Halloween Party

So Luke dressed up as "Spiderman" for Halloween, by putting on his Red Sox attire (hat and shirt) and the pumpkin glasses. He shot webs out of his wrist with great enthusiasm.
Andressa (from Brazil) is a very good friend who moved into Summertown House with her family at the same time we did. She and I met doing aerobics the first January we were here---we were on the back row totally confused together. She had a much better excuse than I did as she was still mastering English as a second language. I'm still mastering coordination!

Anyway, she's in the red shirt in the picture above, and was trying to help all the kids make ghosts out of balloons and toilet paper. This is immediately after my "find the hidden pumpkin" game failed because I forgot how dark it would be at 5:30 PM (we had daylight's savings time a week ago). She and I had planned this party together.
Caleb in the "Trick-or-Treat" shirt Sweetie gave Luke 3 years ago.
In the end, the party was a bit crazy. About double the people Andressa and I thought were coming showed up (which was okay, but just unexpected) and with the age gap being what it was between the children---the games we'd come up with didn't work so well. And, some of the older kids wanted to turn out the lights and tell scary stories which totally terrified the little ones (especially Luke) who lost all confidence and wouldn't leave our sides.

In the end, both of our kids crashed from their sugar highs and went to bed early. Maybe Halloween's not such a raw deal for parents, eh? :)

Baseball in the Rain

So, it was raining the other day (can you believe it???) and Chris had just gotten home from work. He said, "Let's get these guys all suited up for the rain and I'm taking them out to hit the baseball." Envisioning 20-30 minutes of quietness sitting in my bed reading a book, I said, "OK!!" So, we got the kids totally waterproofed and out they went.

I ran back to my bed, jumped under the covers, and had just opened my book, when I heard the front door open and, "Do you think Big Papi hits every single ball when it's pouring down rain outside?" Oh well......he's a sweet dad and husband for trying!

Celebrating the Red Sox

We've been in baseball celebration mode around here. Luke is convinced the outcome of the world series is due to his loyal dress code the past few weeks. He has worn his Red Sox shirt every other day (and slept in it at night as well), alternating only with his Batman shirt (which also gives the Red Sox extra power, of course.)

This is not to imply that Luke really likes baseball at all. Here Chris is trying with all his might to teach Luke to hit the ball.
When successful, Luke LOVES it!!
Second swing of the day, however, is a miss......so we're back to, "It's okay. I'm still Batman. But I don't want to play anymore."

Patience is a virtue, but it is not to be found in our household. :)

Saturday in Hay-on-Wye

We drove 2.5 hours to a little town on the Welsh-English border called Hay-on-Wye (quickly re-named Ham-on-Rye by this uncultured American!). It is known as "the book town" and has TONS of used book shops and antique shops. It was great fun walking around and peeking in the stores. This is the castle on top of the hill....it now has a book shop inside it.
My favorite guys and my favorite colored fall leaves.
The town was a bunch of streets like this.....very narrow and not made for all the cars that were there.
A typically overcast day, but we managed not to get wet. This is the view from the castle's hilltop. The countryside is incredibly gorgeous.

More pics from Hay-on-Wye

Luke's in the background admiring a statue of a dragon. Caleb loves to walk while holding hands.
The fam

Cute little buildings that house floors and floors of books

Gorgeous countryside all around the town....

Cute Boys & Gorgeous Leaves

Caleb models...

... Luke's old overall's. So cute....such a nice Sunday outfit.
...Mollie's homemade hat. He looks like a little Hershey's kiss (with drool all over his shirt)! :)
...all the softness bedtime can offer. Sweetie's pj's, Nana's blanket, Mama and Daddy's eleFANTE.