Halloween is Upon Us

Libby had her first Halloween party on Saturday. Our friends Mike and Brenda have their annual party and do a great job. I also got to bring home a pumpkin that weighs more than Libby! We had a fun time and it gave Daddy time to work on demolishing stuff to get ready for the addition. We were supposed to work on Sunday, but I talked Eric into doing the Grand Avenue Halloween event. Libby had such a great time seeing all the kids out and all the costumes. We walked almost the whole thing! Drove to the other end to then see the petting zoo. Their were fainting goats (want one) and the cutest baby alpaca. All in all, a nice weekend.

Our contractor surprised us Monday by saying the foundation could now be laid this week-eek! Poor Eric had to rush out to get a jackhammer to get the concrete out (really, he may have whined, but he was like an 8 year old boy with a new toy). Everything is starting to fall into place, and now I am getting nervous :)



On a minor rant, poor Libby gets called Lily almost every day somewhere. We loved the name Libby, thought it was easy enough to say, and although not hugely popular, was at least known. Did not realize Lily would be one of the hot names around at the same time, and now she will have to suffer like her Mama. "It's Janice. Uh, nope, not Janet, Janice. Not Denise, it's Janice." Really had thought she would not have to go through that-sigh. Wonder how they would slay "Lisbeth"? :) I am not mad about it, just...chagrined.

We are going to a Halloween party on Saturday night. Our neighbor Gail has volunteered to watch Libby. Since it has been so long since we have celebrated it, we are pulling out our
Viking costumes from years ago. Looking forward to a big party which will include many of my former co-workers.

Happy Halloween to everyone! Have fun, and be safe.

Yeah, it's a beautiful day!

Finally, we have the gorgeous fall day we have been waiting for! Nope, not the picture above, that is from last weekend. I am doubly happy on this beautiful day, as our friends Natasha and David are getting married today. They did have to settle on an indoor wedding earlier this week, but it will be a great day for pictures and it does make the wedding day so much more festive. Congrats, Natasha and David!

We have had a rough couple of weeks. We had a very nice dinner at a friends house a few weeks ago and stayed longer than we should have. Libby had a tough time falling asleep, and then woke us with night terrors. It was an awful hour as we struggled trying to keep her safe, while not waking her. She wondered around and flailed and cried and screamed. At one point, an exhausted Eric went to the freezer to get a popcycle, and Libby trailed behind him. She then looked at him, as wide awake and sweet as can be, and asked if she could have a pop pop. When they came back to bed, she smiled at me and said "hi, mama" and the went peacefully back to sleep. We have generally been very good about keeping her on her schedule, but this showed us that we need to adhere to it.



This past Sunday, we went to the pumpkin farm with friends Heather, Chris and Tenzing. It was a very cute place and the kids had a blast. There was a big stack of hay to play on, a tower to climb, a play area with a track for kids to ride trikes around, petting zoo, and, of course, pumpkins. It was also an apple farm, so we had to buy some of the Haralson's, some cider, and yes, strangely enough, peanut butter they make right there.



Libby now "reads" her "It's time for Bed" book to us each night. It is so dang cute. She has the whole book memorized. Eric has tried to capture it on video, but once she sees the camera, she either clams up, or acts goofy.

I can hear Eric with the electric tools as I type. He is at his very favorite part of renovation, destruction. He is taking off the back deck and will then do the sad little mudroom thing that is there. It's going to be a long fall! Wish us well, as we actually start down the path of home remodeling...

Rainy, snuggle in kind of day

Brrrzzzzz, I am tired of this rain and cold! The talk of possible snow this weekend just bums me out. We have a friend's outdoor wedding on the 17th and will pray that a beautiful autumn day will appear for them. Libby does not like wearing her raincoat or rain boots in the car, so she shucks both of them. It is a pain to put them on and take them off between stops, and she whines, like a...well, toddler, until they come off. Going to be a long winter.

We had a lovely party at Rena's for the fall Moon Festival this past Saturday. There was a great turnout of adults and children and we all had such a nice time. The food was overflowing and delicious. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to bring my camera, so no pictures, but next year...

We watched Lexa for a few hours yesterday while Rena attended a funeral. The girls were so good together. They both were a little tired, so I put them on my bed and told them they could watch Kai Lan for a little bit. I then came in and turned it off and Lexa asked me to lie down with them. Once I did, she was out in a flash, with Libby close behind. The picture attached is of them napping together. Too cute or what?