Where did the time go?

Our little pumpkin

Somehow I never posted about Halloween. We actually carved the pumpkins, unlike last year. The kids were real troopers, and the 3 oldest trick-or-treated for a full hour.

Carving a pumpkin with a butter knife is exhausting work.

A very scary jack o' lantern. Grrrrr.

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Then Thanksgiving came and went in a rush. Because of work, Devin and Maran couldn't come until Friday, so we celebrated Thanksgiving with a big feast on Saturday. (We ate homemade pizza on Thanksgiving day.)

The following pics are courtesy of Benjamin, a budding photographer:

Devin

Maran holding Courtney












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The next weekend we went to a Metallica concert. It was amazing. Devin and Maran came with us. Both brothers love the band but never saw them in concert before. I'm slightly familiar with their music, but mostly I wanted to go to share the experience with my husband. It was a surreal experience seeing them live onstage. They look just like their videos. They even performed my 2 favorite songs of theirs: "Nothing Else Matters" and "Sandman." Unfortunately I forgot my camera.

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So, before this also passes by: we're moving! We'll be in-transition for the rest of the month. First, the owners are replacing the carpets and painting. So we're helping paint whenever possible. Then, since it's an in-town move, we have the option of moving out and then cleaning. That sounds so much better than cleaning while packing with kids running amok. All of our previous moves have been across country or out-of-state. I'm looking forward to this one. Although we'll be in a different school district, I'll be driving Samuel to school so he can stay in his class.

Since we signed the new lease back in November, I knew we would be very busy at Christmastime. All the shopping and mailing is done. Wahoo! I'm crossing my fingers that we won't lose any presents.

We caught a trash can!

It's been a bit windy here. So windy, in fact, that I heard something thumping down the street - not the usual sound in our neighborhood. When the wind calmed down enough to go outside without blowing away the children, we found this:











OK, so I arranged the hat on the fire hydrant, but the hydrant did catch it. I was hoping the owner would see it and reclaim it, but no. Samuel has now claimed it as his. I, on the other hand, claimed the trash can, which will soon be employed in clearing out the junk we've accumulated over the past year. Yup, we just passed the first anniversary of moving into our home. That was a fast, eventful year; hopefully things will calm down soon.