Miss Jo's Music Class

This time the kids learned songs from Fall to Winter: Halloweeen, Thanksgiving, Christmas. The above clip is a song about "Albuquerque is my Turkey." I think everyone who lives in Albuquerque and automatically knows how to spell it is lucky.

Albuquerque is a turkey,
And he's feathered and he's fine.
And he wobbles, and he gobbles,
And he's absolutely mine.

He's the best pet that you can get,
Better than a dog or cat.
Albuquerque, he's my turkey,
And I'm awfully glad of that.

Albuquerque, he's my turkey,
He's so cozy in his bed,
Because for our Thanksgiving dinner,
We had scrambled eggs instead.





Up on the Housetop





Although you can't see it in the video, you can imagine Jo flipping through the cue cards. Lightning fast.


Thanks, Miss Jo!

We Went to Fetch Our Tree

This farm is selling their trees for $10 each, any size. Clara chose this one:


The farmer also let us glean the organic apple trees. Clara added to the organic-ness by dropping her apple in the mud between bites. I got several jars of applesauce out of the apples I picked (scratch that: Jo picked).


Here she stands, before she was felled. It's a beautiful tree. The farmer said his neighbor sells his Christmas trees to Las Vegas for a ton of money - they resale in LV for $100 a piece. Suckers.

We didn't notice that the tree didn't smell very pine-y until we got home. ... who are the suckers now?

Look at Jo, below, helping to get the lighting just right.



It was a gorgeous, blue-sky day. The kids loved running around the farm. Check out Joseph's block to Isaac. And notice how Clara is hollering off in the farm somewhere. That's the beauty of a farm. The kids can run wild and holler at the top of their lungs and the parents can ignore them with peace of mind. And also, you can grow your own Christmas trees.

Thanksgiving aux Barkers

Had an action-packed week in Farmington, culminating in the grand Turkey fest, er, family photos. The kids love going to their grandparent's house and this year had the added treat of a new cousin. Clara was enchanted by 'Tilda. She still talks about her. Matilda is one adorable newborn.

Documentation of the week can be found here. Thanks for sharing your photos, GB.

Great Grandma Kartchner

Clara gets to know Great Grandma Kartchner. They both have blue eyes. GGK was born in March 1917. Clara was born February 2010.

I don't know if my kids will remember GGK once they're grown since their time with her is so few and far between. I wanted these photos so they would know they had spent some time with her. I like how Sydney Ruth, who shares her name, is cozying up in her arm. Like she knows people who are name buddies have a special relationship.

OK. So this is a slightly posed shot. But the happy joy on those little faces is HEARTFELT!

We love when the Morgans come to play!
Please move back here. Please, please, please, please, please.

Richmond and Outer Banks

Marathons. Boy. I sure like them. Remember how after the Seattle Rock n' Roll, Heather suggested we come run Richmond with her and Rick? She didn't have to twist my arm too hard. With Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner on board to keep the kids alive while we were gone, Briton and I embarked on another training schedule.

And so it came to fruition. A few days before the race, we saw cool places suggested by our adept local guide: for example, the Confederacy White House, Hollywood Cemetery ("she always said her feet were killing her but nobody believed her"), stained-glass glass store, beautiful fall leaves along the James River, and the Poe Museum (stinky). Nothing beats a civil war site - Petersburg was no exception. The Blandford Church -- the Tiffany windows were nearly outshone by the charismatic, yet supersitious docent giving the tour who was convinced the church was haunted. And I'm sure the grammar in that last sentence is atrocious.

Then the race. This was our only shot:

Waiting for the starting gun. It was very cold.
What happens if one of the party has to use the potty, I ask you???

"How was your race?" people ask. How does one answer that question? So much happens. And so little ("I ran for a long, long time"). There's something about that marathon distance that I just really, really like. Like, crossing the finish line, p'haps.

Moving on.

Recovering from the race provided ample excuse to do nothing the rest of our time there. I was really excited to see Heather and Rick's beach house in the Outer Banks. Wish I had photos of the interior for you. Very beautifully decor'ed.

