Father-Daughter Dance

Daddy & Lydia are off to their first Father-Daughter dance. It's for all the city K-5 girls and their dads. They are to have games, refreshments and crafts in addition to the music and dancing.

Abigail is jealous. "My Daddy. Hmph!"

 But we are going to have our own Mommy-Daughter dance. 

 Light ball, Radio Disney, party dress, and we are all set!

By the end of the night, we are dancing on the tables! ;)  

Abigail is in bed by the time Lydia gets back from her date. She comes home with a decorated crown, pink rose, and says she had a fantastic time! 

picture taken at the dance!

Racine Holiday Parade

It was a beautifully mild night for a holiday light parade. We brought hot cocoa and cookies from home and pulled them out as we waited for the parade to start.

 Besides Oaf and Santa, we saw the Grinch riding a Harley, a live nativity and gigantic walking scrubbing bubbles! (Who knew Johnson Wax headquarters is in Racine?)

Let the holiday season begin!

Don't Break the Ice!

Remember this game?

They get so nervous for the other to knock out a block.

"I can't look!"

"This is killing me!"

But seeing the snow princess fall through the ice is the biggest thrill!

Trick-or-Treat!

Lydia loved being a poodle this year and enjoyed seeing her friends from school around the neighborhood. 

Abigail was an oh-so-nice witch.

Meet Autumn!

 We're happy to introduce our first family pet, Autumn! Ben and I were sure the name was going to be Sprinkles, Rainbow, Cookie, or the like, but the girls agreed and settled on Autumn.

We got her on October 29th. She is orange with a white nose and belly.

Many hours of gazing and adoring are ahead of us! :)

"Take care of Autumn!" Lydia shouted as she waved goodbye and walked into school on Friday.

Pumpkin Painting Party

We traded our carving knives for paint brushes this year. It was too nice to stay inside, which was perfect. There's a glimpse at our partially finished screen. 

 Abigail calls this her 'working hard' face.

This would be her 'getting a little chilly' pose.

Here we are with our finished pumpkins!

 And Grandma with the cutest pumpkin of all!

Fun candy corn science activity. The kids couldn't wait to make their predictions and record their observations! We then wondered what would happen with Coke or milk...next time!

Eager to jump in leaves, we scrounged up what we could in our yard. The laundry piles in our house get bigger than this, but they don't have slugs!! =P

Fish & Trips

 Our little fishes graduated from Parent & Child and Level 1!

Abigail was always grinning and Lydia even enjoyed swimming this year! She also didn't let us forget that we promised to get frozen yogurt after the last lesson. A little incentive never hurt.

At Apple Hollar we learned all about Johnny Appleseed and how eating apples make us strong.

 The giant corn pit was fun,

 as was snuggling and sliding.

 Packer party at Aunt Sarah's meant rocking, singing, and "This Little Piggy"-ing to Baby Quincy.

His face almost shows it, but he did appreciate it!

 Preschool Field Trip to Swan's Pumpkin Farm. Abigail liked the honking geese and corn maze the best. Lydia will get to go there with her class next week!