Fall and Such

 Eugene is a beautiful place to be during the fall.  The leaves are amazing....but don't be fooled, it gets pretty cold.

 

 The rain is probably on its way but for now, we'll enjoy what we've got.

 Bonus Video:

Too Fun and Too Short

Last weekend we had a visit from Oma, Opa, Jill and Jared and it was one of those special times that I hope I never forget.

We went to the Sweet Life and Rocky and Daisy each got to pick out one of the beautiful petit fours.   

Of course we had to stop at Voo Doo Donuts too.  Rocky shared hers with her new pet mouse.  She tells everyone that she got her pet from Jiwwy and that her name is inexplicably Pony Ride.  Pony Ride has only been here for a short time but she has already been carried around to all the best places in Eugene. 

 Jill told Rocky to make a scary ghost face and this is what she got.  I'm scared.

 We went to the pumpkin patch which of course provided for a bunch of great photo ops.

 She looks cute, but watch out goats, she's trying to feed you rocks.

 Rocky was just soaking up all the attention she could get...and making a pretty cool fashion statement. 

 She insisted that I take this picture of the corn because some of it was purple, but now I see that she was just trying to get away with a vulgar hand gesture.  Oh well...it wouldn't be the first time that a Howard woman got caught flipping somebody off.  I won't mention any names, but we'll just say that it must be something that has been passed through the blood.

 We also went to the Saturday Market and it was the perfect morning.  I wish we could have stayed there all day.

I also took a bunch of pictures of Jared reading with the girls and Jill playing games with them but there was something wrong with my camera.  It was just such a fun weekend I wish that I had it all recorded so I could watch it again. Thanks for coming all the way out here.  The whole trip was like a treasure to me.

Crazy Bonus Picture:

A Good Day

 On Sunday the girls looked super cute and I wanted to take some pictures.  Of course we were running out the door like we always are so I only had a second and this is what they gave me. 
Little stinkers.

On Saturday we got to go to the Ducks game and it was a blast.  Despite the fact that we didn't get home until 11:30 the girls were awake and enthusiastic the whole time.  They liked yelling "OOOOOHHHH" and would bounce up and down when the crowd would cheer after big plays.  I'm not sure that they realized that there was a game going on but they did take advantage of being the only kids around and tried to soak up all the attention of the surrounding students.  One guy was really proud of himself because he 'taught' Rocky to give a high five.  I didn't want to burst his bubble and let him know that she has been doing it for a long time, so instead I let him work with Daisy for a little while.  By the end of the game she was saying a version of "Go Ducks" so that was progress.

 We ended up pretty crammed in there but who needs space when you're sitting next to such cuties.  Brandon said that he is pretty sure that next year Rocky will be ready to crowd surf. 

 It was a big moment when Puddles the famous mascot came all the way up to the last row of the student section.  I thought Rocky was going to explode with excitement but she tried to play it cool when they were face to face. 

In other news...Brandon has been working hard on our Halloween costumes.  He is the cutest.

Also, since it was my birthday yesterday I am officially the big 3-0.  It was a great day and I think it was probably the best birthday I've ever had.  Nothing special really happened, but I just kept looking around and thinking that I am so lucky.  It's just that my life is in a good place right now and I have great friends and an awesome family and it feels good to have enjoyed 30 years of amazing opportunities.  Hopefully when I turn 40 I'll feel the same.

And one more thought:  This morning I was trying to discourage Rocky from sucking her thumb.  She loves to pretend so I said that she should pretend that there is something yucky on her thumb.  I hoped that she would pull it out and make a gross face or something. 
She just looked at me and said, "That would be fun, but I think it would be more fun if we pretended that I was a baby and then it will be cool if I suck my thumb."
She is definitely winning the battle.

Even Cuter

 My friend has been practicing with her camera and has been busy taking pictures of all the kids around here.  I don't think she knows how much I appreciate it.  When I see them I realize that these little stinkers are even cuter than I thought. 

Rocky and her little brother...at least they act like siblings, you know love, then fight, then love again.

This is one of those images that I never want to forget.  Thanks M.

 

 

 

 I've told a lot of people that Daisy is always begging for food and this is a perfect example.  She usually climbs all the way onto the table.  This is despite the fact that her dinner was still sitting half eaten. 

 Rocky loves to look through my blog books.  They were the best gift ever!  Thanks Mom and Jilly.

This moose was mine when I was little and was called Tommy Moe, but Rocky has renamed him Mu Shu.  She insists that he does everything with her and has been carrying him around in her shirt.

Mt. Baldy

 For the first time both Rocky and even our little Daisy made it on their own two feet up to the top of a hike.  Okay, so the route to the top of Mt. Baldy is probably not even a mile, but I was still pretty impressed with those chubby little legs.

 ...Daisy's not mine.

 At the top they were rewarded with bananas and a beautiful view.

The Beard Whisperers

 Brandon made his musical debut as the bass player for Eugene's newest sensation, The Beard Whisperers.  Jake, Seth, Ryan and Logan were out of luck when Ricky moved away, taking his bass guitar with him and like any self-respecting garage band scrambled to find someone to take his place before their show.  Lucky for us Brandon not only has a a bass, but he also comes with an uncanny ability to grow facial hair, and two weeks later, here he is, in a band.  He was worried that his limited ability to play the aforementioned bass would be a problem, but I assured him that the bass player's most important role is to provide eye-candy for the girls and he rocked at that job.  He worked hard to learn his part and the show took place on Friday night.

The Beard Whisperers in action.  Photo stolen without permission from Michelle's blog because she is a much better photographer than I am.  Hopefully she considers theft a compliment.

The crowd that gathered in Jake and Annie's backyard on what was luckily a beautiful evening was treated by a talented group of guys who love music.  We spanned the generations from oldies to babies and everyone, especially the kids, had a blast.
The guys in the band are super fun, and they have really cool wives that I like to hang out with so I feel like I've hit the jackpot.  I always knew that I should be the incredibly hot wife of a rock star.

Rocky and Mac, official groupies

 The audience was the best because it was made up of such great friends.

Marcelle's guitar cake

A Short Short Story

 

 

Rocky enjoying some pea soup in what Brandon refers to as our outdoor European cafe

We have a new neighbor who is from India and I was trying to think of some kind of treat that I could take over to welcome her.  I asked Rocky if she had any ideas and this is what she said,
"We could make some surprise green beans and we could knock on her door and say, SURPRISE!  Green beans!!"
I liked the idea but in the end we went with some Voodoo Donuts.
The end.