We had four trick-or-treaters tonight!

Happy Halloween, folks!!

Greetings from your favorite disco king
(he won the competition at Sportworks)...

...and everybody's favorite, uuh, poodle?
(that was the most popular vote today).

Grandma Donnie

August 14th, 1924 - October 28th, 2006
I kissed her cheek & said goodnight on Friday evening. And she slipped away peacefully in her sleep early Saturday morning. She told us how she could hear music & she was seeing & talking to people that weren't in the room, including some who had already died. In those last hours, she was somewhere between earth & heaven, giving us the chance to say goodbye before she went home.

It's so strange & sad to think that this woman, one half of the couple that brought us all together, is gone. Grandpa Ed & Grandma Donnie built this family that now includes more than 30 of us. They are the founders, the cornerstones. And now Grandma is gone. I won't come down the long driveway & find her working in the garden, or walk into the house & see her bustling around the kitchen. One of our cornerstones is gone, but she built a strong, enduring foundation for her family & we continue on. It is one of my greatest blessings.

This afternoon I sat writing & remembering & looking forward to the company of our family:

It just started raining--fat drops that shake the leaves & ping off the roof. The sky is mourning for Grandma. We all will do this together soon. As our family has always done, we will gather together, with food & love & laughter. To remember Donnie- wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt. We will gather & tell stories, eat food & laugh & cry, & love.
In memory of her.

Fall Afternoon

While our boys were home sick, Boo & I headed out with our cousin Ryan (in town from Alaska) to enjoy the chilly autumn sunshine. First we drove to The Other Coast in Ballard to pick up some yummy sandwiches (thanks, Kristen!) & then on to Discovery Park.

Boo molesting our sandwiches.

The spot where Levi & I got married--two & a half years ago now. :)

Gorgeous day on the bluffs.

A big maple leaf provided some extra fun. I've always thought that it's a good thing to be easily amused--you never get bored.

We drove Ryan back to the family in West Seattle & had a chance to visit with G-maw & G-paw for a few minutes. We joined them on the walk to their neighborhood restaurant.

Autumn Celebration

With my mother's birthday on October 1st, it has become a wonderful tradition of gathering together as a family, eating yummy fall foods, enjoying one another's company & the beginning of a new season. This year we gathered at our house.
Come on in...

Alan playing the zither in our front entryway. It's beautiful, simple music.

Here's my family.
And yes, I'm sure if I was in the photo, I would have my finger up my nose too.

Momma & her birthday pear cobbler.

The kitties love having fires.

Happy Birthday to a very special lady...
My Momma!!

Saturday night

Eliza and I will be attending a bike race at Marymoor Park on Saturday. The style of racing is cyclecross, which is basically riding a road bike through mud and carrying the bike over obsticals. It is a hoot to watch. The beer garden will be open and races start at 3 pm.

Introducing...

Emily & Anthony Maier!!

Yes, my little sister got married today. We were blessed with a gorgeous fall day while Emily & Anthony stood beneath the trees & said their vows to one another.
It was a special day & proof that a great wedding can be planned in four days!
Many blessings & prayers upon the new family; Anthony as he travels back to Iraq, Emily & Tillie as they continue to adjust to life together & eagerly await the return of husband/daddy.
Congratulations Emily & Anthony!!

Wedding day photos

Happy Birthday, Kristen!

Today Kristen Louise Gough is 26. I am very blessed to have known her for 20+ of those years! Some of my favorite memories:
-playing Barbies in the sunshine in my backyard
-the hundreds of times we met halfway between our houses
-telling ghost stories in the hot tub at her parents' house
-Sylvanian workshops
-swimming in the lake on Whidbey Island & riding the ferris wheel at the fair
-creating silly comic books together
-going early to school so we could play & sing on the piano in the back of the Loyal Heights auditorium
-standing across from one another being silly holding the doors open at the end of recess
-all the good times at the Emmanuel youth group (warm fuzzies!)
-and singing, always singing :)

Happy Birthday to a very special lady.

Whidbey Island

Over the weekend I took the ferry to Whidbey Island to celebrate my good friend Kristen's birthday at her cabin with some girlfriends. She & her husband Kyle had planned a wonderful evening for us girls & we enjoyed a marvelous dinner, cooked & served by Kyle, fun times visiting & laughing, & then snuggled up outside to watch Fried Green Tomatoes (Kyle is a master at outdoor theater). We slept on the deck in the cool fall air & went for a nice walk on the island roads in the morning. We ended the trip with pastries & tea in Langley & my trip home was very enjoyable as I had Aleah to chat with.
Thank you Kristen & Kyle for a marvelous time!