Halloween

The littles got dressed for Halloween.  The little man started off as a wolf.  The little woman was suppose to be Harley Quinn, but the make-up kit we ordered online only made it as far as Detroit.  So she was a black cat.
We did two good blocks of trick or treating and then returned home.  I think the hurry for them was the giving out of the treats.  They got into it.  Audrie had a nice comment for almost every costume she saw and she kept telling them Happy Halloween.  She did an outstanding job.
I was rather impressed with the littles.
And so we have hit the end of October.  This year is flying by.

Sigh

Well the good life didn't last long.  Mike lost his job right away and that meant he couldn't get an apartment in Longview.  Put him back in our proximity.  And as far as I can tell we are all back to same old same old.  Oy.
Anyway.....I've tried to include him in some activities with the kids.  And he goes along with it, but it all feels rushed.  When we went to the pumpkin patch he helped with the pumpkins and then waited in the car while we did the other things.
Tonight was Halloween and he wanted to go trick or treating with the littles.  We hadn't even went one block when he disappeared on us.  What's up with that.  And then he left for the night.  Much to my relief.

60 and Art

Today is Dave's 60th birthday.  We talked about him and how much we missed him.  Tried to decide if it is appropriate to say it is his birthday and how old he would be.  We decided that it is.  After all he was born 60 years ago today.  If he were still with us, we would be throwing a big party today.
Sixty is a milestone.  Unfortunately not one that he made.  He made different choices in his life that lead to his early demise.
So we say happy birthday Papa/Dave.  Sending light and love wherever you are.

We took advantage of some down time and utilized the paint can that Uncle Pat gave to the little woman for her birthday.  It kept them quiet and occupied while I put the groceries away.  I love her art and how she draws all these things freehand.  And it doesn't matter what medium she uses.  She has even taken to doing art work on the computer.  Amazing girl.

Party Time

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It was another small gathering for the little woman's birthday.  She turned seven today.  We had chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream.  That was what she wanted.  She picked a cake with a chocolate rose on it.
After cake we opened presents.  The Doc McStuffin cat in a crate was the big hit.  She also got shopkins, twosies, shoes, pants, a paint can and a mermaid blanket.  She gave Simon to her brother.  I think she thought it was for him even though it was in her bag.
She was very happy and it was a nice party.  Now we have to buy a pinata that we can hang in her room.  ;p

Smallness

So again this year Audrie wants a small gathering for her birthday.  And it is absolutely fine with me.  It doesn't seem to bother her that she doesn't have a big crowd or a big pile of gifts.  We spend the day as a family and that must be more important to her.
I kept waiting for the question of why her gifts aren't big like some of the parties we have been invited to and have attended.  And she never does.  The little man has commented on it at some point.
She enjoys the parties we have been to. So I'm still not sure why she tends to shy away from them for her own birthday.  Anyway we are looking forward to a quiet day of celebration tomorrow.

Pumpkins

Sunset had her day at the humane society for her spaying. It took two hours to commute to the Oregon Humane Society.  Traffic was ridiculous.  But we got her there and dropped off.
After we got home the little man and I cleaned out his and Audrie's pumpkins so they would be ready to carve.  We have a nice bowl of seeds to roast.
After we picked Sunset up and then got her settled back in at home, we set about working on the pumpkins.  The littles found out it was a little harder to carve than they thought.  We used the paper templates that came with the carver set.  We didn't do too bad of a job.  You can tell they are faces.
Took them outside and lit them up to see what they looked like.  Spooky.  They were happy with them.

Leaf Garlands

I get email weekly from a lady who hands out arty ideas of things to do with your kids.  So recently making leaf garlands came up.  Looked easy enough and the only supply we needed was tape.
So we went for a walk and collected leaves.  We jumped in leaves.  We spotted mushrooms.  Played in trees.
When we were done outside, we moved inside.  Went right to work on making leaf garlands for our windows.  The littles did a fantastic job.  And it didn't cost us a thing.  They loved it.