Dressed in our...

...pumpkin best!

Happy Halloween! Can't wait to get the minis pictures taken in their costumes and then share with you. Wish us luck that we can capture at least ONE good shot!

My wish for these two? That they're as close in 30 years as they are now and that they never ever stop giving each other goofy faces that only they can understand.
Pants off dance off!
Rocking the old man pants
Happiness. Pure happiness.

Pumpkins with our pun'kins

Know what I love about this time of year?
EVERYthing!!!
From the cooler weather to the pumpkin patch, there isn't 1 thing about fall that makes my black list. Well except for squash soup. I can do without that. But put that pumpkin into a chai latte instead and you've got yourself a winner!
This is our third year to pick pumpkins and enjoy the festivities at Heiser Farms. I just love that we're making traditions with our girls. It also gives me a chance to take similar pictures year after year, which means fun times comparing! Need a refresher on our pumpkin patch pickings last year? Click here. Or what about when Ashley was not quite 2 and Natty was still tucked away in my belly? I've got those pics right here.
Aren't walks down memory lane wonderful?

We have arrived!
Midget couldn't wait to get her pic snapped - could we have a future Love. Laugh. Photograph. on our hands? I sure hope so!
On our way to the patch
Me n' my girls
This is how Uncle Andy cuddles
Resting her stubby legs
It's great - they pick, he carries
My loves
Spunky found hers
Cousin cuddles in the pun'kin patch
What's better than picking pumpkins? Hitching a ride in the wheelbarrow!
Thrilling
We could do this all day, Daddy
Go Daddy, go!
First solo trip down the giant tube slide
Natty Kat needed assistance, so Mommy to the rescue. Never too old to slide!
Catching a ride with Uncle Andy
Here she comes!
One last picture before we head to the car
Checking in with my tired minis - great afternoon!

Big coloring winner

Prepare for some pretty big news......
Ashley won second prize for her coloring contest entry! She was so thrilled and incredibly proud of herself. No really, she was. She told me, "Mommy, I didn't get frustrated. I colored it really good and I WON! I'm such a good colorer, huh Mommy? I did good!"
So in love with Midget. My heart literally ached when she walked up to the lady in charge of the contest and said "My name is Ashley Louise. I won a prize for the contest!" So grownup. So mature. So confident.
She's turning into such a big girl.
Sniff.

Pictures? But I want to open my prize!
Open...open...open
Dancing a little jig for her giant chocolate bar and new colors book (which includes a pic of a dog that looks a lot like Riley, which makes it even more exciting for her)
Big girl! Big winner!!
Her masterpiece - do you see the orange A for Ashley and N for Natalie? She's learning!

Child of God

On Saturday October 15 we watched as Pippin was baptized into the Lutheran Church. It was such a simple and beautiful ceremony. Pippin was sporting an incredible gown handmade by Grandma Marilyn and we joked "That's what you get for naming your child after Marilyn!". Funny, although I guarantee any time you ask Marilyn to make something, it's exquisite.
The baptism took place in Macksburg Church, the same church where Marilyn, her mother Dorothy (Jake's great grandmother) and Kathy had all been baptized. I just love traditions like that. It's neat to think we sat in the same pews family sat in years ago. Neat and comforting.
Lindsay and Shaun looked so proud and happy holding their baby girl, watching as she was baptized. It was such a special morning, surrounded by family, nestled in the hands of God. Thank you for including us, Shaun and Lindsay!

A quilt square made by Dorothy which reads "Spirit, Love, and Beauty from the heart" - the quilt hangs on the wall in the kitchen/social area
Our little angels
Chillin with my main guy Wy Wy before the ceremony starts - both girls had gloves and purses. The gloves only lasted a few seconds.
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved..." Mark 16:16
Good looking Grant's
We missed you, Angie!
Even in the house of the Lord, Spunky is still Spunky
Ashley explaining to Natalie "Natty Kat, that's Baby Jesus". Not quite, but bless her heart just the same!
Loving the Lee's
Have you ever seen a better looking group? I just don't think so.
Love for my sister. Love for my Father.
Macksburg Church
The girl of the hour, all dressed for her luncheon
The mini's sure are happy they can sit on Aunt Lindsay's lap again!
Feeling right at home with a baby girl in his arms

I am not Job...

...but the last 12 months have certainly felt like it!
We've had a rough medical go the last year. Well not us, but our girls. It seems we can't go longer than 6 weeks without needing some sort of appointment or email conversation with our pediatrician.
I am not Job. But I feel like I'm being tested much like he was.
Here's a quick timeline of the last few weeks:

October 1: Natalie diagnosed with an ear infection (EI) in her right ear. Prescribed oral antibiotics (ABX) (which we all know is impossible for us to get into her).

