Jack-o-Lanterns

Designed entirely by the kiddos. And aside from a tiny bit of help from Mom and Dad, they were almost entirely carved by the kiddos!

When a Nap Sneaks Up on You

Little Gifts

No better time than this amazingly gorgeous autumn to explore new spaces like this park I recently found. We've spent a lot of hours here over the last couple of weekends-- yumming up every little bit of these perfect October days God's been giving us and making sure He knows how much we appreciate them.

Dancing to Dino O'Dell

Dino O'Dell is a very well-known children's musician throughout the Kansas City area. Saturday he performed on the lawn of this great old historic house built in 1858. We plopped down on a blanket among the rustling trees dropping their leaves all over us, singing along and dancing (some of us dancing with wilder abandon than others), and it was just fabulous. I am just so thankful for my sweet kids and their love and enthusiasm for stuff like this. Can't imagine how I got so lucky.

Quick Look Back

Last Sunday I found Alaire and Curran lying in Alaire's bed sweetly huddled closely watching a movie on my teensy little ipod. So cute that I had to snap a few pics. Of course.
Curran got a little silly when he saw the camera, but still, pretty stinking cute.






And I look at these two, now at ages 6 and 4 1/2, and while I know they're really still very, very young and still my babies, I'm amazed at how right before my very eyes they have transformed into smart, hilarious, movie-watching, Netflix-surfing, ipod-operating little people when just four short years ago they were both literally little babies.

And I was inspired to do some digging for a little look back in time.






I love photos. They help my poor old memory call back the sweetest things. I love that the photos I take today will be treasures to me in just a few years just as the ones I took a few years ago are such treasures to me today.

The Sunflower State

Maybe it's just me, but it seems the beauty of every single thing is infinitely magnified at this time every year. I wish I could share the beauty and that feeling with the world. :)

Kansas isn't called the Sunflower State for nothing. There are wild sunflower patches (among other wildflowers) everywhere, and it's just gorgeous. There seem to be more than ever in the last few weeks. These pics were taken in the butterfly garden at the kids' elementary school a few days ago while I waited for Maren to get out of a meeting.

Still Mostly Green

Our street on October 13. Still mostly green

but the colors are beginning now with trees like this one peeking out here and there.

Apples and Pumpkins

A couple weekends ago we headed out to Alldredge Orchards, a farm where we picked the most beautiful and delicious apples last fall. (Hey, if you put your curser on the words "last fall" you'll get a link to those pics in case you want to take a peek at what it was like in 35-degree weather...)

It was a beautiful day for apple picking and pumpkin patches this year. Blue and sunny skies but cool and breezy at around 65 degrees.








Uncle Kevin even came along for some fresh air and fun.




We sampled a few apples, but we really had gotten there at the end of the picking on one variety, yet too soon for picking on the newly-ripening variety.


So we just wandered around enjoying their pumpkin patch.


















We found what looks to be the largest pickles in the world. We thought of Miss Kelly and the Stinky Mouse, of course. :)


What the heck are those things anyway? We laughed and carried on about them, and the cutest thing was when Uncle Kevin got to "see" what on earth we were making such a fuss over. I guess when we described them as huge cucumbers, he had no idea we meant HUGE until he got to see it in his own way.


So, no apples that weekend, but still plenty of fun for the couple hours we were at the farm.












So... the following weekend we went back once they'd opened that last section of the orchard. Just the kiddos and me. Uncle Kevin wasn't feeling too great, and Aaron had a killer neuroanatomy exam to study for.

Another gorgeous day, but shorts and t-shirts weather! It had to be at least an 80-degree day!


The kids did all the hard work, and I just walked around, watching them, and quietly praising God for all the amazing gifts in my life.












And this time, we came home with apples!