Fall Zoo Visit

Graham had a day off school for fall break, so we decided to have a fun fall family outing.  To the Zoo!

Flamingo fun.

We can't go to the zoo without seeing Balto. Addy has asked to bring her pumpkin bag with her (she always travels with something - the girl does not travel lightly) but neither of us really had any idea what was in it.  Little did we know...

...in it was her stuffed Balto.  She wanted to introduce them.  I'm not quite sure how this didn't mess up the space-time continuum, but it sure was cute.

Addy tried really hard to make Cora and Togo, the other sled dog statue, become friends.

Cora obliged, and showed her love in the same way she does to Star - sticking her finger up her nose.  Ah, Cora, sometimes you are such a strange kid!

Star and her boyfriend

 We found a new way for Star to burn off her puppy energy - to make out with her boyfriend Sherlock.  Our neighbors got Sherlock within the same week we adopted Star and the two have been best buds ever since.  This weekend, they had two four-hour doggie dates that consisted of running, wrestling and just general puppy fun.

Fun with the Great-Grandparents!

This Sunday we got together with aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins at the girls' Great-Grandparents Thompson house in New Castle, PA. The day was beautiful and the visit was great!  

Here's Addy and her cousin, Kaylee (technically a second cousin, but who keeps track???), working hard on a Halloween craft project.

The four great-grandkids: Kaylee, Addy, Cora and Jonathan.

Upside down cousins.

I thought it was hard getting my two girls to smile and look forward at the same time for a photo, but four kids?  Impossible! 

While the kids playing was great, the real show was...

...when Great-Grandpa put on a small concert for us.  We're thankful for every time we get to hear him play.

SuperWhy

"Arms in, Mom!" 
"Super-readers, to the rescue!"

Is what I hear when Addy watches her favorite show on PBS - SuperWhy.  Well, two of the characters came to Whole Foods this weekend. 

The Greatest Show on Earth

Thanks to our great friends, Jenny and Gracie, Addy and I got to join them and go to the circus!  Addy and Gracie were just so excited.  Here's Addy pre-show trying on the wardrobe.

 And Addy with her tatoo "The Greatest Show on Earth."

Friends with snow cones :)

Before going to the circus, Addy and I were talking about cotton candy so it was inevitable that she was going to get some.  Hey, it's the circus, why not?  But little did I know, it would come with some crazy hat or pink hair wig???  So Addy chose the pink hair, but only if you know how much Addy loves The Doodlebops can you truly understand just how exciting this was.  The Doodlebops are this obscure Canadian trio of singers dressed up like crazy clown aliens or something, that I think have the singular mission of driving me crazy.  She saw them as a preview on a Thomas the Train DVD or such and then was delighted to find the DVD at our library.  Delighted indeed - thanks Shaker Heights public library!    Anyway, Addy now sports her pink hair and walks around the house saying, "Look, I'm Dee Dee Doodle!"

The parade of elephants.  And hopefully this pictures conveys a small taste of the lights,energy and noise coming from this show - the theme, for goodness sake, was "Fully Charged."  Crazy, right?  Not so much that Addy was able to fall asleep during the second to last act of the show!  Preschool Addy just has a hard time staying up past 9:30 at night and when she's out, she's out.  People at the circus were marveling at how she was asleep despite the fanfare.  And then I carried her out of the Q, across the street in the rain, to the car, into her carseat and home into her bed - all without even an eye opening.  And she slept until 8am the next day.  And for that, I say, thank you circus.

 

One more fun circus story...Before falling asleep :), during the high wire act, Addy turns to me and says, "Mom, are you sure this is a good idea?"  Which is funny in large part because Addy is always doing crazy acrobatic moves around the house, and anyone around, is reminding her to be careful or questioning whether that particular jump from the armchair to the couch head first was a good idea.  Back to the story, so I respond, "Well, I wouldn't do it, but these performers practice this a lot so they know how to do it and how to do it safely."  A few seconds later, "Mom, I don't think it's a good idea for the clowns to get up there."  

Ten Apples Up on Top!

We took advantage of a sunny afternoon last week and went to Edy's Fruit Farm for apples and pumpkins.  I think apple-picking has now become one of our family's fall traditions that I look forward to the most.  It's just so much fun to let (this year) the girls roam on their own through the orchard, see who can reach the highest apple, munch on an apple straight off the branch, and think about all the yummy things we're going to make with the apples we bring home.

Peeking through the trees

Cora's first actual apple-picking experience.  Last year, she enjoyed the afternoon from the comfort of her  Bjorn strapped to my chest.

"Okay, let me take a look here...which one do I want..."

"Aha...this one looks good."

"Yup.  Yummy."

Apple-picking sisters

Ah, Cora.  Crazy and cute.

Picking out their pumpkins.

Sign of a successful apple-picking and pumpkin outing???  A full trunk.  (And you know winter is coming because while the hay bales look festive now, Graham's real motivation for purchasing them was to serve as benches again this year at the neighborhood outdoor ice rink).

Our New Mexico Adventure - Celebrating Meg & Ian's Wedding

Graham and I just returned from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we celebrated the marriage of Graham's childhood friend, Meg and her husband, Ian.  Yes, you read that right...Graham and I.  No kids.  My parents were kind enough (or perhaps crazy enough) to watch the girls and we took off for sun, relaxation and celebration.

The first night we arrived, we checked into The Tamaya Resort and Spa and went out to the patio for a glass of wine and appetizers.  The Tamaya is located just outside of Albuquerque, at the base of the Sandia Mountains, and through some well-orchestrated agreement, on the sacred grounds of a former pueblo.  Our peace and quiet were momentarily interrupted by the sound of coyotes.  Welcome to the Southwest! 

The next morning, we went for a walk in the bosque and found this sign:

We came across the Rio Grande.  Perhaps not the most impressive river we've ever seen, but remarkable for the area.

You can just see the hotel through the cottonwoods.

A view of the Tamaya.

We did venture into Old Town Albuquerque.  Here's a beautiful church on the main square.

The small specs you see in the skyline are hot air balloons.  The world famous Balloon Festival started that Saturday and this is just after the first launch.  There were hundreds!

One "floated" out our way.

It was 80 degrees and sunny while were there.  Lovely!  Much time was spent by the pool.  Here we are making our way up, to then go down the water slide. 

Another beautiful picture of the landscape.  This is very near the wedding site.

Graham had the honor as serving as Meg's "Man of Honor."  And he fulfilled his role very well.  He also looked quite dashing in his tux.

A great picture of Graham and his mom, Sherry.

Very Graham

 

And one more sign that made us laugh on our way out of town. 

 

Bye bye beautiful New Mexico.