GyroBowl!

Well the time has come. We got a gyrobowl. Do you know them? They are one of those great "as seen on TV"products. Zaven saw it on tv years ago in Rhode Island and we made a plan to get one for the new baby (who we now know as Esmé) when she is of snacking age. Well on Sunday, we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and picked one up. The premise is that the bowl spins keeping the snacks from spilling regardless of how it is turned. And for the most part, I am please to report, it works! Esmé loves it. She toddles around with various snacks and eats and alternately feeds them to Fredo. There is the occasional spill when Esmé has her hand in the bowl and then falls and holding the bowl open keeping the mechanism from working.
It makes me laugh to see her with it. As you can see in the photo, Fredo is ready to assist with any spills!

Sunny Fall day

It is a beautiful day here in Williamsburg.
Esmé is loving playing outside. This morning she spent a lot of time emptying Fredo's water bowl and then filling it with rocks.
This afternoon she is kicking a ball around the front yard and climbing the front stairs.
Esmé has been giving a lot of hugs today. Which is super nice. She is generally very forthcoming with kisses but hugs are few and far between. And she gives a great hug. She will grab your head and sort of hum. It is one of my favorite things. So to have gotten more than one today, has made it very special.

Also I am posting a pic of the carved pumpkins. The kids did a great job. Nell's is on the right and Zaven's is on the left. Nell also wrote shoe on hers. We are not sure why.

Another weekend!

Time flies when you are having fun! We had a great week. Fridays are always fun with Chris off work. Esmé and I enjoy spending the day with him and Zaven and Nell like having him walk to school with us. This Friday was no exception. We walked to school then Chris went for a bike ride while Esmé napped and then we went to get lunch and then ran some errands before picking up the big kids from school and went to Plaza Azteca with Isabel. Sadly Esmé had not had much of a nap and was unable to hold it together so we waited outside for most of the meal.
Saturday Chris played softball with the church group and the kids and I went to soccer. Nell played well and had a great time. Zaven's game went well too he played well. Ran hard. Scored. They won. He was happy.
We got Subway on the way home After Esme's nap we headed out to Bush Neck Farm to get pumpkins. It was a beautiful day and the farm is so pretty. We could not believe how few people were there or that the pumpkins were only $5. I seem to remember dropping about $40 at Sweet Berry Farm for pumpkins, zoiks.
Today we had a great day at church. Chris preached a great sermon. I had a good Sunday school class, the kids did more talking and it was fun. Then I hit the grocery store and when I got home Nell and I carved pumpkins. It was another gorgeous day. After the football game ended, Zaven came lit and carved his pumpkin and Esmé played around. It was a nice afternoon. Chris hen had to head down to do evensong.
We are going to have some people over for dinner on Wednesday so my early days of this week will be spent cleaning and cooking.

Happy Birthday to me!

What a very happy birthday I had. It all started with Meghan takin me to lunch on Tuesday at the Winery. It was a really fun time and she was kind enough to also give me gifts!
Then Wednesay I woke up to big smiles from Esmé. Only to come downstairs and have beautiful and thoughtful cards from Nell and Zaven. The kids went to school and Esmé and I went to the dr for her 15 month check up. She is doing great. She is 23 lbs (60%) and 33 inches (>85%). She had three shots and was a trooper. Then we went by Panera and picked up sandwiches to go and meet Nell's class at the apple orchard. It was so fun to see Nell with her class and be outside on a beautiful day.
After that Esmé and I came home and Esmé had her nap and I rested too. It was really a treat! Then I picked up the kids from school and when Chris it home we went and got cupcakes and then went and got food at the Cheese Shop and had a picnic. It was perfect. I had a great time. Then when we got home we had cupcakes and I opened my presents. So many wonderful things! A great day!

Good weekend

We had a good weekend. We started our Friday evening with our usual family trip to Plaza Azteca. It was tasty. Zaven and I both ventured out and got something different and then shared. Then it was on to Honeybee for dessert. We were able to sit outside and it was beautiful. Saturday we were happy to have Zaven and Nell both playing soccer at 10. So we got there and only stayed an hour instead of the usual 3. The weather was very nice. So we got home and packed a picnic with the plan to eat in the Palace gardens. But as we got there we discovered that they don't want you to do that. So qwe found another spot, under a tree and enjoyed our sandwiches. Then on the way home Zaven started a game of trap ball and had a great time. Nell climbed a tree with a group of kids and Esmé, Chris and I hung around in the grass. We got home and had dinner from a new middle eastern kebob style restaurant, sticks. It was tasty. Then because it was such a beautiful night and the weather was to change dramatically for today. We walked/rode bikes up to merchant square and
got ice cream at Baskin Robbin. It was a great night.
Today at church was the blessing of the animals and the kids sang with their choir. Because it was rainy the service was moved in doors which made it exciting. The animals were surprisingly well behaved and the kids sang beautifully.

My second week teaching the middle school Sunday school went well. I was more relaxed and I think it went ok. I hope that they will open up a little more each week. Who knows.

Today has been cloudy and rainy. Zaven got to go on a playdate. Nell played in the puddles. Esmé napped and I went to the grocery store. Now a chicken is roasting and we are watching some football.

Clydesdales

Today's field trip to see the Clydesdales was a success. The kids were not blown away, but it was fun to walk up to the college and have snacks while we waited. The Brewers came with us and we ran into a few other people we knew.
Nobody got lost, so that was good.

Also I took some pictures of Esmé is the backyard.

Hot again

Well Fall made a brief showing here. But lately it has gotten warm again. Today it was 85 and humid! But truly we are starting to see some Fall colors.
Esmé and I are still enjoying going for walks. She loves to be on the go. She still brings me her shoes or crawls into her stroller and out we go into CW. I let her lead the way.

School is going well for Zaven and Nell. Last week we had friends over on Tuesday. Nell and her friend Kate pretended to be Johnny Appleseed.
Thursday Zaven stayed up late doing homework and studying for a test he has been a good boy getting his work done. Both kids seem to be pretty tired at the end of the days.

Tomorrow we are going to see a team of Clydesdale horses making an anniversary beer delivery. I have told the kids the story of my being lost at the 1982 World's Fair after starting to to follow the wrong pair of pants while looking at the Clydesdales. Hopefully no one will go missing tomorrow while we are seeing them.