What happened at the Pumpkin Patch

The girls have been bouncing off the walls more than usual lately, so I was just as excited a they were to find that the pumpkin patch we went to this year has a HAY JUMP!!!  This is nothing incredibly special or organized, just a pile of hay and some bales to jump off from.  And it was FREE!  and Mommy didn't fuss, because it wasn't the furniture!

Nora and Elsa both discovered new skills that day - Nora finally figured out how to join the family in making not only a funny face, but a DIFFERENT funny face in each photo:

Well, I'll give her credit for trying in that last one.  And Elsa figured out how to whistle!  All on her own!

The best part (for me) was that she was so happy about it that she actually gave me a REAL smile!  She is a pro at those fake five-year-old photo smiles, so that was pretty exciting for me.  Joel is rather proud of her whistle and has been helping her try to do different notes and tunes.

Kitty love

Tabitha Twitchit is a very, very happy cat.  She purrs and paws the ground every time she just even sees us, and when we pay attention to her, which we do regularly, she flops down and rolls and stretches to make sure we've scratched and petted every spot.  She especially loves rolling on the rocks (I think it's like a big back scratch) and having her belly rubbed, and Elsa is happy to oblige her at every opportunity.  

Super-girl

"Mommy, I'm super-girl!"

"What does that mean?"

"I have my boots on and I can step from this rock to this one."

"See?!?!...watch me...

... I got it!"

new girl in the class

Nora has graduated from "tag-a-long" to being an official ballerina in the little ballet class our friend teaches out of her home.  She loves it, and Elsa is excited to have her fully participate.  They are both so serious during the lesson!

backyard studio

Elsa is becoming quite the artist.  She insists on only using blank paper and a plain pencil (a friend gave her a huge ream of printer paper for her birthday and it is almost gone!).  The other day she asked for a place to sit outside so she could draw the trees.  It took me a while to situate the chair just right for her liking (I suppose artists do tend to be perfectionists...), but we finally succeeded.  

THREE

Our little Nora is now three.  It got a little confusing because we celebrated early while my mother and grandmother were still here, so when her actual birthday came I had to do some convincing that she really, really was three now.

The highlight of her little party was her favorite gift.  I asked her earlier what she wanted for her birthday, and she said, after a brief pause to think, "my blankie and my pooh bear and my dollie and my pillow."  She was completely serious and had no other answer when I asked if there was anything ELSE she wanted.  So we bundled up her blankie, pooh bear, dollies and pillow from her bed into a large gift bag, and, as you can see, she was delighted!  Oh, my sweet little girl.

Don't worry, she received and was delighted with several other lovely (and new) gifts, including a little doll quilt that Elsa had sewn all by herself with Nana's instructions.

We went easy on the fancy "cake" - she was completely happy with frosted rice krispy treats.

Happy Birthday little one!

We escaped completely... for a week anyway

So what did Joel and I do while the girls were at the coast with my mother and grandmother?  We were on a cruise to Alaska and, as Princess Cruises advertises in their motto, we escaped completely.

It was wonderful.  The weather was perfect, the sights were amazing, the wildlife cooperated, the pools were warm, and I didn't have to cook or clean anything.

If you want to see the full album, there are about 200 photos in this web album, otherwise I'm posting my favorites of my favorites here in a few posts.

This is actually the view of the Olympic Mountains from Joel's uncle's house before we boarded the ship in Seattle:

The "plaza" in the ship was three stories tall.  They had a variety of performers and activities there, including a lovely string quartet.

It was also the location of the International Cafe, where we could get salads, sandwiches, and our favorite desserts anytime we wanted!

One of the reasons for the cruise was our 10th anniversary!  Unfortunately this is the only photo we have of the formal nights or any of the evening activities and entertainment.  We had such a great time that I didn't think to take pictures!

And what cruise would be complete without a pastry buffet extravaganza?

But we weren't there only to eat dessert, and I was terribly excited to see several humpback whales our first day at sea: