Halloween Honey Hive

Our little cat burglar waits to swipe some candy...and then passes out on Daddy.


Auntie Wendy scared the bejeesus out of Elliot (and the rest of us!)

Indiana Jones was not afraid.

My costume was actually sold as a dress - the model on the package did not couple it with a long sleeve shirt and pants. It was about the same size as Elliot's pretty Bee dress.


"Dead Hannah Montana" shows the power of glow bracelets to the Bee Girls.


Halloween came early around these parts. We Buzzy Buzzy Bees here, might have been accused of taking the easy route in the costume department (ahem, thanks Dad) - but we would like to give props to Charlie's Wizard of Oz costumes (all hand made!) making up for our delinquency. Here are some pics from the Halloween party ... and a little dance party to boot. How did Chris know Ray Parker Jr. off the top of his head??

Here's your video, Chicago Aunties

Row Row Row Your Boat

Turn your volume down! Elliot serenades Samantha in the tub. What do I love more, Elliot's perfect pitch? Samantha facing the camera (save me!)? Or Mommy's nervous hand reaching in again and again in case a save is needed?

Cranberry Bog!

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?


It's Cranberry Harvest time in New England and we went to visit the AD Makepeace Farm in Wareham, MA, near the Cape. We learned lots of things, like it takes 4,400 cranberries to make 1 Gallon of juice - and Ocean Spray is a Co-op of local farmers - and it is cheaper (and prettier) to wet-harvest cranberries (flood a bog and make them float). The wet harvested berries make juice and sauce and anything processed, the dry harvested are what you get when you buy fresh berries since the natural waxy coating remains intact for a longer shelf-life. Guess whose kids were NOT crying on the school bus tour?!


The kids on the bus go up and down. Mommy, why am I on the blanket all alone while you all are at the picnic table eating? Because you are cute! And content with a plastic spoon, and can't eat a sandwich yet!

What?! Someone is taller than Daddy?

Finally, some cranberries!

Frogfoot Bog - looks like a frog foot from the air, which you could see for a $35 helicopter ride. Look close in the water below to see the farm doggie, Rizza. She chases rocks that her owner throws in the bog. She charges in and feels around for the rock with her paw and then head dives to get it. Is that a hair in my cranberry juice? The hoses on the side of the burm suck the cranberries into the truck in the background. In the next picture we are standing above the truck platform watching the cranberries up the conveyor belt to the truck bed.



Elliot & I want to dive in.


Elliot ponders a future vocation.


Alas, the sand mountain - also mentioned in Charlie's blog...and surprisingly deceptive in the photographs. Elliot conquered the mountain while Daddy & Samantha slept in the barn watching a cranberry video - where they also missed the great helicopter attack on the sand mountain.




Now picture, rising in close range above Elliot's head, one of the aforementioned helicopters. Completely unexpected. The sand storm that rose up around it was worthy of a B-movie. At first we froze and stared at each other. Ellie confused, and me thinking it was just a wind gust. Then I dove on her to bury her face in me until it passed. Really, it was like we were in the 4077th. No harm, no foul. We laughed down the hill back to the barn. And am still getting sand out of my scalp.

Sammy J's first Airplane Ride

Samantha came to Chicago with me for a business trip tacked on with a quick visit to meet her cousins.  While I was working, Samantha was kicking it with Auntie Kassi & Auntie Shannon and cousins Emily, Sean, Alex & Andrew.  

Sam gets to know her cousins...Sam is 7 months in this picture...and Emily is almost 2 years old!  What are we feeding Sammy J???

These are all out of order, but here we waited for our return flight at O'hare and below is her sitting on her first airplane.   Right before all the people came and took all the seats.  Samantha was a dreamy flyer and the stewards commented that she was the "perfect baby".  Of Course!  Don't you think that other plane is flying just a little too close?

Samantha & Emily drag race, and then chicken fight.  A normal weekend for anybody, right?

Grandpa & Samantha shared many a secret ... like how to keep the turkey vultures from swarming the deck!

Emily & Sam pat some cakes at Auntie Kassi's house.  While I walked around saying that Lincoln (big doggie) better not eat my baby...

Auntie Kassi starts them early at Wrigley.

Samantha is covered in finger puppets and flanked by Alien Seanie. 

hey! they have the same haircut!  Looks good Alex!

Bounces R Us is the greatest place ever! - For Emily & Elliot.  Right after this shot, Samantha screamed in terror and hated the ball pit and anything to do with bouncing.  Elliot would have loved it there!

Check out Auntie Shannon by the suitcase cake in the window!

Samantha tries to open Elliot's present from Chicago before we head back home.

Toddlers For Barack Obama!

 

Oh man, we are way behind.  We saw Barack Obama speak on his campaign trail last month in Manchester, NH.  If you look really close, you can see him in the background of the center picture, just to the right of the pole under the yellow tent.  But who is looking at that when the girls are just so darn cute?