We lazed around. I mean, "recovered", from the race. This included benign activities like finishing The Help on a deck swing overlooking the Sound while the warm sun shone on my face and the blue sky reached to the eternities,

and catching tiny crabs,


making stained-glass stars ....

idea stolen from: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kurtknudsen

Heather, who has created several amazing (I had no idea 'til I saw them in person), Tiffany-worthy creations, suggested we make some while we were in the OBX. So we (she) did! There it is, up there, used as a curtain tie-back in our family room. I really like how they turned out. Heather also whipped together a 3-D starish contraption that we will use for our Christmas Tree star. Thanks, Hed.

Brit and I took in some OBX sites of ...


nothing ...
and shadows ...
and rekindled our steamy romance ...

and shuffled for our lives from mosquitoes the size of golf-balls, all swarming and amassed around this lighthouse and nowhere else on the OBX:

Oh. And hobbled, stiff-legged, around Ye Historic Landmark. Cameron! We should have taken your National Parks passport and gotten a stamp for you!


As you know, walking hurts the day after a marathon. Walking down stairs KILLS for a few days. I dared Briton to run down this sand dune. It was hilarious:



Ow. That hurts.

We'd call home every now and then and hear the chaos in the background and just smile up at that warm sun in that blue sky. I jest, though. The kids got to have quality time with their grandparents who they don't get to see very often. Grandma read Mother Goose until she wished she'd never brought the book; she tutored Talmage with his school work and piano as only an expert educator can ("It's fun!"); gave Sydney endless attention; and got to know Clara. Grandpa played his part, too: with a steering wheel in one hand and a power tool in the other. Besides chauffeuring kids around, he whipped this house into shape with all manner of projects. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making Richmond possible; and Heather and Rick, for your pre-eminent hosting (including all things related to The Cat).

Halloween

Working on their costumes a few days before the Big Day.

Talmage: Alien with a third eyeball and extra arms (goodbye green bedsheet)
Sydney: Cowgirl on a horse (goodbye pillowcases)
Joseph: Iron Man
Isaac: Spiderman
Clara: Lion (she wouldn't wear the mane)
Jude: Guess.
L: Princess/Fairy

We got together with the cousins. Made scones. The kids came back from Trick or Treating and silently demolished their candy piece by piece. Talmage and Sydney are still (in late November) discussing options for costumes for 2012. Sydney wants to be "ketchup."

What is Sam's Hill is Going On?

Sydney's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Syd's preschool class visited the Pumpkin Patch version of Universal Studios a couple weeks ago. They got to ride a real school bus to get there. Then, they rode a boat around a (very) small lake. The boat triggered sharks and dragons to pop out of the water when it passed by. There was a raft with pirates. And also a narrow-gauge train to ride. And a good-for-nothin' haymaze. The whole setup was pretty elaborate. (I'm supposin' preschool groups are their bread and butter in the fall).

But the things that Sydney loved the very most: a ladybug (pic below; it's on her hand) ....
and these kittens. She missed the preschool snack-time (unheard of!) because she was having so much fun sticking a straw in the cage and watching the cat swipe at it.


We did manage an obligatory group photo. Sort of.

Daddy-Daughter

Conference Weekend

To Gales Creek for a hike and hotdogs.

Warming her tummy.

The following video is Clara showing off her attempts to jump.
Surprisingly, no children landed in the fire the entire evening.





Syd is trying to scrape something off the bottom of her shoe. I sense a meltdown coming on -- but then it is headed off by a timely sneeze.

October

A quiet moment - by which I mean Talmage and the cousins are building legos while Joseph sings the entire Lion King soundtrack into a microphone (a plastic one, acquired from a Wendy's Kids Meal eons ago). Clara is sleeping, Sydney is ballet-ing.

Now I will reflect on the most unquiet, stressful moment of the day: the dinner-prep hour.

Starring: Clara. And correct. She has no diaper on.

Clara clambered up here from the toilet seat. She's not one to let a an out-of-reach counter get in the way of her oral hygiene routine.

