Jack O Lantern

Pumpkins are mysterious and magical. That's right. They are this weird hollow gourd full of guts and seeds and stuff. Then after an hour or so of scooping and carving, they turn into this face with personality, and Piper is suddenly taken to bark at it.

Pardon me while I wax nostalgic. When I lifted the lid off our pumpkin, the smell was so familiar. I haven't carved one since I was a kid living at home. It took me strait back to our kitchen, all us kids sitting on the table while my dad carved the pumpkins using an electric saw thingy.

A little bit of the guts got on Avery's arm, and she did not like it at all. Since when did she care about having slimy food all over her arms and/or face? She whined until daddy cleaned it off. Weird. I suppose that is part of the mysterious pumpkin influence. Although, it does itch. Does it make anyone else itch to have pumpkin slime on your arms?

The artist.

We decided to go traditional with our Jack O Lantern face for Avery's first pumpkin.

All night she kept looking out the window at her pumpkin.

It's magical, I tell you.

Goodbye Summer

Goodbye summer,

hello autumn!

Well, for us the temperature is still hanging around in the 90s some days. But I think it's supposed to finally get chilly.

It's a good thing we have our red cloak to keep us warm.

Yes, Avery was the only one dressed up at the party last night. And I guarantee we will find some reason to wear it again before Halloween.

And now for my yearly rant on daylight savings/wastings:

Am I the only one that is depressed by the upcoming time change? We only have one week left to enjoy the day to its fullest. Then, all the good daylight is wasted on the wee hours of the morning when everyone is asleep anyway. I don't get it.

Ready

The costume is finished! Now we just have to wait for Halloween.

Actually, we are wearing it to our ward party tomorrow, just to try it out.

How Do You Like That?

I asked Avery and Piper if they wanted a treat.

I handed Avery her graham cracker and Piper her doggy biscuit, and they both ran into the living room, sat down, and ate them.

Anything to be like daddy. No this is not her Halloween costume. But that big reveal is coming soon, and I can't wait.

Speaking of that, one of my new favorite things to do with Avery is go to Lowe's or K-Mart and look at Halloween and Christmas decorations. She makes everything so fun.

Now, how do you like that?

Here in Vegas they bring the pumpkin patch to us. This little "pumpkin patch" is squack in a casino parking lot.

There was also a little petting zoo and a train ride. It's the next best thing to actually being on a farm.

Avery is into putting everything on her head,

Sammy is into raising her head off the floor,

Piper smiles for the camera once in a while,

And Sammy hangs out on the floor, waiting for little girls to come talk to her.

A Haiku

Sunday afternoon

dinner at the Kelvingtons

cousins hanging out

Sunday Family Portrait

Some Items To Discuss

1.

I am not a scab picker. Picking scabs gives me the willies.

Jimi has scabs. Jimi is a scab picker.

I have the willies.

2.

There has been a fly flying around our house the past couple of days. It was bugging me something fierce the other day, so I said to Jimi, "will you catch that fly?"

That's right, catch that fly.

You see, Jimi learned on his mission in Brazil how to catch flies. So instead of mashing it with a fly swatter, he catches the fly and takes it outside. Catch and release fly fishing.

3.

Last night Avery was sitting on Jimi's lap watching "A Giant Problem" with a big feather blanket.

All she knows about life is that she has two parents who love her and each other, a full belly, cozy footy pajamas, and a warm house. She doesn't know what problems, evils, or discomfort there are in the world.

She will learn all about human cruelty when she goes to nursery in a few months.

4.

Apparently, the other day there was an earthquake 30 miles away from us. All my friends felt it, but nobody in our house did.

My conclusion as to why it went unnoticed: Oakley was here. It's easy to tune out earthquakes with her around.

5.

Sammy and Jamie came over yesterday for some taco salad

(and to deliver some apples fresh off my parent's tree...YUM.)

Sammy kept peeking at me over the rim of a giant bowl. She has the prettiest eyes, including her mommy's eyelashes. Lucky.

...and she kept tooting and squirming. Turns out she has a tooth!

Welcome to the world of teeth, Sammy. The better to bite your mommy with.

6.

This is me at about 23 weeks, beginning my 6th month, in one of my fanciest outfits. I am about a month bigger now than what I was with Avery. Here's to Zofran!

He is kicking a lot these days, really low in my pelvis.

Looking at the new pictures of Emily's baby is making me baby hungry!

Viva Las Vegas Bike Ride

Saturday, Jimi did a 62 mile bike ride.

It started downtown and, wouldn't you know, 45 miles into the ride led to the park by our house! Me and Avery had to walk just a few blocks to watch him ride by.

This is her yelling "go daddy!" (not really).

So he took a little break to get a picture with Avery.

We were so proud.

Then he rode up Boulder Highway to the downtown area where it started.

And he beat us!

Not kidding, we weren't there at the finish line. I am so bummed. We walked back home, let the dogs out and had some second breakfast. And without much more ado, we drove downtown but he was already there! Dang!

Two days before the race, he crashed big time. See the road rash there on his arm? It's all over his body. He was going about 30 mph down a pretty steep hill that turned, and his bike slid out from under him. He went tumbling down the hill after it. He actually went flipping off the side of the mountain into the rock and brush.

Me, Avery, and the dogs went on a little walk toward the trail to meet him, and he came riding up covered in dirt and fresh flesh. I said, "did you crash? You crashed!" in a bit of a panic. But really, it wasn't so bad. His bike sustained minimal scrapes, and he didn't break anything, so that's good...

His goody bag came with these sweet arm bands. Avery rocked them all night.

And Oakley misses her family.

Sick

This past week I have been sick. Not just regular pregnant sick, but worse. I will spare you the gory details, but it has not been pretty.

So in the morning, after I ensure that all toilet lids are down and stairs are gated off, I lay on the couch and let Avery fend for herself. She has been so kind to let me doze as she plays by herself. I'm not kidding, one morning she played by herself for almost 2 hours.

Oakley and Piper keep her somewhat entertained as well. She likes to chase them around with her bike. They go scampering all over the house and she laughs at her power.