Pumpkin...

Pumpkin Faces

Pumpkin Beer
Pumpkin Patches
always near

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Pie

They're the Pumpkins of my eye!

Pumpkins Real

and Pumpkins Fake

Let's pull out our trusted rake.

Pumpkin Bagels

Pumpkin Creamer

Pumpkin Bread ~ Sometimes for dinner.

Pumpkin Coffee

Pumpkin Candles

Time to put away our sandals.

Pumpkins Big

Pumpkins Small

Pumpkins, Pumpkins for us all!

From my heart

♥

right from the bottom

Wishing you a Happy Autumn!

Dafun

I got up in the morning and went for a walk;

I rode the elevator;

played with new friends;



and listened intently.




I may be small compared to the others,




But I'm potty trained and I'm ready to go.

It was my very first ever

First Day of School!

Yes, it's hard to believe, even for me.

I couldn't wait for my brother to get home so I could tell him I went to school,

and to utter my now-famous line:

"Dafun."

When did I become such a big girl?

Never Forget

It's hard to believe that yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on our country.

I will never forget walking out of the shower on that Tuesday morning to news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, and then another. And still two more at the Pentagon and at a random field in Pennsylvania. I will never forget the confusion that followed, not knowing what it was all about. I will never forget Davey D, the DJ of the local radio station, say that it was Armageddon. I will never forget that for the first time in my life I believed it myself.

I will never forget being glued to the television for days on end. I will never forget the devastation, the loss of life. I will never forget the stories, the heroes ~ policemen, firemen, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I will never forget the members of congress ~ both houses ~ standing outside the US Capitol singing "God Bless America." I will never forget the sense of unity that ensued the days and weeks following. We put our differences aside and joined hands with the world.

"On that terrible day, the nation became a neighborhood, all Americans became New Yorkers."

Governor George Pataki

Ten years later, we live in a different world. A world shaped by the events of that day. It's evident at airports, sporting events, and by the number of flag-covered caskets carrying a brave solider who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our safety and our freedom. To them and their families, Thank You!

Ten years later, I still get goosebumps on my skin, a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes when I hear the National Anthem.

I Love the United States of America; may God continue to bless our great country; and may we never forget.

One of Two

Two out-of-town visits

Two sets of cousins played with

Two week-long summer camps

Two camping trips

Two milestone-birthday celebrations

That's what summer vacation was all about!

Today, however, it was back to business.

It's the first day of second gradeI somehow get the feeling that these yearly photo sessions are getting old

That's unfortunate.

For him, since he has ten years until he's a senior.

But time flies.

It doesn't seem like two years have passed since the bus fiasco I wrote about here.



This morning he got on without incidence. When we got there I heard him say,

"Yay, it's the first day of school!"


Yes, it is, my man...have a great year!



Never one to be left out, M got in on the fun herself.

Just When...

Just When

I got serious about turning our backyard into a respectable place to hang out

The sun decided to make an appearance after almost 9 months of being MIA

My steno machine was about to see the light of day in almost three years

I decided to pull out a paint brush and add some color to our house

Olympia got a Trader Joe's, an REI, and a Chipotle, and Target a makeover,

That's when the Government decided to do some restructuring ~ some restructuring that carries with it a big possibility that we won't be here past 2013.

When we arrived almost four years ago, we had no expectations that we'd retire here, but more and more we throw it around, and to say that I've given up all hope to move back to California would be a flat out lie. But we always thought we'd have a choice; we figured the decision would be ours to make.

Things are still at their very preliminary stages and changing daily. I know that we'll be fine no matter what happens and where we end up.

And while the employees at the Department of Agriculture may be hanging onto every word the suits in DC have to say. I"ll be keeping my sights closer to home - in this Washington, the "other" Washington; namely, Olympia. Because I can guarantee that if and when ground breaks for a Nordstrom at our mall, the moving trucks won't be far behind the construction ones.