Clara is wearing four layers of clothing, plus a handbag-cum-backpack. She insisted on this combination with (extremely) loud vocalizations. I kept putting clothes on until she stopped talking/shouting. I remember when Talmage used to wear up to 7 pairs of underwear at the same time. I think the tight feeling reminds them of the womb. Another bonus is it constricts their airway.


Another time this month we navigated a corn maze.

Robin: This is my first time at a corn maze.
Briton: You never went on a date in college in October?


Syd found a ladybug who whispered directions in her ear. She walked very gingerly so as not to startle the ladybug, who kept her company and crept up and down her arms and across her shoulders for quite awhile. It was very magical for her.

Making corny faces.

uh, here's something...

It's been a while since Robin's posted.  I'll post a photo, for Heather's sake.

We've Been Expecting

And she arrived today!

Stats:
September 23, 2011
1:34 pm
Weight: 111.3 lbs
Height: 33.8 inches

Seriously, we have been living like real pioneers over here. Washing our dishes with our own bare hands - meal after meal after meal. Day in and day out. But those days are over. The Guys just deposited a lovely new dishwasher right in our living room. She is beautiful.

Yesterday, Aunt Ellen came over and before I blinked she was at the sink washing dishes. She grew up washing dishes so she knows the art. Sadly, in the last month of dishwasher-lessness, we did not rediscover the art. All our dishes have a greasy film over them. Like when they came out of the old dishwasher. That leaked and soggi-fied the subfloor.

(Did I trick you a little bit? Did you think I was holding out on you about a pregnancy? Discuss.).

Shaking Some Legs

LEG ONE:



Syd's got serious moves.

Below, at the end, she asks, Where's the Lion Costume? It's a size 18month Halloween costume she's been sporting around lately. It endows her with extra attitude.

Also, below, watch how Clara demurely asks Talmage to dance with her.

LEG TWO:



I like watching them ping-pong ball around. The music in these legs are by a local group, Pink Martini. We heard them last night (courtesy of IIAGPTW) and enjoyed it.

LEG THREE:



You can listen to the song in Leg Three here. Brit translated the lyrics for me - they're hilarious - about losing your body parts all over Paris.

Clearly, A Beautiful Mountain

Labor Day weekend we camped with Dinesh and family at (don't snicker ...) La Wis Wis Campground. It was their first time camping. It was very fun. Anu made really tasty Indian food. Dinesh got a kick out of s'mores. It was stressful trying to keep Clara out of the firepit (when the fire was going, I mean. It's fine if the ashes are cold).

Hai-yah!

Clara. Clara, Clara, Clara.

First Day

In a few years time, or maybe even a few days time, the routine of going to school will be old hat. But not today. Today it is a big deal. Last night we had a "going back to school" special dinner that is all the rage these days. Then a father's blessing.

This morning:

First day of kindergarten

Talmage has been excited for kindergarten for what seems like years. He is excited he can ride the bus (for now. just wait until he learns what 45 minutes feels like-the length of his morning ride). He's met his teacher, Mrs. Weber, twice. He's in good hands. Maybe one day I'll look at this picture and think he looks so little. But right now, to me, he looks very grown up. He'll do great.

First day of preschool

Sydney is excited she gets to ride with dad in the truck to school, which is right across the street from his work. Sydney was up first, got dressed first, and was raring to go. She kept asking Briton all morning, "Are you ready? Are you ready?"

Sydney leaves at 8:50-ish. Talmage waits for the bus at 10:25-ish.

And waits.And waits.

Finally, it comes. I don't know if he's feeling butterflies like I am, but he is all smiles. The moment he's been waiting for has finally come.

The bus driver is not smoking.

And then he's gone.

A lump rises in my throat and a few tears escape. What is this emotion? What is it about sending your first kid off to kindergarten? I walked back down the cul-de-sac with Clara, yet felt empty-handed. So I held her closer and appreciated the now. Then she got wiggly and demanded to "-aalk!" End of emotional moment.