An Even Shorter Update

Found on the digital camera. From last week.

A Short Update

Love this look. That's chocolate cake batter, my friends. Miss A was very helpful with the making, cleaning up, and eating of her dad's birthday cake this weekend. (Reminds me of when my sister Kelly and I used to take chocolate chips, melt them slightly, and use them like lipstick -- a little goth-looking perhaps, but yummy!)

She was all dressed up in her very metro black-and-white-with-shiny-boots outfit the other day for a pizza lunch in Portland .(Dad's Pro Nostalgia Drag class had a meeting there, so we all schlepped up. No need to remind us next time that we WON'T attempt to drive 2 hours to eat pizza during the all-important part of the day we know as Nap Time!)

It was the annual Harvest Lunch gathering at her daycare center last Friday. Whilst every other child had a large plate of great Thanksgiving fare (kudos, Chef Heather!!), our child dined on ...what's that? ... ah yes, Chex Mix. (And, although she won't appreciate me mentioning this in the future, her father and I are stunned at how it appears she metabolizes nutrients and calories from the air. How else could she consume so little but still grow and have such, um, quantity and frequency of "output"?)

Aleaha plants a big one on Daddy during the lunch. Then she begs us to take her home with us!! ;) It's a little hard to have the routine changed in the middle of the day -- and leaving after eating was sort of traumatic that day.

Enjoying Fall

Things have slowed down finally, now that the rain has come. Barn is full of hay, gutters are checked, everything is tarped, and we're getting the last of the apples off the trees. We just have to get used to settling into the darkness. We really don't like the wind that winter brings, but the rain doesn't bother us so much. You just plan to be soggy for about 7 months.

Not much happening lately, and that's just fine. We can use the rest! We've been enjoying a few trips now and then to casual restaurants, and here is Miss A enjoying her first cup of Chinese tea at Blue Sky. She really liked it, and it helped motivate her to use her restaurant manners.But wait, how much caffeine is there in Oolong tea??




Here she is enjoying a fall ride on Blackie:




We took a walk yesterday at Bald Hill. Aleaha brought Brownie along for the stroll. Brownie is her go-to horse for most excursions. He does everything but sleep with her, at which time we bring in Chocolate, a soft horsie. Brownie is not really soft and would not be so cuddly in bed. You know how it is -- it's easy to collect multiple horses and use them for different purposes!




On the way back from our walk, about a mile from the "pip-up" (pick-up), Aleaha wanted to walk alongside me instead of be pushed in the Bob. I was walking at a pretty good pace, and Aleaha ran the whole way, which made for a good restful night! (Hmmm -- can you say "hot-walker"??) She agreed to stop for a quick photo, but then she was off again at a run.





Last night we got out the train set and she had fun putting it together and being the engineer. She insisted on wearing her "goggles" (sunglasses with a velcro strap) on her head like a headband. Whatever. The girl makes her own fashion decisions. For the most part.