IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

I love Halloween because it signifies the closing of the year for me. All of a sudden the leaves have changed color, the garden goes to sleep and its Autumn. The color ORANGE is suddenly fashionable. With the arrival of new babies in our lives Holidays take on new meaning.

Alex kissing the garden gnome. He kissed every statue in the garden.

We're kids again...teaching new kids how to have fun. Seriously...have you ever taken the time to actually play with an 18 month old? I have this opportunity every week. For example...Robyn had an eye appt. so I watched Alex for an hour at the appt. We ran up and down the stairs, drank from the drinking fountains, then went outside. We played in the leaves, swung from the bike racks, walked on the curbs without falling into hot lava, threw rocks in the creek nearby, collected dinosaur eggs for gramsi's garden, threw helicopters into the air (the seeds with wings) and made the noises for helicopters, rode the construction cones like horses. We learned "danger." When a car comes I yell "danger!" and we run to the curb and jump up on it until the danger passes. It's amazing how well I can communicate with these little ones. They talk to me all the time and I know what they're talking about. Life has become new again through their eyes.

Here's some pictures from our annual trip to a nearby farm. Enjoy the little ones in your life. Try and see the world through their eyes and take the time to actually play with them. Get down on their level and be little again!



This farm is so amazing. They have a local 4H group run various activies for cheap! You can go in and pet all the animals for free. The pony rides cost $1
Going in the *maze*. It was dark in here but they loved it.

Ridin the pony...alex

Dominic feeding the goat...one kernel at a time...

I loved this next shot because they're so cute in their little overalls.

My camera battery died too soon but I'll get more pics from the moms.
And yes I knitted the cute hats and made the scarfs. Always in the height of fashion.
Dominic...

and here's a rare moment...Alex posing...standing still? a miracle!

Old St. Francis in Bend, Oregon

We went with Randy to Bend and stayed in this cool little place called McMenamins Old St. Francis Hotel. McMenamins is known for their terrific pub food. They like to buy old schools and turn them into hotels/pubs. This one is an old catholic school.
We stayed in the Parish House. It was a 2 story 5 bedroom house. Very luxurious. The decor was old fashioned.

Above is the front of the house.
Here's the back. The path led right to a cozy little patio with fires burning to keep you warm.


I LOVED the fence which went all around the property.

There were cool finials on the posts.

Brick paths took you all over to the different houses.

In every room there were words written on the walls with a hand painted picture.

Here's one of the bedrooms.

In another building was the hotel if you just wanted one room. We had to go down this
really cool hallway to get to the soaking pool.

It was really dim inside. The hall was lined with pictures of students who went through the school. For those of you who know me see if you can spot me in this photo. It was kind of creepy really because it looks just like an outfit I used to wear.

Here's the soaking pool. It's actually a giant hot tub with no jets or bubbles.
Just this cool fountain with stalactites growing on it. And the lion heads spouting warm water.

The whole room was done in these tiled mosaics. Very pretty!

Here's another funny hall picture.

We ate dinner in the Theater. The movie was The Proposal. It was hysterical.

The theater seating was old fashioned love seats. It was really cool and comfy actually.
You ordered your food and drinks in the back and during the movie they brought you your food. Alex was terrible so Robyn had to take him swimming in the soaking pool so that was kind of terrible for her in a way. But Alex loved the pool. The food was delicious and I loved sitting so comfortably to watch a movie.
The next morning we walked downtown and found this great crepe place for breakfast. There was this man sitting on a bench with his wallet open. Randy put money in it. LOL!

Then we went to Smith Rock. This is a famous rock climbing place.
I'll tell that adventure next time.
Here's one more picture of the cool fence. I want...I want...I want...