ones are all mine!

Favorite.

We love pumpkins!

Husky Prayer

Daniel literally ended his prayer like this the other night.


...and all you holy men and women...pray for us........
Amen............and Go Dawgs.

Amen little buddy, Amen.

No fun allowed

After a few times of being told that the current method of play is inappropriate, Daniel has taken to saying "Mom, why don't you just let us enjoy ourselves?!"

Hmmm...not sure how to respond to that.

Happy Birthday, Daniel!

Yesterday was Daniel's 4th birthday. We still can't believe he's already 4, but according to Daniel, he's been an adult for awhile now. His day was full of special treats, concluding with his requested mint chocolate chip ice cream cake and a few gifts.  

 The birthday boy!

 I can't wait to eat this!

 Presents!

 Love my new cash register!

Did you guys seriously get me a harmonica?

Brotherly Love

 We have plenty of days (or plenty of instances every day) where these two just aren't getting along. Then we capture moments like this:

 Daniel says quite often "I love my baby brother so much!"

Sweet, but it almost looks like they're plotting something...

The "Harvest"

 We had our usual small garden this year--we just don't have enough garden space in the sun to grow much. Despite a summer full of much cooler weather than usual, our tomato plants are exploding right now. Here's what we've harvested from our little garden:

 Lots of tomatoes!! Since only Chris and I eat fresh tomatoes, I spent some time over the weekend making fresh tomato sauce and putting it away in the freezer for later.

 Two pumpkins! Daniel planted his own pumpkin plant earlier in the summer and very diligently took care of it. We had three slug traps surrounding it, as well as a broken eggshell barrier around the plant to keep the slugs out (a bit overkill, maybe, but the plant survived!). Since we like to go to the pumpkin patch and pick out big pumpkins, these pumpkins were planted to make pies and muffins out of.

The proud farmer. He's already asked when we can make pies out of them, but I think we'll keep them intact a bit longer so we can admire Daniel's hard work. :)

First day of pre school!

Daniel had his first day of Pre-School on Tuesday.  He loves the St. Alphonsus School, the Montessori classroom, his teacher, Ms. Blair, the other students, getting to wear a backpack, and everything in between....except one thing: Nuns.

Apparently Daniel was terrified of Sister Mary Anna, the sweetest, most gentle looking nun in her twenties you've ever seen.  Considering Daniel is around religious all the time (Chris works for the Dominicans), we're not sure where this came from.  Please pray for Daniel and poor Sr. Mary Anna, who was heartbroken Daniel was scared of her.  Perhaps Daniel will give her a second chance on day two?

Daniel with his backpack, ready to go!  He's getting so big (sniff).

Mom and little brother Matthew say goodbye to Daniel.

My own name tag?!  Awesome.  Note: no Nuns were present during the taking of this picture:)

Big Weekend

Saturday was our 6th wedding anniversary and the start of the new Husky football season. We celebrated all day long!

 After a nice dinner out Friday, we stayed the night at a hotel downtown. This is the view from our room.

Next morning...Pike Place!

 Anniversary breakfast: fresh mini-doughnuts and coffee.

 Back home in time to get our gear on and watch the big game.

 Matthew is already a husky fan.

 Special occasions call for "special tv dinners".

We recreated one of our favorite go-to meals from our honeymoon in Europe, with groceries bought at the market. It was definitely a hit with everyone!

Red!

Daniel and his friend, Reb, at Reb Robin.

The never ending song

I sung Daniel the never ending song the other day, you know:

"This is the song that never ends!  Yes, it goes on and on my friend...some people, started singin' it not know'n what it was, and now they're always sing'n it forever just because.  This is the song that never ends..." and on and on and on....

Well, I was singing it in the car to Daniel - over and over - and finally I couldn't take it anymore and had to stop.

Daniel hadn't been saying a word, then this:

Daniel: "Uh, Dad?  If it's the song that never ends, why'd you stop?"

Touche.