Our backyard!?

Fall came to our backyard this week! The colors have been changing everywhere, and it has been gorgeous, but our yard stayed green. This week our trees finally changed color in earnest, and now our house is surrounded by fabulous yellow. I think watching fall develop has been one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Every day things look different, and the range of colors keeps expanding. I even look forward to my daily preschool drive just to see what colors will emerge. I love fall!

Everyone's Favorite Guy!

Circus Family

On my Brain

Tonight Amelia tripped and fell and started crying. I asked her where she was hurt and she said (while sobbing), "On my brain!" I definitely haven't heard that one before.

Lovely Leaves

Our yard seems to have an infinite quantity of dead leaves in it, so we raked a big pile for the kids to play in today. They were throwing leaves, jumping in them, and laying in them. Colin took laying in the leaves very seriously, and it seemed like every time I turned around he was flat on his back and not moving a muscle. The boy likes to relax! This is very typical Colin behavior.

Halloween Costumes

The kids had a great time celebrating Halloween today. Amelia was a darling little witch and Colin was a scary dinosaur. They put their costumes on this afternoon and loved running around in them. Colin ran around in a low crouch with his hands out and talking in his strangely high pitched dinosaur voice! We went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and the kids loved it. They got lots of candy and had a great time walking around in the dark with a flashlight (they love flashlights). We didn't get a single trick-or-treater at our door, and now I have tons of candy to dispose of somehow, although I think I'll put the Mounds to good use- they're my favorite.

Pumpkin Time

Today we carved pumpkins with the kids and had an awesome time. Colin absolutely loved digging his hands into the "pumpkin goo." He was tenacious! Amelia got to help dig the seeds out of the little pumpkin that she got on the farm on the preschool field trip, and then she designed the face for me to carve out. It was really fun!

More Photos

Here are some photos that I've been playing around with on my computer. Colin was taking a nap, so he missed out on the photo shoot.

Colin's New Galoshes

He wants them on all the time, even immediately out of the shower!

Bedtime

More Park Time

Today, while Amelia was at school, Colin, Jack, Mike, and I went to the park to play. Mike and Jack hung out on a park bench so Mike could study and Jack could nap. It was pretty crisp out there, around 50 degrees, and just beautiful!

Here's Colin running through a zillion leaves. It's tough to tell from the photo, but leaves were raining down on us from the nearby trees.

Jack was trying hard not to nap, as you can see by his eyes, which are nearly bugging out of his head!
Colin LOVES to swing!
King of the stump!
Mike studying- he actually got a lot done! It was a little more peaceful out there than it usually is at our house.

Jack NOT Laughing

Mike had Jack laughing tonight, for real, for the first time. He has done cute little sounds before, and a couple of almost laughs that sounded like hiccups, but today it was the real deal. Kind of a har har har! Unfortunately, as soon as I turned on the camera he wouldn't do it. So here's some video of Jack not laughing!

Mushrooms!?

Out of nowhere, this big mushoom patch popped up at the side of our house! It is so strange! I didn't go over there for one day, and by the next day when I saw it, there were probably 50 fully grown mushrooms and and bunch that were already starting to die! Totally amazing. I really hope they're not poisonous.

Colin wanted to "drive Lightning" over them (Mike said "no"). Lightning McQueen is his favorite racecar. He loves it and has it with him at all times.

Bonnet

While Mom was visiting, she bought Amelia this cute dress-up bonnet. Amelia loves hats of any kind, and I think she looks great!

The Batman

Colin decided to finally reveal his secret identity. I knew he was working out a lot...

When his arms are up, that means he's "flying." (No, he hasn't actually ever seen a Batman movie.)