Trick or treating downtown:
And, back at the ranch, the kids open Halloween surprises from Gramma and Grampa Great.
“My very own cell phone?! Wow!”
Archive for the ‘Ava’ Category
31 Oct
Happy Halloween!
We started celebrating last weekend, when Bry’s friend Dave came over to carve pumpkins for their company contest.
They didn’t win, but I think they should have. Bry’s is on the left: The eyes and mouth represent…something scientific. You’ll have to ask him. Ava carved the tiny jack-o-lantern.
We joined Bryan and Dave their company party for trick-or-treating on Tuesday. The kids debuted their costumes, which my mom made.
The Little Mermaid:
And a littler lion:
Then, the girls received a box of treats from Grandma and Grandpa Smith on Wednesday.
Today, we’re heading downtown for mass trick-or-treating, and we’re entertaining a few friends (and grandparents!!) tonight.
More photos soon!
30 Oct
Ava Fix
I was watching Ava work with her stencils this weekend, and I noticed how she was holding her pencil. Instead of grasping it with her fist, she held it in place with each finger tip.
When I mentioned this new accomplishment, she looked up, ran over to the drawer, grabbed a red marker (why do I keep these so accessible?!), and put one tiny dot on each finger. Apparently, her preschool teacher imparted this little trick to help the kids learn proper pencil positioning. Pretty creative–and very effective!
22 Oct
Weekend wrap-up
We had really lovely weather here last weekend–and as such, took the opportunity to be outside as much as possible. On Sunday, we visited a pumpkin patch outside of town.
Ava loved the playground…
And the hay maze…
And she even ran into her friend Brandon!
Olivia was happy just being outside.
When we got home, we planted some bulbs for spring…
And ditched the potted shrubs in favor of something a bit more seasonal.
21 Oct
Boo’d
When we arrived home from the cabin a week ago, we discovered we’d been “Boo’d.”
One of our neighbors left little treats for Ava and Olivia, along with a cute poem instructing us to “boo” two additional neighbors in turn.
Ava and I dropped off little packages a few days ago, and hung the “You’ve been boo’d” sign on our front door, so our neighbors know we’re already received our loot.
Ava thinks that maybe if we take it down, we might get lucky once more. Smart girl.
17 Oct
One last ride
We took one last boat ride before leaving the cabin last weekend. Ava was all smiles at the start.
Grampa’s pretty trusting these days–he didn’t even remind us not to “bend it” as we left!
Of course, he probably didn’t realize we’d let Ava drive.
We’ve been debating the merits of a boat purchase for a good three months now. Ava, in an effort to destroy any illusion that it might indeed be a good idea, starting to grouse about going home approximately 90 seconds after leaving the dock.
I still think it would be a good investment. We pulled Liv on board when we got back for a quick family photo. Look how happy we are!
Well, some of us, anyway.
I’m still optimistic. A love for the water is in my blood; it has to be in theirs, too, right?
7 Oct
More apple recipes
Our neighbor George brought us another bushel of apples–Granny Smiths, appropriately. Ava and I tried several new recipes last week.
First up, apple cinnamon rolls, which went over very well at work. The filling for these rolls was incredible.
The same night, we made a spiced raisin apple crisp to share with Dawn and Brandon:
On Sunday, we made a tarte tatin with yogurt cream sauce to take to George. (I hope it tasted better than it looked!)
My favorite apple recipe so far is the spice cake with cider sauce, which I took to work on Monday. I didn’t have the correct pan, so I used a Bundt pan. We “painted” it with baker’s grease, a concoction of oil, Crisco and flour, and the cake slid out so easily I nearly dropped it on the floor. Quite a change from last time!
If you make this very easy recipe (which I would highly recommend), don’t skip the cider sauce!
5 Oct
Smith Family Weblog 