This is what the chickens do to Josh when he tries to just sit down and relax. This may be the reason that Josh is done having children.

This is what we did when Lisa and John came to visit.

Two of four children finished their giant tree candy creations. This is what we did the day after Christmas, I think.

Sorry, Mom, that I took so long getting these pictures up.  Halloween, like the past week, went by so fast.

 Miles was a dragon.  Recognize this costume?   Another two-year-old wore it.  Was that really two years ago?

 Jack was a dragon, too.  My friend Marin came through with Jack and Lucy's costumes...we had a rushed weekend, and I didn't get anything together, but Marin happened to have just the costumes we needed.

 Bowden came up with his Mountain Man costume on his own.

 Lucy was a bunny.  The star of the show was a yarn cotton-tail, but I didn't get a picture of it.

 Oh.  And I was a washed-up punk.  Nobody knew me.  It was AWESOME.

 Miles fell asleep on the walk up.  He woke up just in time to trick-or-treat.

The pink cowboy boots matched Lucy's nose.

Miles was sweet on his tickets.  He loved them.  He had no idea why he got them or what they were for, but he loved them.  It was fun.  It was tiring.  It was Halloween, not a holiday, but a fun day- and now I have three buckets and one bag of candy.  Which is good for...cavities, stomach-aches, and bad attitudes.  Oh, candy.  I love you so much.  Sometimes.

This is the reason why Josh didn't win the pie-eating contest. Look at him giggling while the rest of us are diving in. Pshaw. (I also didn't win. I think that that has more to do with the pumpkin that went up my nose.)

It took the chickens all of twenty seconds to discover the the maple tree on the center lawn was dropping it's leaves. It's been a beautiful couple of days, nice and warm, and the trees just turned.

Bowden had immediate plans.

Jack was not allowed to jump in the pile until later.

Miles thought the whole things was wonderful.

When the Rooster came out, he taught the kids the ol' Tate game of leaf-catching.

He helped rake, too.

Poor Jack. It was joy and sorrow all day.

See? We have seasons in California!