Happy Halloween!

We're so glad Grammy Pammy came down this weekend. We just finished up trick-or-treating. For the most part, Kari enjoyed the activities...
The masked child in black with the red flashing lights absolutely scared her to death.

Peace Out; Rock on, Chicken Nugget!

Kari's class wore their pajammas to school on Friday rather than costumes.
Margaret and Jane just stopped by- it's becoming a tradition to end the night by visiting our house and showing off costumes.

What We've Been Doing

We had a nice time this past weekend. We had a chance to do some things we don't normally get to do:
Friday night we had a family pizza party.
Kari helped Daddy make the individual pizzas.

On Saturday, Amy, Gary and the girls came down for the afternoon to watch the PU/Illinois game. It wasn't much of a contest, but fortunately we could put rooting for our alma maters aside and enjoy each others company.

Emily, Kari and Abby

On Sunday we drove down to the Indianapolis zoo and spent the afternoon there with Gran and Beep Beep. Kari enjoyed dressing up as a ladybug, which is quite ironic considering she had a crying fit in the car because a ladybug was in the back window "going to get me!" Clearly she has not yet made the connection.
On a side note, I returned back to work today. Similar to Kari, it wasn't as bad as I had envisioned. In fact, I really didn't have time this morning to even think about leaving Bryce. It's going to be a struggle to get out the door each morning and get to work by 8, though. Talk about needing to be organized the night before!

And lastly, I was skimming the paper this morning and read where Purdue was going to have a limited supply (140) H1N1 vaccines available for any student, faculty or staff who fell into a high-risk category. Working right next door to PUSH has its advantages; I high-tailed it over there this morning and was lucky enough to be Patient #12 ten minutes before they even opened their doors. I feel very fortunate to have received the vaccine, knowing there is such a nationwide shortage. Kevin's thinking he's got a good shot (pardon the pun) at getting one too as a First Responder with the fire department. But really, we're just thankful that so far everyone is healthy.

Our Littlest Pumpkin

Now he's getting into it.

Getting Ready for Halloween

Last night we carved our pumpkins. Bryce wasn't too into it, but sit tight. He'll be "getting into it" very soon.

Yep, I Think We Can Call Them Family

Looking back at pictures of Kari at Bryce's age, we noticed an uncanny resemblance:




I also came across a copy of the professional picture of Mark and me, wearing the dress.

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Let me first state that I rarely make frivolous purchases. However, when I saw these dandies, I just HAD to have them.

I'm so glad my good friend Pam was with me when I spotted this gem because it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun trying them on and dreaming up the outfits to go with the shoes by myself. Of course my first thought was that these will fit in perfectly out in Vegas, but Pam was there to challenge my fashion boundaries and thought these would work well for any Friday night trip to the grocery store.

Oh, and a salute to Natalie for recognizing that this is Gwen Stefani's fashion line. Ahhh, that explains so much.

The First of Many Firsts

Kari had her first haircut today and did really well. Our good friend and neighbor, Colleen, did the honors.



The finished cut. Also, this is a good picture of the pumpkin shirt Amy and I made for the kids.
This is also Fire Safety week at Kari's school and guess who was invited to be a guest speaker?? Daddy! Unfortunately it was too rainy for the kids to climb on the fire truck. Perhaps another time!

Back Home in Indiana

Although Kari was a bit older (8 months), this time two years ago Kari, my mom and I took a trip out to Ouray, CO. We had such a fabulous time that we decided to do it again with baby #2. We booked flights and reserved the condo back in April and it felt odd at the time making those reservations not knowing who our third companion would be. The weather was fantastic all but the last day and we did many of the same things the first time around. We even took pictures at some of the same locations:

Telluride

Sitting on the same rock, though not as happy a picture this time at the top of Telluride.

Amptheatre overlooking Ouray.

We spent one whole day in Telluride and Mountain Village, a pseudo town for skiers. It was having its annual Octoberfest and we enjoyed it tremendously. We had the best seats for the concert- the only two Adirondack chairs front and center for the music and next to the fire pit. I started talking to the wife of one of the polka band members and was even able to put in my favorite polka requests! I can remember many summers at the cottage listening to Frankie Yankovic on the record player.


I was able to take another Jeep tour, this time to Red Mountain #3; a very barren and iron-rich mountain. Unfortunately the road was too wet and enough snow (!!) to prevent us from making it to the top.

Our last full day in Ouray was cold, windy and rainy. I took advantage of the weather and headed to the public outdoor pool which is fed by a hot springs. It was nothing short of amazing- sitting in 102 degree water with the rain hitting my face, the steam rising from the water, and being entirely surrounded by mountains.

It was a wonderful trip yet again and one that both mom and I will remember and talk about for many years to come. I hope we can do it again soon.