Getting ready for Christmas

At first, we thought we wouldn't have any company for Christmas. And then we got the Good Word that Kelly and Mike and kids will be coming!!! We are so thrilled! It even motivated the girls to get the library in good shape to bring in the Christmas tree. Hooray for family!!

Miri dictated and Aleaha typed.

Aleaha has made a few versions of her list. They all involve asking for nothing but a dog. Specifically, she wants a Corgi. Not happening. So she's trying to revise it.

Gingerbread - check!

Cold weather is coming close!

Catching up - November

Miri has a special admirer at school.

He wrote her two notes, and then gave her a really lovely gift. 

We might be in for a lot of this in her future. *sigh*

Our "Patricia Rose" bush, which commemorates Patty, blooms in the most surprising circumstances. Right before Thanksgiving, she gave us three amazing blossoms. 

I like to think it's because she's letting us know she's watching over us. I hope she knows how much we miss her. 

It was finally time to re-stock the barn with hay. We were down to the last few bales from our 2015 harvest of our grass field.

We found a marvelous supplier of three-string bales, and he delivers!

Three stacks - about 10 tons - and we are ready for the winter.

Miri's class made Growth Mindset t-shirts. She is doing so well with this topic. I love to hear her say "I won't give up" - especially when she's practicing piano.

Here's the kiddo, ready for her winter concert.

Darling class songs!

So fun to watch.

Speaking of watching....you better watch out! And I don't mean about Santa.

Aleaha has been wanting to get some special cooking lessons with Mommy. So one night we made spaetzle. Fun and yummy!

We had a clean kitchen going into Thanksgiving.

But first, we needed to celebrate Daddy's birthday! This was a requested  coconut cream pie. Looked better when all assembled with the whipped cream and toasted coconut.

Miri helped with the tangerine juice, which we used for Tangerine Curd Tart - that just might be our new family tradition for Thanksgiving, cuz it was SO GOOD.

We invited a Butter Turkey to dinner. He was all chill at the start.

But as the night wore on, he mellowed a bit.

The rain got pretty serious, and our little creek running out of the main pond was quite swollen.

The girls went for a walk around the field. That's them - the little colored things in the center of the picture. Wearing themselves out. (hooray!)

'Nuff said.

Catching up - October

Miri started taking piano lessons. We are very proud of her - she really has a good ear and loves to play. Maybe we can feature a video of her sometime soon.

As I was making patterns and costumes for Halloween, I used a few within-reach props to hold down my pattern paper. Kinda gory, but handy! (ar-ar, get it?)

The girls were eager to go through the corn maze. We managed to do it before there was too much mud, fortunately.

Aleaha wanted to be Glinda The Good Witch of the North. We found a suitable dress at Goodwill, and I dyed it and did some rather drastic tailoring to make it fit.  

Miri wanted to be a ghoul-witch-phantom thing.

Her cute factor outweighs her creep factor.

We didn't end up putting on a Halloween party this year, but we are looking forward to doing that again next year. There's a lot involved, and it was just getting to be too much this year. 

Before we put on our costumes, I needed to take a short meeting, so Aleaha busied herself quietly. Then I discovered this is what she was making!

We really enjoyed the Halloween trick-or-treating at HP.

It's so nice to do this indoors!

And there was no shortage of loot!

In other October news, we saw the rains set in, and sometimes we were blessed with a nice rainbow.

The cooling weather also brings in some creepy fog, rolling over the fields.

When we clean the barnyard, everyone has to move to the end of their paddocks.

Miss Miri is an expert at making Brown Sugar Bacon.

She enjoys her crafting desk.

And she definitely knows how to set up a room for comfort.

Catching up - September

Cute shot of them hugging a tree. They barely could reach!

I was proud of Aleaha for her self-description.

Mommy and Quigly after the Hermiston parade (waiting for poor family members to walk back to the horse trailer - it was a loooooong walk for them!)

Hangin' with Smokey at the State Fair.

PLEASE NOTE. This is the MOST anticipated "thing to do" at the State Fair. They save quarters up for weeks! They love to buy the little polished rocks. Our vacuum cleaner has sucked up a lot of them, and it's not happy about it. 

Daddy and Aleaha on the gondola.

Miri and Mommy too!

Miri with her bestie, Lillian (note they both have the same missing teeth smiles).

First day of 5th and 2nd grades. Man, time flies.

Aleaha gets ready to go down the track in her junior dragster.

You be safe, little one!

She's learning great stuff from Daddy!

Daddy makes the final adjustments. I swear I have a gazillion shots of Daddy with the very same look on his face. Contemplative and serious. That's good! Cuz you are about to race down the track! So I hope to goodness you are taking it seriously.

Great times!

While in Pendleton for Round-Up, we were able to take in the downtown carnival. Fun! One of their favorites is the bungee jumping contraption.

Miri, flying high!

Aleaha too!

Their tongues after slushies.

Mommy's view as we stage for the start of the Westard Ho! parade. The best times ever!

Aleaha photobombs a napping Miri.

Round-Up selfie.

On the last night of Happy Canyon, the rain start in. Quigly and I waited, mounted up, in his stall, until it was our turn to go in.

Permagrin.