Tricks and/or treats

It is a crisp autumn afternoon. Suddenly, a rarely seen creature comes waddling up your driveway: it's Frog Boy! Resistance is futile!  Just hand over some candy!

Mr. Brian was our first target of the evening

He was prepared and gave us some good chocolate. Mom was kind enough to safety sample.

As the evening progressed, our little trick-or-treater got the hang of the routine and he had a terrific time.

Unfortunately, his basket carrying skills were lacking and much of the candy fell out during the evening. Perhaps it is better that way...

After we hit a few of the houses in our neighborhood we went home and doled out candy to the kids that came to our house.

Goes without saying that a good time was had by all!

Boo!

Happy Halloween!

It was the night before Halloween...

If it wasn't for the last minute nothing would get done!

On the eve of the  big day, crucial Halloween preparations were being made (i.e. we were carving the pumpkins)!

Without a little helper it would have been twice as fast but only half as fun.  For weeks, Mathias has been pointing out the pumpkins he sees in the neighborhood.  We have been practicing our Trick or Treat!  We're all set!

Shiny new ear tubes

Around 10 this morning we received a new set of ear tubes for Mathias.  The act of putting them in literally took about 5 minutes.  Of course, that's after the pre-operation checkup yesterday and going through the procedure once with a nurse, once with the anesthesiologist, and the doctor.  

M was a trooper through the whole ordeal.   About 15 minutes after he woke up from the procedure he was sifting through the hospital toys.  He found a little riding tractor to shuffle through the hospital hallways.  

And he wanted a donut.

3rd in line

Our little community built a large bridge over a not-so large river that runs through town. Perhaps you can tell from the photo but it is not quite done yet... But if you have the choice of a grand opening of a bridge that is almost done on a Saturday with sunshine, or the finished item on a Thursday with rain... What would you choose?

Certainly every community that has invested in a pricey piece of infrastructure has grappled with this question: who will be the first to use it?  It is a question of no significance at all - unless you decide to make it into a big deal! And we did.

First to cross the bridge was... drum roll... our local waste management firm. Yes, that's right. They ponied up $3,200 in a charity auction for the privilege. We are all happy they drove a semi instead of a garbage truck in the river crossing premier.

Second came a T-Ford full of Octogenarians.  The previous bridge was built in 1922 so anyone of that vintage was invited to travel next.  It is not clear if the Ford was from 1922 but it looked the part with wooden wheels and all.

Next up - thus third in line - where the folks born in the same year as the new bridge. Know anyone born in 2008?  We do!  

Said and done.  Ericka and a few of her fellow sleep deprived townspeople traveled across the concrete marvel, chaperoning the littlest town citizens, in a shiny new Hybrid Tahoe.

Johan was not enthused at all.  Like dad I think he had expected a convertible.  But a good time was had by all and we celebrated in style.  

So if someone asks you: why did the infant cross the river?  You know the answer!

Awake

Catching a rare glimpse of baby Johan when he is not either sleeping, crying or eating.  Just hanging out with Mama.

Day to day it is hard to notice him growing.  But the clothes he had when he first came home has gotten a bit small over time...  

Ear tubes again

Having had two bouts of ear infections in the past month we have a date set for getting another round of tubes for Mathias.  

That's not how anyone wants to spend their Halloween!

Farming

Wouldn't it be fun to have your own farm?  Your own little world with a couple of tractors, some cows and goats, an apple orchard, a field of pumpkins and a few chickens running around!  

Of course, being a farmer comes with hard work, inconvenient hours, and erratic pay...  Much better then to get to play on the farm without doing any of the hard work!  

Said and done! A farm outside of our small town opens its door to the public in the fall.  With Marci, Aunt B, and Megan in tow we ventured out for a terrific day of fun.  Well... Johan slept through most of it but Mathias had a good time.

M got to play with real life (if antique) tractors.  And, if you are 2, anything with wheels is the greatest thing out there!

We played with chickens (even if we didn't come close to them) and got to see the really small chicks.

We ventured into the orchard for a few Honey Crisp apples.

And we shopped for pumpkins - Halloween is right around the corner!

Unfortunately, we did not spend enough time with the pigs and the goats.  We're going back this weekend!

Checking in too

If you know Aunt B, work with Aunt B, are related to Aunt B, or have merely heard of Aunt B.... you're probably asking yourself: what took her so long?!

Recognizing that her day job gets in the way of visiting her nephews, we welcomed her with open arms once she did arrive! 

She graciously moved in for a few days to guide us through the sleep deprivation fog.  

She was shortly thereafter joined by Aunt Marci and cousin Megan.  It was like having live-in nannies! 

Despite our pleas, and offers of full-time employment, they eventually returned to their regular lives.

But it was sure nice to have them here for a while!