The past few weeks have been crazy. Not that we've been any busier, really, than usual. Actually from the outside I bet you couldn't notice any change. But boy I can feel it. Suddenly (or so it seems to me) our family is growing up. It's not that we're out of the baby phase - we'd be thrilled with a new baby! - but we aren't a family of babies anymore. Levi and Brenna and even Jack are old enough to really do things. I can give them a job and expect it to get done without standing over them. We can take them places and just enjoy them instead of feeling like a mama duck trying to keep all her ducklings in a row. It's very nice...

I just love this picture. I know it's technically not, well, good. The lighting is off and my camera is just really bad (dropped one too many times maybe?). But I like it:)

Casey and I took the kids to a new park our town has built down by the river on Friday for a picnic. After we ate, we walked along the path and wound our way down towards the river.

That bridge in the background is where we parked and that stroller in the foreground is where we parked Christian while he napped and we investigated the sandbar.

Then we came home and dressed up to Trick or Treat. Christian refused to wear his fireman hat (and Mommy refused to spend $20 on a better costume for a baby who could care less). The big kids had a ball though...

Levi was Anakin Skywalker (from The Clone Wars - not *regular* Anakin Skywalker), Jack was Batman and Brenna was a ninja. My girly girl with the drawers full of dress up costumes. But her ninja moves were quite awesome.
I just finished updating our "lesson plans" for the next few weeks - up to Christmas. I like to divide the year up into blocks of 6 weeks or so. That gives me a chance to adapt things pretty easily if we fall behind or get ahead. Now that I have the basics down I'm making holiday plans and working them into our school days. I'm so excited about the holidays this year - cocoa and reading Christmas stories and baking cookies...bring it on:)