Happy Halloween! Happy Birthday Carl!

 This year the kids voted for Scarlet Macaw, Blue and Gold Macaw, Fairy and Fireman. One of the great ironies of life became apparent: if I didn't have kids I would have finished those costumes in one afternoon, but without kids I would never have made them.

How do kids learn how to be zombies? I have no idea. Rest assured that Ryan and I don't wander around the house in zombie style, at least not before the kids go to bed.

Sometimes you get so excited for your costume that you wear it whenever you can. And here is Carl learning a little about fire safety. 

Carl turned three! Ryan and I are still amazed that he is alive and are happy to report that he is not as risky as he used to be, or maybe he is more sneaky about it.

A little know benefit of growing up is that once you're three, the voting volunteers are willing to give you no less than 5 stickers at the polls. Who did we vote for? Our lips are sealed.

Baltimore or Bust

 A few weeks ago we took the kids up to Baltimore to visit their cousins by way of Shenandoah National Park. Among other things, we learned on this trip that when a road is described as "scenic" it also means th road "may cause nausea for everyone in the car except Dad."  As you can guess, we had to take a lot of stops to "enjoy the scenery."

They had some great hikes that the kids really enjoyed. We even managed to sneak up on a mother dear and her two fawns. This was only possible because A) the deer live in the campground and routinely ignore humans, and B) we were warned by the hikers in front of us to proceed quietly. 

 At one point in the hike we had a choice between Bearfence Rock Scramble or the Bearfence Viewpoint hikes. Can you tell which one we chose? This particular hike probably took a year off of Ryan's life, but the kids and I had a great time. It's hard to stop jumping from rock to rock once you get started. Carl did a great job, since he's been scrambling up things since he was 10 months old.

Our next stop was Baltimore to visit our cousins and enjoy some less dangerous past-times.

We loved the aquarium and thankfully no one has started having nightmares about sharks.

Balitmore or Bust

 A few weeks ago we took the kids up to Baltimore to visit their cousins by way of Shenandoah National Park. Among other things, we learned on this trip that when a road is described as "scenic" it also means th road "may cause nausea for everyone in the car except Dad."  As you can guess, we had to take a lot of stops to "enjoy the scenery."

They had some great hikes that the kids really enjoyed. We even managed to sneak up on a mother dear and her two fawns. This was only possible because A) the deer live in the campground and routinely ignore humans, and B) we were warned by the hikers in front of us to proceed quietly. 

 At one point in the hike we had a choice between Bearfence Rock Scramble or the Bearfence Viewpoint hikes. Can you tell which one we chose? This particular hike probably took a year off of Ryan's life, but the kids and I had a great time. It's hard to stop jumping from rock to rock once you get started. Carl did a great job, since he's been scrambling up things since he was 10 months old.

Our next stop was Baltimore to visit our cousins and enjoy some less dangerous past-times.

We loved the aquarium and thankfully no one has started having nightmares about sharks.

Around the house

It really isn't as cold in our home as it may look from this picture. I had just bought winter outfits and toilet paper (which the kids were in charge of putting away). Who can resist trying on new cloths on such a soft bed?

It is so nice to have a dragon to help you make cookies. 

While Amber and her big boys have been tackling the grueling bicycling merit badge, I've had the rest of her kids. I discovered really quick that kids who are working are easier to watch.:)  Our yard has almost unlimited possibilities for work (and the kids like earning nickles in exchange).  In this particular picture we are in the process of moving 1 ton of rocks from our front yard. The kids also washed all my windows on a different bike riding day. 

Carl loves monitoring yard work and keeping track of inventory. Jane is still picking peppers for us to eat. I think she just does it for the purple basket.

I made a pizza with olives, green peppers, pineapple and ham and called it the Hackett Supreme. The kids said, "What a great name! Those are all the foods that we all love!" I consider this to be a sign of great parenting since Ryan detests olives and I hate green peppers. Clearly they haven't noticed subtle signs on our faces when gulping them down as fast as we can. Ryan and I gave each other air hi-fives for that one.