Halloween

Halloween is right around the bend. This year we are letting Ruby pick her costume. She bounces back and forth between Spidergirl and a Kitty-Cat. A couple costume catalogs have come to the house and she loves flipping through them and will occasionally say that she wants to be every costume on each page.

Last night when she was getting ready for bed, we were laying down talking. There was a break of silence and she asked what was wrong. I told her I was just thinking and she asked if I was worrying about what Sailor was going to be for Halloween. When I told her no she asked what Mommy and I were going to be. I told her we were going to be her and her sister's Mommy and Daddy.

It seems like the Halloween I knew is a child is fading away in favor of themed festivals and church Trunk and Treats. The holiday was always a blast for me. I have so many awesome memories of walking and running around the neighborhood carrying a sack full of sugar. One year the bottom of my bag was blown out thanks to condensation from a Capri Sun. Thankfully I was close to home and able to scrape most of my loot up and make it back to the house.

I am glad the traditional style of Trick-or-Treating is still around for at least a few more years so I can share it with the girls. There are already so many things I loved from when I was younger that they will never experience, every little bit has become important. Tradition is a huge part of family and it is tough at times to mix the old with the new. We do are best to adapt, it's all we can do.

Schedules and Changes

Taking a look back at the early days of this blog, I used to write a lot more. Things have gotten busier around here as the girls have gotten a little older. Our schedules are radically different than they were when our arrangement changed and I came home. We've gone through many changes lately, all for the better, but I am hopeful that these differences will allow me to return to form.

Late last year and early this year I started a couple social media experiments just to see where they would go and to also kind of see what all the buzz was about. I've been talking to my wife about it in depth. The bottom line is that the outlets that yield the smallest reward are going to be cut loose. This, with the changes above, should allow me to focus on the outlets that are important and do yield rewards.

That being said, I truly appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to look at, read and comment on this blog. Seeing your reactions to the pictures or hearing that a story or incident made you laugh is truly a great reward. I hope to share more in the near future and look forward to your feedback. 

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Gymnastics

Ruby's first gymnastics class was a success! There were 5 of us there to watch and she did great. She listened to her teacher and was not afraid to try anything put in front of her. This includes absolutely killing it on the trampoline. And stretching? Forget about it. Her teacher told us she was one of the most flexible girls she had ever seen and she was able to pull of some limberness that made even her instructor hurt.

Cheap Labor

My wife hosted a trunk show for T.Rex Handmade last night. My mother in law came into town early in the week to help her get ready. Thanks to her, some ugly areas of our house have a fresh coat of paint, the drywall repairs that I did have been touched up and the kitchen hood was also freshened up. In addition to all of that, she helped and played with the girls and cleaned like a mad-woman.

Thanks for being awesome Janet. We love you and couldn't have done it without you.

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Yard Work

Not that you can see it in this picture, but it has been raining here all morning. My plans of epic yard grooming have been quashed by bad weather. Guess I'll have to stay inside with the family all day instead.