LoveFest 2009

Sagis and Xiao star in LoveFest 2009, a video.

Saturday Work day

Tad and his dad worked on a new bike shed. They built a lot of it back at Tad's dad's house

and put it together here.

it's got a nice view of the rose bush

i stayed inside and watched the view change

and I made lunch.

Visitors

Dad and Linda were waiting for their truck to get repaired at the Troutdale yard, so we hosted them for a few days.

Linda got to work on the sewing machine. dad surfed the internet

the dogs enjoyed the space to nap

and of course, they caught up on some sleep

we took walks, went out to dinner, and they enjoyed having a home base for a few days.

12 of 12 November 2009

I got a late start on my 12 of 12 photos since I forgot batteries for my camera. Coffee at work.

the last of my lunch. Quiche left over from marco's cafe. Yum!

the beautiful view out my window (but the landscape guys were just about to start blowing leaves away.)

the plant on my desk; Friday is watering day.

heading to an elementary school

a cute flyer the girls made and hung around the school.

a quick stop at good will

dinner at penny's cozy house

siblings

group shot

jazz hands (having fun with the self timer)

messing around.

Halloween eve

Happy halloween! from the sisterhood of the pointy hats (we dressed up at work )

pouring rain out of our jack o'lantern

catch! I really love my socks and shoes, do you?

xiao, right at home!

he loves that hat!

We went down to the OBP for a bit more pumpkin carving fun

with some friendly folks,

This would be my 3rd carved pumpkin

but it's so much fun!

and it's nice to have lots of chances to try new carving techniques
and hang out with some muleskinners

who are so creative, I now call them pumpkinskinners!

and a sight we just saw...

marvelling at the spider's ability to master weaving such a perfect web...

Pumpkin Carving Party

Bad photo, but delicious food! the beginning of the carving

lots of creativity in the room...

and fun discussions Jack Black (aka Xiao) came to check it out... Nick and Sarah worked together on their jack o'lantern

Penny's jack

Tad's big nose pumpkin

my fonzy the bear gourd

Dave's cucurbita pepo lantern

Sarah P's squash

my other pumpkin head

bozeb's ghoulish grinning jack

and it's alter ego

the line up of jacks

Ours out front. You can barely see the one in the window.

cleaning up, I was caught not helping and just watching!

xiao investigates Penny's pumpkin

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Saturday morning Tad and I woke to find blue skies and sunshine. A perfect day for the pumpkin patch!

the farm has a petting zoo, to pet this ewe

Cordy was very excited

We tried out the slide

and found it best to lean way back Tad enjoyed the water races

and watching the pumpkin launchers in action

We went on a most excellent mule ridewhere I got to sit next to the very nice driver me and penny enjoyed the ride

out to the pumpkin patch with this nice looking group of Bunns, Beckwiths, McKibbens, Elwells and one Randall

gorgeous October day, sandwiched between some quite wet and rainy ones!

Before picking out the perfect pumpkin, we decided to venture into the maze where we definitely got lost

and were so glad to find the end

which was technically the entrance where we had come in

tad found his pumpkin

and he carried mine, too!

we said goodbye to the wagon masterand headed over for some photo fun

but thought this was kind of creepy looking if you're ever in Grand Island, head on over to the Heiser's Pumpkin Patch for lots of family fun!

...stay tuned for some pumpkin carving fun!

Veterans for Peace

Tad was pretty excited to host these veterans for peace at our house this week. They have a good message to be heard.

I think it made Tad a little nostalgic for his Peace Bike adventure.

but I think he also enjoyed being on the other side of the adventure, too!

12 of 12 October 2009

Thanks as usual, to Chad Darnell for his 12 of 12 photo project. Without further ado, here are my 12 of october 12, 2009.

1 Morning, coffee...the beautiful flower centerpiece I made at Penny's birthday party

2. facebook time before work
3. Xiao is busy bird watching, his favorite hobby after napping.

4.in the car, driving to Oregon City, mid morning

5 crossing the bridge from Gladstone to Oregon City

6.Leaving the school where I dropped off flyers, I took this shot:

(a whole lot of time spent at the office, undocumented)

7.home, dinner time: pita bread with yummy toppings: tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, green onions, brie and cheddar cheeses:

8.catching up on my cooking at Cafe world

9.watching survivor with Tad (not pictured) and Xiao

10.I couldn't choose between the next two photos, so included them both:
eating brownies

making a zoxster:

11. total love:

12. Bed time

bonus shot: a flower tad picked for me

what does your name mean?

the internet is a place where you can get random facts and interesting tidbits. I did a search on what our names mean. I used a variety of sources to find these meanings:
Alanna- little child; stone; harmony; fair; noble; beautiful; dear child; peaceful
Ryan- little king; young royalty
Randall- protected by the wolf; descendant of Randal or Randwulf (shield; wolf)
Tad-heart, father; praise
Wayne- wagon builder; wagon maker;
Beckwith- one who came from Beckwith, Yorkshire

So, I can be known as peaceful little king protected by the wolf; or beautiful young royalty protected by the wolf.
Tad can be known as father wagon maker who came from Yorkshire; or praise wagon maker who came from Yorkshire


I liked the meanings of these names too:
penelope: dream weaver
Lila: night
Bunn: the good, little one