or treat?

To finish off our extended Halloween experience, we got dressed up (again) and went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. (Actually, first we went driving around in search of light for our Halloween pictures, as you can see below.) This might have been anti-climactic, if not a disaster, if the kids hadn't started the evening with one welcoming experience: visiting our friends Jamie and Nicole, who had not only dressed up in fabulous costumes themselves (Mr. Peanut and Miss Scarlet), but had gone out of their way to buy special treats for the children (the largest bars of Honeyduke's chocolate you ever saw). After this, though, we struggled to find an area of town with consecutive porch lights to welcome the children. The folks who were at home were very nice, though. Casper stumbled around, stunned and confused by his good luck, and Gwennie proclaimed that trick-or-treating was about the best thing she's done all week.

Minerva McGonagall, whose shadow is leading Hedwig to the owlery

Brian Dumbledore, wearing his time-turner belt buckle

Hermione Granger, demonstrating her swish-and-flick technique

Bill, the cool Weasley, in mid-incantation

Hedwig's still pretty proud of his lantern

nature spot, october

wandwork

They've already appeared in a few photos, but since tomorrow is Halloween, here's a sneak peak at one essential element of the costumes -- our wands. Each is whittled from hardwood, sanded smooth, stained, and then tipped with a glass bead. (Dumbledore's wand also has a diamond-shaped "speed hole" in his wand tip, to make the magic go faster.)

Houstontown

Granny made arrangements to visit one of her cousins who lives in Houston, so the whole family decided to drive her down and spend some time in a few of our favorite (and sorely missed) spots in the city. One of the places which we used to frequent was the Children's Museum, which -- once its hundred million dollar capital campaign ended, just as we left town -- has transformed itself. Sometimes these sorts of reinvention change the essential qualities of a place, but the Museum has managed to retain its charming character while becoming larger and richer. The new areas, including an invention spot, a three-story climbing structure, and an outdoors waterworks, are really remarkable. On the whole, the exhibits and interactives are more compelling, the programs wider-ranging, and the design more inventive.

After an hour and a half, Jennifer and Casper drove Granny for her visit, and Gwendolyn, Linus, and I stayed for another two hours investigating the galleries. I had to bodily drag Linus from the place, and only convinced Gwennie to leave with the promise of dinner. (All that exploring is hungry work.)

The Flow Works may have been the neatest new addition to the Museum. It started raining while we were out, but we had already gotten wet playing in the water -- making waves, opening dams, examining Archimedes' screws.

No matter whether it's pipes or blocks -- it's all building.

This is Linus's typical look of concentration. I should mention that the invention gallery had two giant troughs of legos, which had Linus cooing in excitement. It was also outfitted with two racing ramps, one of which had a jump. We sat opposite a French father and son and an English family, each of us making cars to try send down the ramp and over the leap. Gwennie's fragile car managed to make it without breaking, Linus's triplet cars went down the ramp together, and my caterpillar car almost made it to the end of the line.

Does anyone know when Gwendolyn became such a proficient climber? She made it all the way along the rock wall, stretching and pulling herself along like half a spider. She also slithered with her brother through the disc structure faster than I could climb the stairs to the top.

Hogwarts

Tonight was our church Halloween party and trunk-or-treat, and we all had a great time, especially with the costumes. I think that these turned out pretty handsomely, particularly as it was all stage managed by one bushy-haired "insufferable know-it-all." (I mean, one committed seven year old.)

Ron Weasley

Hermione Granger

Hedwig

l to r, Hermione, Minerva M., Brian D., Hedwig, a borrowed Harry, Ron

fantasy-novel land

We were lucky enough to spend the day with Granny at the Renaissance Festival, also known as "Land of a Thousand Crappy Accents." It was one of their "School Days," so children from schools were bussed in and homeschoolers invited. Now, I've never been to a Renaissance Festival before, but I think this is the way to attend with small children -- because many vendors were closed (those that sell alcohol, tobacco products and metal weaponry, for instance), people were fully clothed (for the most part), the crowds weren't that bad, and the place really seemed to clear out after 2pm. We were thrilled to meet up with our good friends almost immediately, and spent the whole day playing together. Highlights included the "rides" (Gwennie on a "human catapult," Linus and Mama in the boat swing), the Birds of Prey show, Elephant and Camel rides, and of course, playing with friends. Perhaps not the most educational thing we've done, but we had a fun day.

hoodie model

self-portrait by a 4-year-old

After returning from a trip to the park with Daddy this Friday afternoon, Linus started complaining forcefully about his ear hurting. We took him right to the urgent care, and the doctor announced that one of his ears was so infected that its redness could probably be seen with the naked eye. Linee was in real pain for the better part of a day, until the medication kicked in.

