Peak Color

 We try to do a lot of hiking as the leaves change in the fall.  Chris and I think that the colors around here peaked this weekend.  The seasons are changing too fast!  The trees are beautiful this year!  I'm sure that their vibrancy is due to this summer's drought.

 I love Izzy in this sequence of pictures.  Oh, how her demeanor can change!  :)

 Back to her happy self, holding a wooly bear.

 

Lakefront Outing

Last Saturday, after pancakes and cleaning, we went into Milwaukee to retrieve our Izzy from a sleepover with her good friend Elizabeth.  After a quick cup of coffee with Elizabeth's parents we continued our way south to Milwaukee's lakefront.  Milwaukee has a pretty fantastic lakefront.  Almost the entire stretch of Lake Michigan beachfront adjacent to downtown is parks or community space.  Very nice!

 We had a picnic lunch, chatted with the locals,

 inspected the marina,

and flew a kite (with an Obama visit/ rally in the background).  It was one of those occasions when I try to deeply inhale the bouquet of my family, hoping to remember every last detail of the afternoon because I love them all, right then and there, so much.

5 Things

1.  We went to buy deer apples yesterday for saucing only to find little tiny apples for sale in the corner.  I inquired.  Apparently the year I went to the orchard and bought those big, beautiful windfall deer apples on the cheap the apple sorter wasn't working.  The sorter is fixed and the orchard keeps the bigger windfalls to be pressed into cider ($7 a gallon this year! gah!). We need to find a cheap apple source.

2.  Claire really wanted a big themed birthday party this year:  Friends.  Lots of cute, styled food.  Games.  Presents.  The whole shebang.  I said no.  (Actually, I probably laughed and said no a bit too emphatically, but that's beside the point.)  To compromise we said that she could make a pinata and have some neighborhood kids over to smash it.  She tackled this project with gusto!  She made this fish completely by herself, she didn't even ask for help.  We were very impressed by her initiative and the product itself.

 3.  Gus got the dreaded haircut this week.  When he was littler, Chris had to hold him in a headlock while I quickly buzzed off what I could.  We bribe him with various things now, but he hates getting his hair cut just as much.  I wonder if I will be able to trim up his hair outside again next month.  Will it be too cold?  Having outdoor haircuts makes the clean up so much easier.

4. I love library days.  Every one of us was snuggled up reading in the living room this afternoon.  Ah!  quiet coziness.  Claire has been reading anything princess/ adventure/ fantasy.  Lily has been loving the newest series by Kathryn Lasky, some series about wolves.  Izzy loves this picture book called Izzy Pippik--go figure.  Gus loves non-fiction of any sort--animals, dinosaurs, trucks, rocks, weather--you name it.  He also really likes find-the-picture type books.  He gets one or two every week from the shelves.

5.  Chris is taking a Kleinig class in Fort Wayne this week.  The kids and I have a different routine when he is away.  We stay in jammies until late morning.  We don't finish our school on schedule.  I cook (or don't cook) crazy things for dinner.  And the kids eat jello.  I'm not sure how the tradition started, but whenever Chris is away for an extended period the kids are allowed to make themselves jello.  I won't prepare it or eat it--it is so gross.  But it is (wiggly) fun for them, and it is the only time jello is allowed in my kitchen.  As soon as he pulls out of the driveway, it is usually the first thing they ask about.  "When is it time for jello?"  :)

Late Summer Hike

When we were first married my husband talked dreamily of the traditions that our family would have.  I'm sure that I nodded my head and rolled my eyes at him, but just as he predicted we have established quite a few.  Burgers on Christmas Eve.   Cleaning on Saturday mornings.  A trek to Horicon Marsh every fall.   Eggs for lunch after church every Sunday.  It seems that a trip to Parnell Tower for a picnic and hike is due every year in the late summer. 

We went last weekend.  Fabulous.  As always.

Fraternal Comparision

Theo

 Gus

 

 I thought these photos of Theo and Gus at the same age, in the same outfit (in the same corner of the kitchen and with the same thumb in their mouths!) were fun.  Yes, they really do look like brothers.

Theo: 1 Month

5 Things

1.  My freezer meals are dwindling.  I have really appreciated not having to cook every meal lately.  One less thing to do, right?  I am making Clam Pasta for dinner tonight.  It is not a freezer meal, but it is super tasty and quick.  I am making Overnight French Toast for breakfast tomorrow--another recipe you should try.  While Gussy can't enjoy it (he is allergic to eggs), we love it and you will too!

2.  We are adjusting to life with Theo.  I have yet to completely figure him out.  Doesn't that take a lifetime?  He seems more fussy than my other kids, but I could have forgotten already.  :)  Nursing hasn't been easy.  I feel like a failure.  I have to remind myself often that sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones are nasty ghouls that severly alter my perception of reality.  I really do feel like a crazy person.

3.  Coffee is a lifesaver.  My mood determines my coffee mug for the morning.  Is that the same for you too?  My favorite one lately is the red one (sassy), but the owl mug Claire got for her birthday has been very tempting.  She has first dibs.

4.  Homeschool this week went well.  We breakfasted and went to Matins on schedule.  I had the girls do abbreviated lessons after Matins, an induction of sorts.  I plan to start full bore next Tuesday.

5.  Chris and I have watched the RNC the past few nights with Theo--in a sort of sleepy, hypnotic trance.  Condi Rice was amazing.  I loved Paul Ryan, Susana Martinez, and Marco Rubio's speeches (Damn!  We're Republicans!).  Clint Eastwood was creepy weird.  Mitt Romney?  Eh?, it was okay.  I will vote for him, but I did not find his speech inspiring, granted I did sleep through half of it.