Cello Studio

Since September I have had the chance to do cello lessons with three wonderful students: Drew, Ginny, and Maya. It has been so fulfilling for me to teach regularly again, and having my own music room in this house with a piano, music cabinets, and plenty of cello space has made the whole experience a dream come true.

On Saturday our little cello studio presented its first recital to showcase our progress over the past 10 weeks. My students brought in so many supporters, our front living room was packed with people. I may have to look into a different venue for future recitals!

Candy, anyone?

The past few days our girls have been basking in post-Halloween candy glory, and have shared a fair amount with me and Forest, as well.

Candy Collection Site #1: Church Halloween party & Trunk or Treat

Mika dressed up as a bat . . . and found a bat picture to color. But if you asked her about her costume, she would tell you she was Batman.

Ramona wanted to be either a princess or a witch this year. Luckily, we had the perfect hand-me-down witch costume from Cousin Aubrey. Her church and preschool bestie, Emersyn, dressed up as a witch also, further enhancing their sense of comradery.

Here is my little witch on Halloween Day, all dressed up for her preschool party.

 

 

Candy Collection Site #2: Avago Trick or Treat
Every year, Forest's company hosts about 300 costumed children who weave between cubicles begging for treats. Ramona and Mika were part of this army on Halloween afternoon, and hauled home more loot at this event than ever before. Mika's bucket was cracking from the immense candy weight it incurred, but she wouldn't let us carry it for her until the very end.

 

 

 

 

Candy Collection Site #3: Neighborhood Trick-or-Treat
This was our first Halloween since moving to the new Timnath neighborhood, and we had heard that our neighbors would be taking the holiday very seriously. We invited Ramona's friend Anabel (Snow White) to join these festivities.

When our little troop set out for Trick-or-Treating, there were plenty of house lights lit, as well as some intricate graveyard decor two doors down and a haunted house one block over. The haunted house had a talking brain in a jar on the front porch, which thoroughly amused Mika.

After visiting most of the houses on our block, the girls were content to return home, enjoy a treat, and pass out candy to the other kids.

Perhaps we should schedule another time for the neighbor kids to come over and take our candy--there seem to be mountains of it still sitting around at our house.

Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Pirate Patch

Last week Mika and I got to go on a field trip with Ramona's preschool class to a pumpkin patch in Greeley. Just a few minutes after we arrived, Mika fell face first into the mud and started bawling. I took her back to the car to wipe off the mud clumps from her hands and forehead, then brushed off the rest of the mud from her clothes with some paper towels. I tried to keep her contained in a wagon after that.

 She asked me to pick out a pumpkin for her to put in her basket.

 Ramona spent most of the time at the patch running around with her friend Ella.

 

 Eventually, she picked out a pumpkin for her basket, too.

Ramona with her teacher, Miss Jamie

 

 Towards the end, the whole class performed the poem "Five Little Pumpkins" for all of the parents.

 Then they cheesed for a few class pictures.

 

Ramona sharing stickers with her sister

 

I tried to do a mini-photo shoot of both my girls in a rustic wagon with their pumpkins, but one of them was not in a very cooperative mood.

 

 

 

Taking a two-year-old to the pumpkin patch ended up being a lot more work than I thought. I was more than ready to go home when that field trip was over, but at least we had two little pumpkins and some autumn-y photographs to bring back from our adventure.

Over the weekend, it was time to decorate those little pumpkins, as well as a couple of others we had acquired. We used a felt decorating kit we got in the mail from Grandma and Great-Grandma Rosanne that included the goods for a pirate pumpkin, spider pumpkin, a bat pumpkin, and a cat pumpkin.

 

 

 

 

I attempted another little photo shoot to capture the colors of some pretty red leaves, a bright orange pumpkin, and the faces of my daughters (which I could never get to look at the camera simultaneously).

 

 

 

 

At one point I gave up trying to get both of them to look at me and told them to just start throwing some leaves around. I didn't have to ask them twice.

 

 

 

 

Then they each took turns hugging the pumpkin.

 

Happy Autumn!