Living Planet Aquarium.

Cami & I took Mr P out (pre-ear-infection knowledge) for a day of fun at Ikea & the aquarium. Turns out he really loves fish, eels, crabs & other sea life, wanted to get in with the sting rays & makes friends amazingly easily. (With kids & grown ups alike.) I was glad he had a good day before his 2nd ear infection in a month hit & he cried all night & day, thus breaking my heart & rendering me useless in disciplinary situations. Thank goodness he bounces back quickly & he'll probably be good as new for this weekend's many festivities. (Knock on wood!!)

My sister was in Seattle for work for a couple of weeks, so my dear friend Kim & I took the opportunity for a weekend trip to grace her with our company. It was so fun. SO fun. We did the usual touristy things cuz Kim had never been there & I haven't been for something like 10 years, so Space Needle, Pike's Place, a harbor cruise etc... We had tasty food, played some late-night Bingo, spent a couple of hours lost, did a lot of walking, utilized public mass transit & laughed quite heartily. Thanks to the sister's employer for the hotel room & rental car!!! I can't wait until they send her away again!!!

All Hallow's Eve.

Fall Version 2009.

Fall is pretty much my favorite time of the year. We have stayed so busy & loved every minute of it!! I haven't done the best at documenting all our adventures, but here's a little glimpse.

Kids.

Just before my brother left Kate asked me to take pics of the kids to surprise him. It lasted about 7 minutes max, but I came away with nearly 200 pics, most of which were great, needing very little work. I can't tell you how in love with these kids I am-- they work the camera like mini J-Crew models. Lovely. The bad news was that because the army apparently has a lot of strict rules & what-not (who knew?) Kate was unable to give him these pics before he left. Well, now it looks like she can send them, & you better believe there's going to be one soldier in South Carolina crying like a little baby when he sees these.

A Little Plug.

As you all may or may not know, November is National Adoption Month & since I just love this topic for obvious & various reasons, I'm gonna give it a little plug. I am SO happy to say that 4 of my friends have become parents this year through this awesome process (YAY!!!), but there are so many more who haven't. I pray for them, wish on stars for them & throw pennies in fountains for them. I wish I could do more. But I think that if we all spread the word about how great adoption is we might together be able to help more of these deserving people. Work with me, won't you??? And if you so desire, check this out. I know I'm overly touchy on a few things, but it has always bugged me when people would say I gave my baby up. Just a little heads up! And again, yay for adoption!!

He's Proud to be an American.

My elder brother Andrew embarked on quite an adventure last week. He joined the military reserves. Marines, I think. He'll be gone for 10 weeks, home for Christmas & then gone again for upwards of 6 months before it becomes just a monthly weekend thing. I can't imagine the thought process he went through in arriving at the decision to do this, but I am dang proud of him for wanting to serve his country & do his part in making it a better place to raise my kids. He is much braver than I. It's pretty scary & I can't begin to know what's in store for Kate as a single mom for the next while, but I am grateful for those that choose to sacrifice for all of us. His letters make me really glad I'm not there-- all the yelling, running, push-ups, swearing in your face, pull-ups & late night guard duty make me really happy to be comfy at home. It's a good thing he's much tougher than I am, cuz I'm pretty sure I'd be curled up in the fetal position crying! But perhaps this is a just a little payback for all the times he was mean to me when we were younger. Haha!! Just kidding. Good luck, brother. See you in a while.... Glad we got some good family pics before you left!

Wedding Numero Dos.

My brother's super sweet mother-in-law got re-married a couple of weeks ago, & was so awesome (& daring) to let me do the pictures. It was so gorgeous & they had the most fun reception with dancing & laughter aplenty. I wish her all the happiness in the world with her new husband. Heaven knows she deserves it. And thanks again, Ruthie, for taking a chance on me & letting me get some more practice!

Grandpa Stick.

My sweet Grandma has been quite sick for a few weeks now, which is never fun, but it has given us the chance to spend some really awesome time with her & Grandpa Stick, who Mr P has come to adore. They like to hang out on the hospital bed that was intended for Grandma but was taken over by these 2, for the purposes of eating candy & watching golf. It absolutely melts my heart to see how my grandpa lights up when he sees that Mr P has come to visit. Though he can't hear a lot of what P's saying, they just laugh & laugh & talk to each other for hours. I'm so grateful for this special little bond these 2 special guys in my life have. It makes the hard times a little more bearable.