[day 290... oct 17]

Tynor and I did a lot more work on Kellen's old room today! Got it entirely cleared out, dusted, vacuumed, and ready to go.

Tynor moved in his mattress, alarm clock, and drum set. All the essentials. :-) Now we just need to move his clothes, books, papers, and CDs, and clean out HIS room so I can get my craft room set up! Hopefully next weekend.

[day 289... oct 16]

I kept Cory home today to see if resting up would help his cough. He loved it, of course. His dearest desire these days is to stay home and build Star Wars Legos starships and figures and watch Star Wars movies.

Today he wanted a photo of several starships he'd constructed, with labels for each one. Then we took pictures of them in various stages of "space wars" with a plan (his idea) to make a story book. The color printer is ancient and doesn't print worth beans, so we kind of put that on the back burner after the first couple of prints. But we did order prints (small ones) from Costco so perhaps another day.

[day 288... oct 15]

The movement/physical education teacher at Little School leads a fundraiser event every year called "Jumprope for Heart." All week (maybe for a couple of weeks), the kids learn about double-dutch, and other fun jumproping skills (even kids Cory's age!). Then one day after school, those who want to participate gather for DJ music and lots of jumproping.

Unfortunately, I had to pick up Cory right after school (and Niall, who had had enough jumproping already and was up in the library reading - where else?!) because he was coughing and hacking all day. But here he is with his classmate Abby, practicing doubledutch rope turning and having a grand time.

[day 287... oct 14]

I got a kick out of this slightly freaky-looking inflated pumpkin, hanging over the local ice cream (and fudge) shop on my drive home from work (when I drive up through the valley, not when I go by freeway as I usually do).

I've never stopped at this ice cream place - Theno's - but always mean to. Soon I expect, since we're getting so good at checking places off our "someday" list. All it takes is a bit of focus and "let's just do it!" :-)

[day 286... oct 13]

I think Little School did a bang-up job with their 50th anniversary design - incorporating the school's charming logo and adding a lot of festiveness! Love seeing this included in banners and posters everywhere this year. Fifty years - such a long time. Odd to think I'm coming up on that myself - yikes.

[day 285... oct 12]

Another picture from our visit to Remlinger Farms yesterday - look how big these boys are getting! So fun seeing them grow and grow.

[day 284... oct 11]

Our first outing to Remlinger Farms! It was another sunny Fall day and the Harvest Festival at Remlinger is just perfect for kids Cory and Niall's ages, so we had a great time. Lots of people there, of course, especially ages 0-3 it seemed. In fact, we ran into Garland and her family there, looking just a bit overwhelmed. Hopefully they enjoyed themselves too.

The rides were almost all sized just right for little people, but still lots of fun. The kids rode in the spinning barrels (like a teacup ride - too dizzying for me!), the flying pumpkins (an octopus ride), the roller coaster, a tiny Ferris Wheel, a small canoe ride, antique cars (my favorite when I was little - I thought I was really steering them!), a "whirly-bird" that was all kid-powered, and the train.

The boys also really enjoyed the hay bale maze, visiting the baby goats and other animals, and playing on a cool old-fashioned fire engine. The pizza for lunch was tasty too!

[day 283... oct 10]

Grandma Shannon and my nephew, Rolly, came over to play today. Rolly's dad was going to take him to run errands, so we thought Rolly would have more fun coming over to visit "toyland." Baby sister is only a few weeks old, so it's nice to give the tired parents a break when we can.

Tynor joined us out by the climber to chat with Grandma and watch the three little guys play on the climber and run through the grass.

[day 282... oct 9]

We swung by Costco after I picked up the boys from school and filled the car, picked up a few needed items (milk!), and got a pizza for dinner. The boys enjoyed watching through the window as the Costco worker removed the pizza after it rode the conveyor belt through the oven and used the giant circle tool to lay out the pie-shaped wedges.

It's so cool to be able to get regular food with DAIRY in it that we can all eat, after all these years of being so careful with Cory's food. Pizza is Cory's new favorite food, hands down. But no, we can't have it every single night for dinner (and leftovers for breakfast and lunch!)

[day 281... oct 8]

As state-regulated "childcare," the Extended Day program at school sometimes has bizarre and annoying rules that must be enforced. For example, kids can play on the Jay Slide climber during the school day, but can't play there in the after school program because there's something about "children could hide up there and the caregivers couldn't see them." Ok, then.

But I do like these little notes posted about what snacks they had and what some of their activities were during the day. Of course, there's lots of free play too. And Niall spends most of his time in the library, if that option is available. :-) But it's still fun to check out the notes sometimes to get a little snapshot of what's been going on.

[day 280... oct 7]

I notice cool cloud patterns much more often now that I'm keeping this blog. These clouds were just over the freeway as I was driving the kids home from school. Hopefully this won't devolve into a mostly-cloud-patterns 365 blog! :-)

But I just love the dramatic patterns that appear so often in the sky, and then usually morph or fade away in a matter of minutes.

I actually see patterns in everything, everywhere I go, and imagine the striking photographs they would make. Just the way my eye and inclinations lead me, I guess.

[day 279... oct 6]

Hot cocoa is one of my very favorite things, but I usually get mine in a coffee tumbler (usually at Starbucks).

But recently I visited a local bakery in Seattle (meeting with Frank and Kellen about some stuff) and they served this charming cup of cocoa with a lovely decorative foam swirl. Love it.

[day 278... oct 5]

Signout sheets are a daily ritual when I pick up the boys from Extended Day at school. Last year, because Cory was in a class of 4's and 5's, the state required that we also sign the children in every morning. But this year, I only have to remember signing out. It's a pretty well established habit after nearly 15 years. :-)