Halloween

Ready for trick or treating.

Alana in the park

Caleb was playing with his friend Phillip, but Alana came with me this beautiful evening to take Roxy for a walk. (I love the streaky light in the swinging photo!)

Halloween party in Alana's class

My friend Nadine took this photo (her daughter, Lily, is also in the class). Alana is in the second row from the front, with pink bunny ears.

I am brave

I waited until the very last day, but I finally got the nerve to get my flu shot (they were offered free to employees at the hospital throughout the month of October). I almost turned around and went back down the hall, but I wanted to be brave, so I went into the room and got the shot. Yea me.

Total drama island

That skank Cristina dumped Matt for a new Flavor of the Month. I knew it was inevitable, but I'm still annoyed. He's very upset - he's posting song lyrics on his Facebook page. Bee-och.

First snow

This is a terrible photo, but it shows that this is all we got - some areas not far from us got 8, 10, 12 inches!

Catalogs

We got two copies of the Toys R Us Big Book holiday catalog and the kids spent quite awhile pouring over them.

Pumpkins

Alana was really excited about carving pumpkins this year. I was inspired by a photo I received several times - I made my own vomiting pumpkin.

Pretty bush

This photo doesn't show just how pretty this bush is, covered with feathery seed pods. I passed it in the park while taking Roxy for a very soggy walk (I even soaked one foot b/c I misjudged the depth of a puddle!)

Danny hanging out

Danny!

Our friend Danny is finally back from Iraq. The kids saw him a couple days ago, but this is the first day I saw him. He came to the park with us and stayed for dinner. Here he's tossing Alana in the air.

Park

A good afternoon in the park. The weather was really nice, but was cooling off in the afternoon (Alana is wearing Larry's fleece). I took the kites on impulse and we had great fun with them, though Roxy was desperate to get them and had to be scolded over and over to leave them alone. After kite flying, the kids discovered a lovely big puddle and both got their shoes plenty muddy in all the fun.

Alana at the airport

Alana and Larry came to pick me up at the airport tonight and while we waited for the luggage, ALana entertained a fussy little boy named Josh with the new stuffed animals she got for her BD.

Churchill Downs

As my treat to myself, I took a break from the conference and went on a tour of the racetrack - it seemed crazy to be so close and not see it. Of course the weather was terrific the whole time I was in Kentucky EXCEPT the morning I went to the track. So it was a soggy visit, but we saw some horses being trained and I learned a lot about the history of the track and about horse racing in Kentucky (the #1 industry in the state, worth $4 billion a year). Our tour guide was Gene and he was right out of Central Casting, with the drawl and the humor and the whole package.

Louisville

Arrived this afternoon for a conference in this fair city, staying at a lovely hotel right on the Ohio River, The Galt House (top photo). I wanted to get a little fresh air after spending all day on airplanes, so I took a stroll in a tiny piece of the Waterfront Park adjacent to the hotel.

My nephew Ian

He cut off all his hair (see August 6, 2007)!

JUMP!

Alana jumps from one hay bale to the other at Abbott's Farm. Caleb and our friend Jake look on.

Abbott's Farm

We did more than slide, but these are the only photos I took. We fed the goats and pigs, and petted the bunnies, jumped in the bouncy castle, and picked apples.

Walk in the park

Queen Alana, fearless as ever, perches on a branch. Caleb shows off the many stickers that he collected on his sleeves.

Fur Real Friend

Alana was just thrilled with Matt's gift.

Manlius Fall Festival

The kids had a great time at this event to benefit the Manlius Fire Department.

Alana's birthday party

We had a terrific time, with 8 of Alana's friends, at her pajama party. We had a delicious breakfast, then the girls played dress up, everyone painted sun catchers, and Larry played a few songs on the guitar. We ended with lots of presents and mini cupcakes. Another fine festivity to celebrate a very special occasion.

Fall helpers

Yom Kippur

My friend Meredith Thomson held the Break Fast at her house in Cazenovia. The kids hung out in the livingroom while the grown-ups visited in the big kitchen. Later, Larry and Dave Satterlee played football with (most of) the boys out in the Thomson's terrific back yard. It was a gorgeous day and a really nice way to wind up the Jewish holiday.

Cow train

We had such a nice afternoon at Critz Farms. Larry took this adorable picture of the kids riding the cow train.

Swimming at the Y

Cooking with Daddy

Alana helped Larry make a pudding cake creation tonight.

Cloud

We had a serious thunderstorm this afternoon, and then, on my way home, the clouds were receding in a huge line across the sky.