Happy 28th Birthday Momma!

 I made brown sugar hazelnut cupcakes with tayberry buttercream. They were AWESOME! Good thing I only made eight of them!

 The only people willing to pose for pictures at the party.

 Eloise is almost five months old. She loves to play with toys now--turning things over in her hands and squishing things. She also tastes whatever she can reach just to check on its level of deliciousness.

 Note Eloise's furrowed brow. Claire is a very attentive baby sitter but sometimes it gets a little intense...

Sophie doing "lotions" (lessons) on Starfall. Claire is doing homeschool with me and progressing very well with reading. I'm proud of my smarties--including Daddy who just bagged yet another honors grade in medical school!

Pumpkin Time 2012

 Claire and Sophie really dug a visit to Grandpa's Fresh Market Pumpkin Patch in Crabtree Oregon.

 This is SOO classic! Hooma calls this "The Stink Eye" although it seems like my level of lame-itude has basically made this simply Claire's resting face.

 Sophie is only two upper canines away from a full set of teeth!

 Hiking through Cascadia Park--a strike out for mushrooms, but plenty of chestnuts and leaf storms.

 Claire found our first Pacific Chanterelles of the season! Here she is at Siltcoos Lake.

 Adam chronicles all of the varietals we see even if we don't take them as edibles.

 The girls changed the settings on the camera and it's tragic that these are blurry because Adam was DELIGHTED by finding the largest porcini (King Bolete) he's ever discovered!

 Love to see this hardworking guy so happy! His catch was worth about $15.

 I found a matching porcini!

 Claire spotted some Chanterelles up on a ledge so she had Daddy give her a lift and she scrambled around picking mushrooms. Adam was so proud he was brought to tears, lol.

 A beautiful coral mushroom specimen at Cascadia.

 The day's haul including two king boletes, blewits, sheep mushrooms and enough chanterelles for a fantastic Sunday dinner of Lavender Roast Chicken finished with a Chanterelle Cream Sauce!

 Sliced and dried we had a good six ounces of prime bolete.

 Momma and baby at Trunk or Treat in the Lebanon Stake.

 I'm Sushi! Adam was Dr Venkman from Ghostbusters but he's behind the camera...

 A fierce tiger.

Sophie was a "Fairy Princess Butterfly Ballerina" and Claire decided to be a "Cowgirl Magical Cat With A Tail." I bought them Rapunzel and Incredibles costumes respectively, but what do I know? Claire said if she wore her Incredibles jumpsuit then everyone would figure out who she really is :)

Eloise at the Opera

Although she won't do it for the camera--Eloise now often goes on for 20 minutes at a time with a lovely mellow "La la la!" She shuts her eyes and splays her toes for real volume when the song gets to the important bits and then grins and says "Huh huh!" while we all cheer and laugh. Her face is changing to more of a baby face rather than a squishy infant face. Still has red hair and blue eyes with a violet tinge--and of course lovely cheeks!

October Ocean

 The girls loved the payoff of the Drift Creek Falls Trail. Claire hiked the entire 3 miles herself and still ran up and down the suspension bridge!

 Eloise is in the wrap as usual...

 Drift Creek Falls

Sophie hitched a ride most of the way back

 Claire proudly displays a small orange mushroom to her left.

 Another mushroom find on the trail.

We saw three whales, three sea stars and loads of birds and seals.

Sophie loves to dig.

 Wild red curls

 Eloise on her first trip to the ocean.

 Yaquina Head BLM Outstanding Natural Area

 Blurry but darling! 

 "Okay that's probably enough pictures..."

 I love this guy--we're so happy to be all together again!

Claire laughs at a silly seal balancing himself on a rock in the distance to the left of Claire's ear. 

Said seal...

 Claire "helps" with the unpacking

 Eloise is a cuddlebug

Sophie wearing my Halloween costume. Taken by Claire

 Two months old and we're keeping the lovely red locks.

 Whenever she smiles she gets very excited. 

I'd need a camera capable of pressing the speed of light to get it in focus!

 Royal Terrace Falls at McKenzie Creek