Trick or Treat!

Time for candy overload. At least the weather was perfect, the kids had tons of fun trick or treating. Cees considered himself too old to go out, this was the first year he stayed home.

Geisha Tara.



Snow Queen Kate.



Erik was something, no idea what.



One of our carved pumpkins, they turned out pretty well.



Vampire Jane.



Kittycat Sylvia aka 'I want candy!'



Time to trade all the loot.



And the best thing??? Tomorrow, we have dentist appointment for two of the girls...

Stupid Laundry

Feh! How can we produce so many baskets of laundry every single week. It is such a never ending chore, blech.

Yes, today is cleanup day, and I still hate the process, but love the result. I guess that's something to work on.

So many household chores, so little time. I would love to be organized some day, but not holding my breath :p

Skunk Sighting

Yes, of all animals to meet, today it was a skunk. I walked through town and who was crossing the road just in front of me? Our dear friend skunk. He was very black and white, very skunky and crossing the street like he did it all the time.

Two other people saw him too and they were talking about him. The woman was all about 'Stay away from that animal!!!' While the man said 'Oh, they are fine, they only spray when they get provoked.' Going on to show us how to provoke a skunk, to the utter horror of his female partner.

I Need To Go Pee!!

Sylvia 'I need to go pee!'
Me 'OK', getting up to help her.
Sylvia 'I don't need help!'
Me, walking back to my chair, wondering whether she is right 'OK, let me know if you change your mind'
Sylvia 'I do it myself!'
One minute later 'HELP!'
Two seconds later 'I don't need help!' (I sit down again)

And so they grow up. Time flies like bananas.

Haircuts

All of those were done by Tara. After her own haircut she asked everyone 'Now who else wants a haircut????'

Kate decided she wanted short hair again, Tara was happy to oblige :



Sylvia got a trim:



Erik:



Bonus picture of the day:



We were at homeschool club and Tara and her friend had dressed up in their kimonos for the Halloween party. Someone said that this would look even better if she had black hair, so she dyed her hair black ^^ (Don't worry, it was temporary spray paint).

Erik's reaction was funny. He saw her after she had changed hair color and asked 'Who is this person???'
We told him that this was his sister.
Erik 'Where did she get the hair????'

Family Love

Love is doing things together as a family. This weekend, it was getting our Halloween pumpkins. We went to our local farmer's market.



Experience has taught us, that it is prudent to bring wagons.



It is not easy to find The Perfect Pumpkin.



Yes, the wagons definitely were needed.



And in the van they go.



I love doing those kinds of things as a family. Even if the house later turns into a pumpkin carving mess ^^



Spending time together as a family is a wonderful thing. Happy Love Thursday!

Fall in New England

Today, sharing some fall pictures. The Connecticut River:



A tree in our neighborhood:



Violet, still blooming:



The promise of spring flowers:



Maple leaf from the tree under which Sylvia was born:



Beautiful berries:



More fall colors in our yard:



I love the colors and beauty of fall. I love the crisp morning, sunny days, cold nights. But I hate the fact that this all means that winter is near. The thought of snow is not a welcome one. Of course, I should live in the moment and just enjoy without worrying about what comes afterwards. But I haven't been able to do that 100 % yet. Something to work on ^^

Observations Of The Day

Just some random thoughts and observations for today.

1. Kate: 'When it rains, the clouds look very beautiful.'



2. Cees: 'Mom? Kate thinks we only need to be nice to each other on Thursdays, since that's when you post Love Thurday. She says we can be mean on other days.'



3. I discovered I can read go books while walking, making it a more efficient use of my time. Getting exercise AND studying go at the same time, woohoo.



4. Saving a post till I get all the pictures just right is not a good idea, somehow I end up not posting at all.



5. Quote from aikido training When we depend on external people and situations for our strength and happiness, how can we ever expect stable happiness? The only reliable friend is spiritual knowledge, the only truly helpful possession is one's inner character.

So many things to post, so little time. Tara has given a bunch of her siblings haircuts, I may or may not be posting pictures.

New Hair Cut

Tara 'Mama? Can I cut my hair?'
Me 'Sure, it's your hair.'
Tara 'ok'

Shutting herself in the bathroom and emerging as a totally different person.



I really like it, it turned out well. I am still amazed she did it all by herself. She took this picture all by herself too, using a mirror. This reminds me of the time they did hair cutting as toddlers, usually resulting in one or more of the kids being almost bald. She sure has gotten much better at hair cutting ^^

Deer Sighting

A few days ago, driving back from a friend's house, we saw three deer. Those two were watching us from the fields. The moment I grabbed the camera, they decided to walk away and show us their butts.



I love deer.