Pumpkin Patches and Winnie the Pooh

Kieran dropped our camera last week, and the lens has broken. I couldn't get too upset with him, since I've done it myself in the past...and the previous camera I dropped in a cup of tea! (My dad painstakingly took it apart, blow-dried each piece and then reassembled it, and it worked...although it did affect the quality somewhat.) At any rate, I have ordered a new camera, but it hasn't arrived yet. So all the photos from the past week or so were taken with my BlackBerry or the tea camera!

Last week at the Farmer's Market--Chris with his hand-held pie (he wanted a whole one, but he had to settle for a small one!):

Kieran and Nick, who is modeling the cotton firefighter's coat and hat I picked up at a resale shop--my deal of the week for $4.99--the kid can't get enough of firefighter accessories and his previous firefighter coat is getting a bit small (and holding a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie):

And upon walking back to our car, the firehouse was open (we always walk past and peek in through the windows; the garage is rarely open...when it is, it's a fantastic day for Nick!!):

Last Tuesday both Kieran and Nicholas had separate trips to two different pumpkin patches with their various classes. Nick's class is extremely small--only 4 other kids! Mike went along with Nick, and I accompanied Kieran's class. Fun!

And here is Kieran with the sweet little baby calves:
And posing with his teacher and his buddy Natalie (as his teacher said when I sent her the photo, "it looks like both Kieran and I have swallowed something bad!"):

Yesterday we took Nicholas to his first play at the Northwest Children's Theater, "Winnie the Pooh." Both boys insisted on dressing up (which surprised me a bit about Kieran, who was too "embarrassed" last Halloween to go in the costume parade at the farmers market). Nick wore a Winnie-the-Pooh costume that is sized 18-24 months, and Kieran wore a 4-year-old Tigger costume! They certainly attracted a lot of attention.

The production was fun, and the actor who played Pooh is becoming one of my favorites--he also played the Tin Man in the "Wizard of Oz." However, Tigger did not feature in the play, since it was based on the earlier Pooh tales. When Kieran went to get the actors' autographs afterward, Pooh took one look at him and said "Tigger! There you are!!" Very cute. Nick was overwhelmed by the whole thing and hid behind me while Kieran was getting autographs.

Nick did agree to pose outside of the theater, but the sun was very bright!

On the way back to the car, we passed some gates to an apartment building festooned with spider webs for Halloween:

Nick wore the Pooh costume to church this morning, and this afternoon he wore the Tigger costume on a shopping expedition to Michael's (for a school project for Chris).

The kids are going insane for Halloween this year. Kieran's changed his mind about what he's going to be about four times. I bought him a leather jacket and converse-style shoes so he could be Danny Zuko, but he's lost interest in that. Why do I never learn??? It's my tendency to want to plan ahead and not panic at the last minute. Now he's vacillating between Bilbo Baggins and Dracula, but I keep telling him I'm not buying him another costume. However, I did concede and buy him a black t-shirt today at Michael's (for his homemade Dracula costume--who knows what it will look like?).

Last night I made a yummy (if I do say so myself) pumpkin sausage risotto...typical ambitious weekend cooking project for me. This afternoon Mike has taken the older boys to the movies, Nick is watching his beloved Wiggles, and I'm about to get cleaning. It's never ending, I tell you... know I haven't trained the boys well enough to pick up after themselves, and it's all my fault!

I leave on Tuesday morning bright and early for the first big business trip all year (my job has changed a lot!)...to Denver through Friday. I leave the house around 5:15 a.m. and return Friday night. I will miss my boys and am very sad to miss the Halloween parade and Grandparents' Day (when the kids sing) at the grade school. But I will be back for Halloween!