Visiting with the big guy...

Emma is getting to the age where doubt begins to creep in about the authenticity of Santa Claus. We were in the car the other day, and she asked me if Santa is real. I asked her what she thought, and she said she thought he was. But I'm sure many of her friends no longer believe.

Anyway, she still really wanted to go to the mall to see Santa, so we headed there the other day. While we were standing in line, she kept rehearsing her Christmas list so she would get it right when she saw Santa. He was a great Santa and Emma was so happy afterwards. Hope this isn't our last year for this tradition!

Ain't it the truth...

Braces!

Emma got braces today! Okay, they are only on her front teeth...to help pull them down a little. But still kind of a big deal. So far, they aren't bothering her a bit - but the orthodontist said they could ache a little tomorrow. Right now, she's just excited about showing them to all her friends at Brownies tonight!

Seven years ago today...

...I saw my beautiful daughter's face for the first time. I can still remember every moment of referral day, just like it was yesterday...not seven years ago! It was certainly the most memorable day of my life.

The pirate, the witch and Madeline...

Emma went trick-or-treating last night with her friends Sophie and Hope, and the girls had a wonderful time. It was a perfect night for trick-or-treating and we were out for more than an hour-and-a-half. The girls may not have been tired, but us moms were exhausted.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the girls before we headed out...




Love that last picture...our little goofballs!

So now we're stuck with a huge bag of candy, which Emma has very little interest in. She just doesn't have a sweet tooth (it runs in the family - HA!) She loves Halloween...running around in a costume with her friends, acquiring candy and then trading it back and forth afterwards. But now it will just sit in her bag until I take it to work (after I pick out the good pieces for myself!)

So another Halloween behind us...hope you and yours had a great holiday too!

It's apple-picking time!

Every fall, we go apple-picking with some of our friends. Because everyone has been so busy, we didn't get around to it until this weekend. It's a good thing we went, because this was the last weekend the orchard was open. Because it was so late in the season (and because we had such a cool summer and fall) there weren't a ton of apples left. But it's still more about the experience than coming home with a huge basket of apples. Here are some pics:





So this morning, I'm looking for apple recipes on the web. Last year I made an apple pie with some of our apples, but Emma is not really a pie fan. So I'm looking for some great apple crisp recipes. Yum!

A very cold weekend!

We had an unusually cold weekend...the high only hit the low 40s on Saturday and Sunday. We were supposed to go on a Brownie camp out on Saturday night and (like most of the troop) decided not to go. I have been battling a cold and did not feel like sleeping outside in 20 degree weather. I feel like a wimp, but it was the right decision.

We had to bundle up when we went outside...as you can see from these photos of Emma..




These look more like pictures from February! It's supposed to warm up a bit this week - thankfully. I love autumn and hate seeing it turn to winter too soon...

Haven't felt like blogging lately...

...I don't know why, but suddenly blogging seems like such a chore! I think it's partly because I've been doing it for so long, and partly because we've been so busy lately. Anyway, I guess I have enough energy to check in and post a few photos.

It was very much an autumn weekend for us. Saturday we went to the area's annual Moon Festival - it was nice seeing some new families who had young babies and toddlers recently adopted from China. Emma had a great time, digging in the dirt all evening with her friends...


Our other big excursion was to the pumpkin patch. Normally we don't go quite this early, but I honestly couldn't see a time for us to go before Halloween...we are that busy. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and we both had a great time.


Incidentally, Emma informed me this week that she was going to be a tomboy from now on! I guess she was serious - when we went to McDonald's this weekend, she wanted a Bakugan toy instead of the Build-A-Bear toy.

My daughter, the adventurer (NOT!)

Emma's Brownie troop had a field trip today...they went to a nearby Girl Scout camp where they had a zip line. The girls were supposed to climb up a rope ladder onto a small platform and then they were hooked to a zip line and they glided down the line about 500 feet. All the girls were giddy with excitement, except my little Emma. She is so afraid to try new things...especially anything that is a physical challenge. All 22 girls in the troop went down the zip line, except Emma and one other girl.

I tried not to make a big deal about it, although I'm sure she sensed my disappointment. I just wish she was more willing to try new things. Of course, maybe this timidity will be a good thing a few years down the line, when other kids are trying smoking and drinking and other things I don't like to think about.

Anyway, although Emma chickened out, she still had a great time...and that's the important thing.

Equestrian camp

Emma is spending the entire day at an equestrian camp. I'm a little nervous about leaving her there the whole day - I always stay for her lessons. I feel like I should be there in case something happens. But the instructor assured me she would take good care of her, so I dropped her off and left...



I've spent a glorious day grocery shopping, doing laundry and cleaning the house. I guess you could say I was at housekeeping camp all day.