Everything Autumn

I was going to say that fall (the time that school starts) is always a busy time for us... and I could list all of our normal fall activities for work and recreation... but I have come to realize that just about EVERY time of year is a BUSY time... even the summers seem to fill up oober-fast with all the things we must accomplish or want to enjoy that have been put aside during our full-throttle/survival-mode time. It's a good thing we live in Alaska, where it is common and expected to stop (or at least slow down a bit from time to time) and enjoy where we live.

Here are some picts from autumn:

Jake's 30th Birthday Party (Oct. 1)

The carrot cake I made for him (no pineapple because we want to keep him around for a while)

Jonah opening his birthday presents (Oct. 2), with some help from Dad. Bodie and Molly were hanging out too, and when we told them, "Tell Jonah Happy Birthday" they both walked up to him and put their noses on his chest or cheek for a second... very cute.
Jonah got sensory/tactile balls from Nana Pat and Papa Gary for his 1st Birthday...
they were a big hit.
Jonah's turtle costume for Halloween

Daniel as "THE HULK" --the mask glowed and the gloves have sound effects.
Both boys loved the gloves, but the mask scared Jonah.DJ helping mom make some apple pies for Thanksgiving.
He loves to help in the kitchen, including wearing the apron and all that...
maybe he'll bake like his mom and be a chef like his dad...Jonah wanted to help with the flour bucket too... we stopped him before it got REALLY messy.
Man after my own (child's) heart... I don't like them much anymore, but when I was 4...
Bring back memories, mom and dad? :)
We had our quietest Thanksgiving ever this year...
didn't go anywhere OR have anyone over.
It felt WAY different, but it was actually a lot of fun and completely stress-free.
Turkducken, the wine we made at the Denali winery, and all the fixins... it was nice.
Thanksgiving art Deej made at ECE (Early Childhood Education; preschool)
Brothers hangin' out. They have their moments of trying to bug each other (often) of course, but MOST of the time, they want to be by each other so they can laugh together... too much fun.
Me, happy to be back to normal after battling my first eye stye... must have been stress... ugh. It's amazing how much you forget about little things like the health of your skin until you DON'T have it, and how much you appreciate it when you have it again. (Same applies to colds, I suppose, but they're not near as intrusive on your face... I'd rather have a red nose any day.)

Another of Daniel's first art projects from school: FINGERPAINTING
(I was so jealous... he got to marble paint later on too... I need to go back to preschool.)

More pictures to come... I still need to cover Christmas, Easter, our MOVE, and everything in between. We are in the middle of a move though, and soon to be w/o internet until we're fully moved in. I'll get to the winter and spring posts before August, I promise... way too many cool recent picts to pass up posting. :)