Neighborhood Fall Fun

Before Croup crept in we celebrated the coming of fall with a neighborhood block party in our front yard. A handful of neighbors chipped in with food, craft supplies and a small bouncy castle to make the party a success for nearly 100 neighbors.

We also did some pumpkin carving at our neighbor Dylan's house. The mommies did most of the carving. Daniel was a champ when it came to eating the roasted pumpkin seeds, though.

Sick

 Another round of Croup.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Although Chase was a little concerned at first about his brother's towing capabilities, he really did have a good time on the "train ride."

Daniel, The Independent

 We biked down to DU last night to catch the presidential debate "pre-game." As we mingled amongst the Romney supporters on the west side of University Ave. and watched secret service vehicles of plenty pass us by, we quickly learned that Daniel was the true Independent in the family. As Romney's and President Obama's motorcades drove past supporters chanted for their chosen candidate. Daniel, having seen dozens of orange snow plows (previously blocking the road) file off the highway, started chanting, "Snow Plow! Snow Plow! Snow Plow!" It's clear he won't be voting red or blue this election. He's going orange.

Song Birds

One Small Step in His Father's Footsteps

JJ never passes up a chance to stop by a lemonade stand. He's stopped at a couple with Daniel this summer, and Daniel asked time after time if he could "do a lemonade stand" too. After playing pretend lemonade stand hundreds of times in the front lawn, we finally decided to attempt the real deal.

Thanks to some great neighbors, and some generous passersby, Daniel made $13.00 at his first lemonade stand earlier this summer. Sure, Chase slipped a few soft pretzels - our novelty treat, but all in all it was a success. The best part is that Daniel wanted to buy some toys with his money - very specific toys: tow trucks or other big trucks that pull stuff, and a car carrier of sorts. We shopped around and Daniel found two, great trucks at Goodwill. His bill totaled $3.75 and on the way home he said, "It's like Christmas and I bought my own presents!" Indeed he did.

You Give a Little You Get a Little

 

 The other week JJ was out for the evening and mom had a friend over whom she hadn't seen for a while. A valuable parenting tip came out of their time together: Sometimes to get a little (in this case, some time to chat with a friend with no interruptions), you have to give a little (in this case, letting my two boys play in the mud until the casing of dirt around their eyes started to actually bother them and they asked for a bath).