Lovely Halloween

I almost think 'lovely' and 'Halloween' should not be used in the same sentence, but today really was a lovely day.
It started with "Ghost-dropping Pancakes" (a.k.a pancakes with chocolate chips). This was an impulse, but was a big hit with everyone.
Later in the day all 4 of us went to Walmart to get our TV converter so we are able to watch TV when everything goes digital in Feb. 2009. It's really rather cool - we now have headings at the top of the picture to tell us what is showing and we have a ton of new channels...all PBS, but that's 98% of what we watch anyway.
Later in the afternoon Noelle and I made some yummy Chex Mix. This was a great delight to the "salt tooth" in the family - Brad. The girls and I figured our sweet tooths (is that a word?) would be well satisfied after an evening of Trick-or-Treating.
After an early dinner our Cheerleader and Cow got suited up for a pleasant stroll through the neighborhood with their daddy. Sadie had a very hard time understanding why she should walk away from our house when mommy had a huge basket of candy that she was very interested in.

Oh the excitement of a lollipop! And who wouldn't be thrilled to be sitting amongst so much candy?

Sorting through all the sugar is very serious work

Parent Teacher Conference

Last Friday I had my first parent/teacher conference with Noelle's preschool teacher. Other then feeling old it was a wonderful experience. Noelle's teacher had glowing things to say about her and informed me she is very mature for her age.
This was good to reflect on later in the day when I found Noelle and Sadie eating their afternoon snack of Kiks and Raisins directly from the tile floor like dogs. I suppose moments of immaturity still exist in "mature" 4 year-olds.

Pictures from Hocking Hills

For those of you who don't know, Hocking Hills is about a 3 hour drive north east of Northern Ky. It's a beautiful area with hiking trails, gorges, and waterfalls (unless it hasn't rained in 2 months which was the case for us). We've gone 3 of the last 4 years with a variety of people. This year we were with the Hocz family - Todd, Kristen, Eliza and Garrison.Sadie, lingering on one of the many bridges we crossed during our hikes

The Hocz's and Spence's in a rock tunnel

Noelle and her buddy, Eliza

A view from "Old Man's Cave"

Christmas Card Beginnings

It's started...the quest to get a family picture to put on our Christmas card. I'm sure the larger your family is, the less likely you will ever be satisfied with family pictures. Ever year I try - umpteen times- to get a picture in which we all look fabulous...I can't imagine why it's so hard!
Our family just returned from a relaxing visit to Hocking Hills State Park in OH. I'll blog more about the visit later, but here is our first attempt at a Christmas card picture.

Not bad...but not perfect. Who knows, this might be what shows up in your mailbox in 2 months.
Shortly after we got home Noelle got out some art supplies, including google eyes and small pom-poms. She made a nice family picture which got me to thinking...why try coaxing smiles and good positioning when we can use this:

Hottie Husband Brings Home ANOTHER Medal!

My hottie husband ran The Kraut Route this morning and brought home a well-deserved medal for finishing first in his age bracket. This 10k is cleverly named for it's main sponsor, The Hofbrauhaus. Even more appealing is the complimentary beer and brat served to the racers after they finished(that is, if you like beer and brats).
Brad ran the 6.2 miles in 44 min and 55 seconds which is over 2 minutes faster then a month ago. It must be in the blood since we just saw Brad's brother, Dave, scooped up a medal himself. Brad's just glad they didn't have to compete for 1st place.

Hottie with his medal

A big hug from a big fan

The girls and I had to miss this race because of a bible study, but we hope to be there for his next race on Thanksgiving Day - "The Turkey Day 10k".