We had a special dinner for Papa tonight as he leaves for Nigeria tomorrow morning....for two months...ack! We made him beef stew and got a pie for dessert...which ended up mostly on Francie's face. The kids are really going to miss playing with Papa. Before dinner, when we were going around the table and saying what we were thankful for, Henry said "I am thankful for all the fun stories that Papa will tell when he gets home".
As a special treat for going to Vancouver to wait in line and get a H1N1 shot, Henry got movie night with Auntie KK and Grandpa Gordon. As you can see, Miss Francie tried to "sneak" in too. I came downstairs to get her and she said "NO!" and buried herself in Auntie KK with a big hug. Too cute.
Henry's school has this lovely tradition of the Lantern Walk in late Fall. The kids make "lanterns" out of glass jars and we go on a special hike through the Arboretum in the night. The purpose of the "ceremony" is to celebrate the inner light we have inside of ourselves during the dark winter days...so sweet. This year we hiked with Henry's favorite friend from school, Lizzie, and her brother Trevin. Afterwards we went to Ben and Jerry's for an ice cream and entertainment. As you can see, I am really strict about my child being VERY proper in public places.
Mark got Henry a Blazer hat last night.....so today it was all Blazer for his outfit. Love it. This is the scene this morning....I mean really....I know I am biased mother....but so cute!!!!
Mark went to the Blazer game ....so after we put Francie to bed, Henry and I carved the pumpkins. It is amazing the difference a year makes. This year Henry made a drawing of the what he wanted me to carve. His design was actually really cool. We then put the pumpkins on the front deck and Henry did his best ghost impersonation. Scary dude....especially with all that fog!
There are times when I definitely think that my brother Andrew is channeling himself through Henry. Lately it has been happening when Henry is playing in a make-believe football or basketball game. He plays for HOURS. He does exactly what Andrew used to do, jumping everywhere, making the faces of the players, and also being the announcer in the background. He always makes me sing the national anthem before he plays -- a song that is truly piercing when I sing it. Yesterday he did a football game for 2 hours - he was sweating by the end. No joke. This afternoon he added a "half time" show to his gig. I had to take a video as it was hysterical. I will take a video "the game" sometime this week.
Mark and I ran the Run Like Hell half marathon this morning. It was bliss. Perfect weather -- cool with partial clouds, the leaves are PERFECT right now and we didn't die. Yee haw!