October 10: Natalie's EI isn't clearing up so switched from oral ABX to ear drops, which makes Mommy happy. And when Mommy is happy, everyone is happy.

October 20: Both Ashley and Natalie show signs of a cold: runny nose, cough, sneeze, etc.

October 21: Natalie wakes up with croup and continues to cough for over an hour regardless of the fact we're outside, in the cool night air, keeping her calm.

October 22: Natalie is seen by her pediatrician for the croup episode and given a 3 dose treatment of dexamethasone, a steroid to help ease the croup. Pedi also notices she has an EI in her right ear. Could be the same one from a few weeks prior, but is likely a new infection. Prescribed a stronger ear drop ABX.

October 26: Natalie's ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat doc) hears through the grapevine that she has an EI and calls me to confirm. He is shocked to hear this is EI #2. He asks that I bring her in. During the visit he suctions out her infected ear, notices the tube is nice and open, and sends the ear funk off to be cultured (still waiting on results of that culture). This time given stronger ABX ear drops plus a second ear drop that is prednisone (steroid) to help with swelling and discomfort.

October 27: Both girls wake up snotty, coughing a wet and gnarly cough, they're cranky and irritable and just plain not feeling well. It's been 8 days since they first showed signs of a cold, so a call to the pedi's office and an appointment is scheduled. Good news is that all 4 ears are looking good, especially Natalie's right one. Pedi can tell it's been suctioned and is hopeful the infection is under control. Bad news? Both minis have bronchitis and have been prescribed azithromycin (which is liquid, which means Operation Sneak Meds Into Natty Kat is underway at 18-hundred hours. Wish us luck.).

So are you seeing why I've been feeling like Job? I'm tired of being tested. I'm tired of being tried. I keep waving our white flag, but nobody is paying attention.
What I wouldn't give to stay far, far, far away from both the pedi and ENT's offices. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time........

Wordless Wednesday

It'll be wordless except for a quick explanation.... Ashley on the left , October 2009 at 21 months. Natalie on the right, October 2011 at 22 months.

San Fran day tres

Our third and final full day in San Fran was spent much like the days prior: walking around, playing tourist, eating tasty food and making memories. It really is a booming city with a hustle and bustle I've never experienced.
Wait. Scratch that. Washington, DC takes the cake on hustle and bustle. But San Fran is up there for sure.
Again, prepare youself for picture overload. By now you know I'm shutter-happy and will snap a shot of just about anything and everything.
Live. Laugh. Photograph. after all.


Taking in the sights

With so much to see and do, my camera was constantly being put to work. Day #3 was much cooler, which I was completely okay with! In fact, we even got the chance to experience why San Fran has been nicknamed Fog City.

Here comes that famous San Fran fog
Pouty faces once we learned there were no more tickets for Alcatraz Island and that we'd likely not get to visit (Did we make it? Check back later for Day #4's pics and stories)
PS I apologize for my crazed outfit - not sure what was going on with my cardigan but you can bet Jake, Shawna and Jessica will be being getting demerits for not saying something.
Flashback to 1988 and Tom Hanks' movie BIG - trying our hand at the Zoltar
Can't walk by a MJ statue without giving him a nod
Double-decker carousal at Pier 39 - absolutely beautiful
When they spotted an arcade, it wasn't long before Jake and Shawna found something to compete at. Not sure what happened to Jake's mojo, but Shawna whooped him 35 to 20. Ouch.

A SF must!

I always knew San Fran is known for their sourdough, although I never quite knew why. Turns out their climate, combined with the special Doudin family recipe of creating the mother dough, gives their sourdough a unique and special flavor. They've been making it the same way since 1849, so they've had plenty of opportunity to perfect it. Walking along Pier 39 you couldn't help but smell the bread baking. It was wonderful!


Look close and you'll see little baskets on tracks, filled with bread - this was their unique way of cooling the bread, at the same time making sure the smell wafted all along the pier. Little sneaks.
Outside the Boudin bakery - this guys job is to not only bake bread, but to entertain the masses. We must have watched him a solid 5 minutes divide and weigh, roll, form and shape. We walked by over 4 hours later and he was still busy at work making cheese and garlic rolls. The smell was ambrosia.
Getting crafty with their bread - 6 foot long carb alligator
Feeling crabby?
Checking in at one of the Boudin Sourdough Bakeries
Even though Sissie didn't get to come with us, turns out she was at the bakery!
Guess who's not thrilled he's being forced to pose with BBQ sauce?