Today was the primary program in sacrament meeting; Linus and Gwennie had been practicing their lines all week. Linus announced that he wouldn't need any help before saying, "My daddy helps me learn how to cook when we make pancakes, bread, and pigs in blankets together," although he dropped the "learn how to cook" and "together," but everyone got the message. (Gwennie was similarly pleased that she was able to recite her long and complex line without any help, either.)

Later, in primary, he was asked to color a picture of himself, so he added his red hair, his blue eyes, and bright red infections in each ear (the worse in his right ear, as you can see). On the back of the drawing, he added this portrait:

grateful sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

• The Primary Program. It is always so wonderful and I love watching those sweet kids sing their hearts out. All the children did a beautiful job. I'm so very thankful for wonderful and loving Primary teachers and leaders who love and nurture my children.
  
• Faith and Hope. I've been thinking about these two principles a lot lately as I prepare to teach Relief Society next week. I'm thankful for the trials in my life which grant me opportunity to increase my faith and my hope.
  
• The prospect of a fun-filled week with Granny. She and Grandad arrived tonight and Granny gets to stay and play with us all week! We're beyond thrilled to have her with us. In fact, the children are so thrilled that it took them over an hour to wind down for bed tonight after she and Grandad arrived. Literally bouncing off the walls.
  

gotta join in

Casper is also looking forward to Halloween (as much as he understands it). Each time I put him in his bed for nap or bedtime, he informs me, "I'm Hedwig, Mama." Beautiful kid.

a week off

Gwennie's been excited about Halloween for quite some time, but her anticipation has picked up in the past few days. She's announced to several people -- most recently the leader of our public library's storytime -- her detailed plans for her costume. (It's going to take her at least a day in advance to put her scheme into action.) More to follow.

painting the season

kitten climber

We recently bought a scratching post for the cats (in an attempt to move their attention away from the furniture) and Spatz especially loves to climb the thing. It's a pretty fun thing to watch.

safety first

This past Saturday, after the excitement of the Preparedness Fair and the Fire Engine, we took the kids over to the university where the Chemistry Department was having an open house. Among the highlights were the Chemistry Road Show's many experiments and explosions, which were colorful, filled with smoke, and noisy. Also the glass blowing demonstration. And the safety goggles.

grateful sunday

This week, I'm grateful for:

• The excitement and glee on my children's faces as they experience the simple pleasures of childhood -- unpacking the box of Halloween decorations, tromping through mud puddles in their rain boots, eating homemade bread with honey, playing hide and seek.
• Our health. It seems that every other family we know has suffered with swine flu. I'm so grateful that at this moment in time, we are all well.
• The sweet spirit felt at church today as members bore testimony of prophets, apostles and the words spoken at General Conference. I have such a love for our congregation; the people here are good and humble and are always striving to better themselves. What a blessing to be surrounded by such good examples.
• Working appliances. I had a scare this week when I thought one of our major appliances had conked out on me (apparently, it was just "resting"). You don't realize how stressful it is to be without a working washer or fridge or a/c until it you're forced to go without for a spell. We've had our fair share of repair bills since moving here, but right now, I'm just thankful that everything seems to be working as it should.
• My sweet hardworking husband. He mowed the lawn in the dark on Friday night so we could have an uninterrupted fun-filled Saturday as a family (and we did!). He made an awesome dinner tonight (chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, and popovers) and, as I type, is cleaning up the kitchen.
  

the fire brigade

This morning our church hosted an Emergency Preparedness Fair to help community members get information about and find resources for water/food storage, 72 hour kits, first aid, and safety. For our children, the highlight was the fire safety demonstration by the local fire department, which included the opportunity to crawl around in and explore a real fire engine.


If Gwennie could have convinced the firefighter to turn on the hose, I would have gotten it right in the face.

Halloween practice

To give you a sense of an average week at our house, here is partial documentation of the characters and the costumes which the children adopted over the past five days:

Cats (note the ears)

Pumpkins

Giraffes (formerly Linus's costume, now Casper's)

Frank Hardy (the elder Hardy Boy) and Callie Shaw at the dance contest

Fireman and Bat (with multi-purpose ears)

gaps a'mighty

Our sweet little Gwendolyn went to the dentist this morning and got a frenulectomy. Her labial frenlum was quite low and very thick; our hope is now that when her permanent teeth come in (if they ever do), she won't have a big gap . . . or need braces. She was very brave, and the dentist reported that she was a model patient, but I'm afraid that her excitement about visiting the dentist is permanently gone. When she came home, she told Todd, "Daddy, now I know how you feel when you have to visit the dentist."