Happy Thanksgiving!

A close-up of one of Beatrice's holiday banners

This Thanksgiving my parents came down from Reno to celebrate with me, Zac, and the kids (and Sancho). 

We made turkey, stuffing (my mom's recipe), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, biscuits, and green bean casserole. Then later Lucas and Veronika joined us for pumpkin and apple pies for dessert, as well as a really excellent cranberry upside-down cake.

Zac's carefully timed oven schedule

Making turkey hats

  

 

The gratitude tree

 

 

William got really into toasting.

  

   

The lovely cranberry upside-down cake

  

Then the following night, we went out to get our Christmas tree, but we'll save those pictures for the Christmas entry...

Happy Halloween!

It was a busy Halloween month, as always. Here are a ton of photos that capture the fun.

William was really, really into Halloween bingo. 

Beatrice reading a Halloween book while "Nightmare Before Christmas" plays in the background

William watched a few minutes before declaring it "too scary."

Reading "The Five Little Pumpkins" to Sancho

Halloween store selfie

Beatrice as a ghost

 We took the kids to Underwood Family Farms to get pumpkins:

Beatrice pre-sketched her Halloween banner design at school so she was ready to go when she got home.

William was a T-rex.

Yep, more Halloween bingo

The very impressive haunted house at the elementary school Halloween fair

Carving pumpkins:

This year Arthur got to use a real knife (Beatrice declined and asked me to carve it for her).

Impersonating a T-rex at his preschool Halloween parade and party

Halloween parade

Then, at least, trick or treating:

Beatrice was a banshee.

Arthur was a skeleton.

 William reading Five Little Pumpkins to Sancho:

And dancing along with his beloved "dancing ghost," a desk decoration at Arthur's daycare: