Chicago Wolves

We took Mary to her first Wolves game tonight. They lost miserably, but we had fun anyhow~

We joined Grandpa, Pam, Gene and Dorothy. Gene is Grandpa's friend they visit every year in Arkansas.

Sam was in a bit of a foul mood. Last night, when Grandpa was at the game, they played the chicken dance over the loud speaker. He suggested Sam wear his costume so he'd be ready for it tonight. They didn't play it~

Afterward, we had some chili at Grandpa's and visited with Gene and Dorothy.

Black Friday

Today we didn't do any shopping. Instead we hit the lanes for a couple of games of bowling. Mary watched~

Later at Grandma's Sam and Charlie gave Mary rides in a little Radio Flyer push-cart~

Mary looks unsure here, but she really did love it~

Whoa~

Playing with the stereo~

And getting comfortable~

Future Mac Users

The boys visited the Apple Store, today. I wasn't there, so I'm not sure of everything they did. I do know they had a great time, exploring the computers and software. They each created a digital music file (which because I have a PC, and not a Mac, we can listen to, but not upload)...

And Apple, like every other corporation, is all about brand marketing. Each child walked out of there with a T-shirt to go along with their music~

For a free field trip, it was really fantastic. If only they'd had an iPod as a door prize...

Recital

Recital from Gabrielle Reczek on Vimeo.
Sam had his first solo recital this afternoon. He was very nervous beforehand, but he played beautifully. You can't see it in this video (and unfortunately, we neglected to get any still shots) but he beamed the most wonderful smile at the end. I'm so proud of both my boys - and happy they are confident to try challenging things, even if they're scared.

Lending a Hand

It doesn't seem all too long ago that Sam was the one needing a little help. Now here he is assisting our friend Elliot~

Autumn Fires

by Robert Louis Stevenson

(Charlie thinks he's too cool for this...)



In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Many Hands

With Scott in Portland for his new job, coming home only for a day or two on the weekends, the leaves in our yard were piling up. Today some friends from our church's youth group came and helped us bag them up. Here's Mary looking at our little friend Genevieve~

All work and no play makes for some very dull children. Thankfully, these kids are anything but dull~

Sam's up in the tree, preparing to jump~

Here he goes~

This is our church's youth group leader. He left work early to come and help. Thanks, Brett!

What a great bunch of kids, with true hearts for service.

Rock On

Anyone remember Stryper? A couple of weeks ago, for a friend's birthday party, Charlie attended his very first rock concert. He had a blast, and better yet, while there, he won a free ticket to another concert. Tonight, Scott, Sam, and Charlie, along with a couple of friends, partied at the Superchick "Rock What You Got" show. They had an awesome time, even meeting some of the opening bands! Here they are with Article One ~
They also chilled with A Road Less Traveled ~

While the boys were rockin' out, Mary and I were enjoying our second bi-annual soup exchange~

There were some substitute chefs, this time, but the soup was all really delicious. Emily brewed a flavorful potato-leek soup. Tracy brought tasty tortellini (there's a clever rhyme bursting to get out of that sentence). Tammy wowed us all with her cream of chicken and wild rice. Kylene shared her scrumptious broccoli cheddar. Janelle joined us and brought her hearty chicken with homemade dumplings. Katie made soup for the first time ever - yummy Indian Tomato. And I rounded it out with a creamy pumpkin soup. We had fun sampling everyone's recipes, and even more fun playing Two Truths and A Lie. There are quite a few skeletons in these ladies' closets...

I can't wait, once again, to pull an easy lunch or dinner out of the freezer, to warm us in the cold months ahead.

November

by John Updike

This year, the boys have started poetry memorization. Sam's first is below (the bow at the end is all his own doing)~


The stripped and shapely
Maple grieves
The ghosts of her
Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,
As hard as stone.
The year is old,
The birds are flown.

And yet the world,
In its distress,
Displays a certain
Loveliness-

In the Highways, In the Hedges

The weather this fall has been amazing! We've been trying to spend as much time outside as possible. Today we visited the arboretum for one last time, before the cold, dark winter descends upon us. We went with a couple of friends, and the boys spent most of the time in the really cool children's garden. They also had a lot of fun in the hedge maze.

Here's Sammy helping Mary through the baby maze~