Just the beginning!!

The Family Center Halloween Parade was moved inside this morning! That didn't stop the kids (and parents) from having a great time!

Ellie and one of her best buddies.

Trying to coordinate a baby pumpkin race

Ellie as Baby Carrie from Little House on the Prairie.

Our neighbors have put in a pool just in time for trick or treating. This is literally a few feet from our driveway. Did someone miss the weather report this week?

Gus, Wabi Sabi and The Flaming Lips

It will be one month tomorrow since Gus died. I'm usually a big fan of October but I must say I'm very happy to see this one come to an end. It's not the rain either, in fact I'm an odd one, I like rain, I could totally live in Seattle. I'm just glad to have a month's time between me and that day. We're not friends.

We've adjusted to a house without Gus. I no longer listen for Gus' click clack paws, or the jingle of his collar. I don't wait for him at the bottom of the stairs before I head up to bed. I'm not sweeping up daily masses of fur. Instead I jump when I see someone on the front porch, I check the locks on the doors repeatedly, I long to sweep up fur instead of food, and I feel wabi-sabi. Yep, it's a real word. I came across it a couple of nights ago while reading The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

Wabi-Sabi- Fuses two moods seamlessly; a sigh of slightly bittersweet contentment, awareness of the transience of earthly things, and a resigned pleasure in simple things that bear the marks of that transience.

I still feel sad, not the awful, crying my eyes out sad but the more subtle, bummed out variety. In the same instant though, I feel a deep gratitude for the life I have and the many sadnesses I don't have to endure.

There's a song by The Flaming Lips that I've always loved, it's The Spiderbite Song. It's played in my head a lot lately. Sort of just hanging out there.

"Love is the greatest thing a heart can know

But the hole that it leaves in its absence

can make you feel so

low"

"And I was glad that it didn't destroy you

how sad that would be

'cause if it destroyed you

it would destroy me."

The Spiderbite Song

Dear Gus,

Go ahead and run like crazy in dog heaven--stop worrying about us.

We're going to be ok.

We love you,

Us

What a GREAT trip!

Here they are, the two ladies who made this trip happen! Thanks Gram and Grandma, we had a super trip!

Traveling in style from Midway to the hotel! A refrigerator full of sprite and water, riding sideways and backwards, what an experience!

It was cold and they were hungry!

So we ate lunch at restaurant on Michigan Avenue. Can you tell we were cold, a round of hot drinks for all!

We arrived!

Emma's Kit made the trip but was, well, how shall we say this, without clothes. Emma didn't want to carry her so she suggested Ellie should "get " to. Ellie refused as did I. Kit stayed in the coat check until Emma purchased a new outfit for her.

There were so many lovely displays to look at. It is really fun to look at all of the different dolls. Each American Girl is from a different era in time and there are wonderful displays for each doll.

Ellie got a Bitty Baby. She named her baby Nora. Emma bought some new clothes for her baby Brooke.

Gram, Nora, Emma, Brooke and Grandma.

This picture was taken right after the one above. Ellie was done and ready to head back to the hotel.

At the hotel she rested and refueled. As did the rest of us.

A special delivery was made while we were resting! Cupcakes for ALL of the girls!

Ellie was determined to get a picture of Nora with her eyes open. So she held them open for the photo.

The cab ride back to The American Girl Place for dinner. Ellie decided that her new bunny slippers were the perfect shoe choice for a nice dinner out. Gram suggested she look in the mirror to make sure she looked ok. Ellie studied herself in the mirror and then said "Yea, I look goood".

Ellie and her bunny slippers literally drug Nora around the store while amused patrons stared on. This little girl is one of a kind.

So is this one. Happy at dinner!

We originally planned this trip in September but it was postponed when Ellie got sick. The trip was in celebration of Emma's sixth birthday. Emma explained this to the waitress and she got a candle in her dessert. Ellie now refers to this as when "Emma pretended it was her birthday".

The flowerpot dessert was a big hit.

Sunday morning came too fast and we had to go home. The cab ride was a cozy one!

Happy smiles all around after a wonderful trip to Chicago!

The Circus!

We had a great time at Zing Zang Zoom the circus! It included all of the expected parts of a circus-- elephants, clowns, acrobats, tigers, and a cannon! Fun, fun, fun!

A clown had just fallen into a pool of shaving cream. Classic circus antics!

John gave the circus a double thumbs up. Teagan was just happy to have a sweet drink!

Don't you just love pearls at the circus? Plus a sticky cotton candy face. Perfect combo!

That's a tiger on its hind legs. It was kind of strange. At one point there were tigers on all of those stools. They were beautiful but I was nervous the whole time...not for us but for that lone man in there.

No circus is complete with out this elephant stand!

Practically Perfect.

The girls' teachers have confirmed what was already suspected, our children are perfect.

Ok, so they didn't say it quite like that but the first parent teacher conferences were great. Both girls are doing very well and have incredible teachers. We are very, very happy!

We celebrated with dinner at Dewey's!

Happily Ever After!

Lisa and Igor had a beautiful wedding! Everything was just right. The girls loved being flower girls and did a wonderful job! It was a late night, the wedding was at 7 and the reception lasted until after 2...we didn't! We left around 11. A great night!

"Your daughter is going to wear what your daughter wants to wear"

and she's only 3. Last night we went to Lisa and Igor's wedding rehearsal. Ellie does not agree with me that when it's cold and raining long sleeves and tights are appropriate. After arguing about this, Ellie put her hands on her hips and told me what she thought.

The flash on the camera isn't working (hopefully the battery) so the pictures that I took last night leave a lot to be desired but you'll get the idea. The wedding it tonight!

Missing Gus...

Each day is a little less raw. We're able to laugh about all of the crazy things Gus did. Laugh until we cry. This photo is from October 2006--he has his Halloween bandana on. The night before he died we got out all of our Halloween goods, we put his bandana on him.

The girls 3 years ago! What beautiful baby girls!

On another note, a lovely woman who blogs at nieniedialogues.com will be on Oprah tomorrow. She has a remarkable story which I'm sure Oprah will tell beautifully. I plan to tape it (yup, setting the VCR!!) so that I can watch it later.

If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.

Marjorie Garber