Blackberries

Three gallons of blackberries were obtained, frozen, jammed, pied, caked, and ice-creamed.

Halloween 2008

Some pictures from Halloween, not many, but some. A good time was had by all. G-, "biih tandy" (big candy), "halloweeen!". A- got to go with two friends and they were done afer two blocks. Much sorting and trading when we got back home. Fun stuff.

More pictures

After her first day of school, A- and G- helped with the yard. They filled up that whole trashcan with trimmings from the hedges!

A-'s invention: "It's taped to mommy's door and I got the idea from a hotel and basically how you do it is you have tape, tape it to your wall, and then you do it however you want and then you put it somewhere you can find that would be good. "

First day of Kindergarten

So she doesn't love getting her picture taken....

But she was excited. Until she spilled milk on her clothes and had to change. But I promised her she could wear the other outfit on Tuesday and that pacified her. She didn't flip out though, was just mildly cranky, which, I have to admit, I would have been too.

I can't wait to hear how it went...

Mother's Day present for Oma

Here's Oma's belated Mother's Day present.

A- drew and I embroidered.

And the girls doing their first embroideries. Very free form-avant-garde.

And the girls sitting with Oreo while I did a little gardening.

Snow!

We had a good couple inches of big sticky snow today. With the snow from two days ago (overnight that melted by midafternoon), we've probably broken some kind of record.

Both girls played in it at least twice today, completely exhausting our minimal collection of mittens and hats which of course got soaking wet almost immediately. R- helped A- make a big snowman, it was great snow for rolling. A- came in several times competely excited needing buttons for the front and I gave her a carrot for the nose. Pretty exciting stuff for a five year old that has rarely seen snow, let alone enough to actually play in.

G- says "no!" for "snow" just like A- did.

Random tidbits:
- A- has taken the saying "freezing cold" to heart. Apparently "freezing" is a good adverb to indicate "very". As in "freezing hot outside" and "I'm freezing hungry."
- G- can say "Oreo", the guinea pig's name, but of course it comes out "Loleo".
- A- is into skipping and hopping on one foot and jumping jacks. G- tries to imitate, of course.
- A- actually wanted to use her Lincoln logs today. What! Purchased for Christmas two years ago and pretty much ignored. She's in a building mode. Also liking 20 piece jigsaw puzzles. There must be some spatial development going on in that brain.

Pictures to follow.