November Novelties

O.K., so October was November, and November was October, got it? Good.

We've been relishing the warmer temps and clear, blue skies this past month -- things we missed most of the month before. I'd bet that we're enjoying it all even more because of the fact that October was so stinkin' cold and wet. Despite fewer wakeful hours, November has treated us well.

We let the back yard just get leafy this fall rather than blow the leaves into the woods and let the...ah...dirt and moss have its moment in the sun. This allowed for the girls to make a big 'ol pile of leaves at the bottom of their slide. I'm not sure it was as cushy as either of them thought it might be, but it made the slide "new" again and they spent hours out there. At one point, I coaxed them into lying in the leaves and letting me cover them up for a quick photo. Not perfect, but gosh darn cute, if I do say so myself:



Leah, in her wild animal way, loved being able to prowl around in the leaves, pretending she was camouflaged and stalking prey.



And Natalie, safe from the predators below, stuck to being adorable in the playhouse.



Last weekend, Matthew competed in his last cyclocross race of the season at the State Championships. As usual, it was a beautiful day, there was a small crowd, the course made for easy spectating, and the girls were "having none of it." Natalie was sad:



Leah was mad:



And their daddy kicked some butt and still had enough umph to smile brightly as he rounded a tight corner on the course:



What a stud! Matthew kept getting better and better all season, so we're looking forward to next fall already and the 2010 season opener. Matthew will be training on his bike; meanwhile, I'm going to put the girls through a 12-week cheerleading/anger management course. They'll be belting out obnoxious encouragement in no time.

Back at the ranch, I've been working on some new things in the studio, many of which are currently in the shop. New this week is this subtle "Koi" papercut:



And the third of three sets of "Mod Ornament" cards -- this one in all white layers with silver caps:



We hope this finds you well, enjoying sunshine wherever and whenever you're able, and saving up your calorie intake for the big turkey day "hoo-ha" later this week. Dig in!

Kids! Kids! Everywhere!

A few weekends ago, we had the pleasure of hosting nearly every member of my immediate family at our house. With a total of nine adults and all seven grandkids, it was a houseful, and it was a blast. One of the days we shared, we took everyone to the Science Center. The musical staircase provided a good photo opp. If only they came equipped with restraints -- Natalie's a blur!



The following day, most of us had a small adventure at Costco. We found a two-for-one deal on munchkins and couldn't help ourselves!



More recently our house has been quieter, so we sought noise elsewhere, finding it at Leah's school Halloween dance. Leah was content just to take it all in as a wall flower, but Natalie wanted to get out there and boogie. Look at her go!







I brought the girls with me to cheer their daddy on his latest cyclocross race. As you can see, they were a little less than enthusiastic. Ah, well.



This past week, Natalie give the fish rides a whirl at the new play area of the Minnesota Zoo. Fun little area -- and it was so nice to visit the zoo when it's not completely overrun with visitors.



There's been more going on than what these photos reveal, but these are among the cutest pieces of evidence that we've been busy lately. If you're curious, you can pop over to my shop blog and see what this is all about: