Day 3 and 4 at Grandma's

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and while we didn't stay home and watch football all day long, I only have photos on my phone from our hike, so those will have to be posted later. Right now you can see our family photos from yesterday and from our walk to the Gorge today.

Thanksgiving Day

The Rogue Gorge

And lastly....Robbie's inaugural ATV ride. Today was the first time he ever wanted to ride the ATV at Grandma's. Of course, he only wanted to stay on the "road" (aka the gravel driveway as opposed to the meadow and through the trees). We did lots of circles around the driveway.

Happy Friday! Tomorrow, back home. In the rain. And maybe snow.

Day 2 at Grandma and Granpa's

Today took advantage of the break in the rain and got out of the house and went exploring at nearby Lost Creek Lake. We visited our usual haunts...the Fish Hatchery, the Powerhouse, the dam and the park at the visitor center. I decided I had enough photos from the fish hatercy from past visits, but here a a few of the other spots to add to our collection. And this year, we have Michelle, our wonderful "nanny" to add to our collection, too...

And this one is my favorite...

One day that boy in the middle will be taller than his siblings. We will have to take this photo again in 12 years.

Day 1 at Grandma's House

We are at Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving again this year. We arrived yesterday evening and it poured rain all night. Poured. P.O.U.R.E.D. I'm not kidding. Solid solid rain. The upside? New little creeks running through the property for us to walk in, splash in, and collect rocks from. See?

Gretchen, the extra large puppy, was probably the most excited about the flowing water. She flew back and forth, up and down the little stream, narrowly missing us each time she flew past. I'm surprised we didn't end up muddier.

Attempting to take Kids' Photo....

Yep. Super successful.

Happy Birthday, Padyn

I'm amazing at how quickly this little girl....

...became this big girl.

Maybe you could slow down your growing up a little bit for me? Your daddy and I would really appreciate that.

Happy 9th birthday, Padyn Baby. We love you lots and lots and lots.

And it wasn't even close to Halloween...

One day, some time in early September, Kate and Robbie decided to dress up in their Batman and Batgirl pjs and costume. As we all know, it is best to fight crime with a partner.

What is so funny to me is that neither of them wore these outfits for Halloween. We had no superheros in our family this year (as you can see from a previous post). I love that they wanted to be matching. They are pretty good buds, these two.

Old Photos

It seems so long ago now, but before summer officially ended, we did our annual camping trip with our closest friends. I didn't have many pictures of the weekend (that means we were too busy having fun, right?) but I have a few of Robbie and his pals. They had a great time.

One of the most popular activities of the weekend was the kid designed tree swing. Hours of entertainment.

And this one I love of some of the boys...they look like bugs climbing all over the rock.

Happy Friday

Trick Or Treat

A few pics from our day yesterday....

Robbie started with a Halloween Parade at school. He and his adorable school mates marched around the church collecting treats from all the church staff.

Robbie started off as a dragon, then became a dinosaur, then by the time we went trick or treating, he was telling everyone he was a T-Rex. I love the look his pal, J, is giving him in this picture.

The neighborhood gang, setting out to ask random strangers for candy. What an odd tradition. I'm surprised it still endures....

Padyn, Bella and Kate with their loot. Padyn, the marathon runner; Bella, the werewolf; and Katelyn, the Ice Bear Fairy (from the Rainbow Fairy books)

And I can't leave out the most creative costume of all...Michelle! Our fearless babysitter LOVES Halloween (possibly more than our children ) and relished in everything from decorating the pumpkins (an airplane and an angry bird, just two examples of many) to creating her festive costume.It was quite an awesome spectacle.

Happy November.

Robbie's Big Boy Haircut

A couple weeks ago, we finally had Daddy shave Robbie's hair. It isn't totally gone...there is enough left that he isn't completely bald. But we needed it to be short enough so he would stop twirling it. He has given himself a lovely bald spot right on top of his head from all the hair twirling he's been up to lately.

Here's what we started with....

 Here's Daddy trying to figure out how to cut a squirmy boy's hair...

 And here is the final product, though a couple weeks past the event.

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 And here is how is smiles now when you ask him to give a nice one for the camera.