Sweets for the sweets

Aside from Ghirardelli Square, famous for their smooth, rich and creamy chocolates, there's also a small start-up business located on one of the piers calls Tcho (pronounced 'cho' - tcho is the phonic spelling of the c-h-o sound. Pretty tricky, eh?). During one of our trips on the Green Line we noticed they offered tours and chocolate sampling.
Talk about hitting the jackpot!
Tcho is *very* serious about their chocolate, more specifically their cocoa beans. They make about 5 or 6 different chocolate bar flavors, however the ingredients for each bar are exactly the same. The *only* difference is the region in which the cocoa bean was grown. It was incredible the flavor differences that are created depending on the region/climate the bean is grown in. We learned SO much about chocolate and had a great time touring the facility and tasting their wares.
From Tcho we headed to Ghirardelli Square were we got to try even more chocolate. There's no doubt they've got good treats, but it was obvious the difference between a commercial operation versus a small start-up operation.
Even for me, who could easily give up chocolate and not miss it, it was a great afternoon of tasting, learning and picture taking.

Waiting for our tour to start, Shawna found a new way to sport her hairnet
Rocking the nets, ready for our tour
Check in at Tcho, sanitized and ready to learn!
We even had to wear approved footwear - I checked before I slid my tootsies in to make sure they'd been sanitized. Yes I'm "that" person, but at least we know my annoyances won't lead to a weird foot fungus!
PS Why must I pose all weird and awkward like? There is nothing natural about the way I'm standing.
The famously sweet Ghirardelli Square
Jake was such a trooper the entire time - he gladly stood or sat by why his harem shopped around at boutiques and street vendorsNow that's a big hunk o' chocolate
Sweet goodness
Hot fudge and peanut butter sundaes - these guys thought they'd be able to destroy one on their own...
...even sharing with Jake, I got a belly ache! It was so rich and tasty and incredible! I'm sad to announce that neither Shawna nor Jess were able to finish theirs. Losers.
Pounds and pounds of pounds of Ghirardelli squares everywhere you turned


Culture on the Green Line

The Green Line are the street cars that run just about everywhere in San Fran. We could easily hop on The Green from outside our hotel and ride it all over. It was really convenient and a lot easier to access than the trolly cars. Because it was so easily accessible, and relatively cheap to ride, there was always a lot of folks riding. Which made for great people watching. And as much as I love taking pictures, I love people watching.
Getting to snap pics WHILE people watching? Well that's just crazy talk. But um, yes please.

A particularly crowed trip on The Green, I couldn't help but document our ride. It wasn't until I was going through my trip pics that I noticed the lovely standing next to Shawna. Apparently he had a rough night - black eyes AND a giant forehead bandaid? Would have loved to have heard that story!
For this particular picture I had Jess pretend pose as if I was interested in snapping her pic. What I really was setting out to document was THOSE FINGERNAILS!! Oh.my.word. Can you imagine the nastiness that is lurking under those falsies? Ewwwww.


The night life

Remember when I said in an earlier blog post how each of us picked the 1 thing we absolutely could not leave San Fran without doing? Jessica's 1 Thing was pics of the Golden Gate Bridge and skyline at night. I'm not sure who found it, but we ended up driving across the bridge to a park around 10 at night. It was dark. It was windy. It was cold. It was creepy. And I'm a pansy because I've got myself convinced there is a Boogy Man who is waiting to gobble me up. But shazam if it didn't make for some incredible pictures.

Jake, tired of listening to Shawna complain about her foot pain, did what any caveman would do - he scooped her up and carried her. That'll learn her.
Happy birthday Little Sister!
I now present The Chapman Stick, invited in 1974 by Emmet Chapman. It is out of this world! It made the most divine sound - smooth as honey but solid like steel. The stick's 12 strings aren't strum like a guitar, but instead just pressed down. A lot like a hammer dulcimer, without the hammer. And when he played Pachelbel Canon in D, I cried like a baby (I'm not sure I've ever just started crying before without an actual reason - I had no idea what to do with myself!). Something struck and a flood of emotions waved over me. I can't hear this melody without thinking of Jake. He used to cruise in his little rice grinder Acura Integra, slammed to the ground, exhaust rumbling, and Pachelbel Canon in D flowing through the speakers. That memory, combined with the fact that it was played at our wedding, had the tears rolling. Such an amazing instrument! Shawna and I hunted him down the next day and bought 4 of CDs, one of which is Christmas tunes!
Out on a little knoll, in the pitch black, on the hunt for the amazing nighttime Golden Gate Bridge pic. It was so black my camera couldn't even focus!
Shawna, braving the cold which is pretty incredible for her
Even though I was a chilly girly, scared of the bumps in the night, I am grateful I had the opportunity to capture this shot. Even at nearly 10:30 at night, the traffic still whizzed by, making for some great light-play shots. Not to mention the eery fog.