Happy Halloween!

at Craven Farm (click to enlarge)

Happy Halloween!

Cal the shark

Superman Abbott

Pumpkin Carving

Saturday we had friends join us to carve pumpkins. Abbott was completely independent this year with scooping out the innards and carving!

"Do I really have to touch all that goo inside?"

Cal the Leaf Sweeper

"Mom, can I sweep?"

"After you clear your space at the table."

Not only is Cal motivated to good behavior with the incentive of vacuuming, he also loves sweeping and raking. This particular sunny afternoon he had Superman to assist him.

Pumpkin Prowl

Yesterday we took Abbott and Cal to the Pumpkin Prowl at the Woodland Park Zoo for the third year in a row. It is always exciting to see the pumpkins, and the costumes other prowlers are wearing, and get a little scared sometimes!

There were lots and lots of pumpkins:


Some spooky:






My personal favorite:


What's not to love about face painting?



Is it real?


This pumpkin was wild - it appeared to be two fused pumpkins:


The zoo acquired flamingos this past year, so this was a neat addition to the prowl:


If you've got a picture of a favorite pumpkin, feel free to share the link in the comments section.

What's Outside My Window?

We enjoy watching a variety of boat traffic, like this tugboat we watched a couple of nights ago.

I am a hockey mom

Cal and Alexi

Cal

Abbott

Abbott is in the orange helmet

A few weeks ago, Abbott and Cal started playing hockey. Alexi has played most of his life, and the boys are quite enthusiastic about playing too. They rollerbladed all summer in preparation. The first practice happened to occur on a weekend when Alexi was on call. Take a look at this photo to get an idea of the amount of gear I had to get on the boys alone, with no prior experience!

Here is the note left in my calendar by Alexi for the first practice:

- HAVE THEM GO TO THE BATHROOM
- long underwear for Cal
- cup
- garter belt
- shin guards
- socks, secured by garter belt
- clear plastic tape over socks to hold shin guards in place
- pants
- skates
- shoulder pads
- elbow pads
- shirt
- helmet
- gloves
- stick
- walk to the door to the ice
- remove skate guards

Somehow I managed to get it all on them and get them on the ice on time, though I was sweating toward the end of the 30 minute dressing session!

And for the record, this hockey momma plans to vote for Obama!

our yard signs

Washington Park Arboretum

The Washington Park Arboretum was established in 1934. The City of Seattle held title to a 200+ acre park located in a central portion of the city and agreed that the University of Washington could design, construct, plant, and manage an Arboretum and Botanical Garden in this park.

In 1936, James F. Dawson and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. of the Olmsted Brothers landscape firm were hired to design the first planting plan. According to Wikipedia, "Frederick Law Olmsted was a landscape designer and father of American landscape architecture, famous for designing many well-known urban parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City. Other projects include the country's oldest coordinated system of public parks and parkways in Buffalo, NY, the country's oldest state park, the Niagara Reservation in Niagara Falls, NY, Mount Royal Park in Montreal, the Emerald Necklace in Boston, MA, the Belle Isle Park, in Detroit, MI, the Grand Necklace of Parks including Washington Park in Milwaukee, WI, the Cherokee Park (and the entire parks and parkway system) in Louisville, KY, the Jackson Park, the Washington Park, the Midway Plaisance in Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition, the landscape surrounding the United States Capitol building, George Washington Vanderbilt II's Biltmore Estate in Asheville, and Montebello Park in St. Catharines, Ontario."

The Washington Park Arboretum is a living plant museum emphasizing trees and shrubs hardy in the maritime Pacific Northwest. Collections are selected and arranged to display their beauty and function in urban landscapes, to demonstrate their natural ecology and diversity, and to conserve important species and cultivated varieties for the future. The Arboretum serves the public, students at all levels, naturalists, gardeners, and nursery and landscape professionals with its collections, educational programs, interpretation, and recreational opportunities.

This statement was adopted January 4, 1996, by the Arboretum and Botanical Garden Committee, established by the 1934 State Legislature, representing the University of Washington, the City of Seattle, The Arboretum Foundation, the local community and a governor's representative.

Alexi took these photos yesterday as we enjoyed an afternoon stroll in the park.

Mind Your Manners

On the top of our book pile right now are Manners by Aliki, and Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller.

Manners is a cheerful book written in comic-book style, brimming with etiquette tips. Here are some examples:





Do Unto Otters brings the "Golden Rule" to life in the form of Mr. Rabbit and his new neighbors, the Otters. This book is very clever and full of little surprises.