Halloween 2010

Our little lion man

Dominick's self-designed alien monster

Trick-or treating was so much fun this year. Both boys were super excited. Xander loudly would tell everyone we passed--"It's almost Halloween Night!" We met up with Nattie and Jane and Dom was soon treating at warp speed. Xander was not nearly as scared as I had feared. One scary monster guy sat motionless on his porch, until you walked up. That freaked him out a bit and he still talks about "that guy" but luckily that was on the way home. He informed every house after that about the guy that was a "little bit scary." He also told everyone that he was "a little bit ferocious."

Too much of a good thing

Tonight over dinner (which was nice for a change, I should mentally note the nights when everyone eats, listens while other people talk, and refrain from roaring, screaming etc.) Dominick was retelling a favorite Tom and Jerry episode--Dennis didn't notice the shift of pronouns, but I've heard it before. When the boys watch T&J they take on the roles of cat and mouse. Dominick, although obsessed with cats is Jerry and Xander gets to be poor Tom. Luckily they don't physically act them out but they'll talk about, "Woo I just hit you over the head!" "Watch out if you do that it's going to hurt!" They find the show hilarious and I guess even funnier when they are in on the act.

So tonight Dominick talked with Xander "about the time you were playing the music and I was banging on your tail." Perhaps we need to find some new shows . . .

Weekend Weather

Yet another amazing weekend of beautiful weather--I feel the need to soak it up and document it before the winter comes and I forget what sunshine and days without coats feel like. My parents came this weekend which put more sunshine on the weekend. Dennis and I were able to make great progress on the index while the boys played and played. So wonderful to have grandparents!

This afternoon I took the boys on a walk through our backyard campus--I so enjoy living so close to K. Xander and I swung on the swing while Dominick pushed us. The boys jumped in a pile of leaves. We watched a rubber shark on a string swim in a fountain (we had to provide the shark and string). And then we spent a long time collecting buckeyes and sorting, squashing, rolling, and fetching them. So much fun for a beautiful fall day.

Farmer Xander

Lake Michigan

An idyllic lunch on the beach followed by throwing sand back into the lake. What could be more perfect?

First Day of School

They start late up here . . . not this late, but we've been busy. Moving in, starting a full-time job, finishing Dennis book (still indexing!). I miss sharing our pictures, our stories. So I'll start catching up . . . slowly.

Goodbyes

So many, many goodbyes to say. It's been hard, so much harder than I would have thought a year ago when the news of a possible job in Kalamazoo came our way. It seems as if so many more dear friends and neighbors have come into our lives. Wonderful, but now we have to say goodbye.

Xander cried last night. Confused about this whole move he was worried about the cats and his toys. Dennis had to reassure him about the things that we would be taking with us. Some of the things that we would be leaving behind. His hand brushed the wall as he sniffled tears. I'm glad it wasn't me explaining it.

Tonight more packing. The boys and I leave on Sunday. Two more sleeps on Penrose . . .