Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving visit with the Levines, Kremer-Serrinses, and Kremers. Mitzi hosted this year and made a wonderful meal with assists from us for crudites and Rachel's famous deviled eggs while Christie brought some delicious pies. The Karaoke tradition was not as full as in prior years but Asher sang Dancing Queen with me and You're the one that I Want with Christie:


On Friday we went to the Houston Zoo. It was free Zoo day which I didn't know until we arrived but the zoo was wonderful. Chiara wanted to see the E-phants!, and Asher choose Giraffes but we visited most of the animals. I think the merkats were a particular favorite as they were very playful and engaging. Asher and I were both prairie dogs for a little while.

Both kids rode the carousel (Chiara's first time). Chiara rode on a puppy dog until she leaped into my arms and stayed there. Asher rode the giraffe and was thrilled even if it didn't go up and down. I'll post some pictures when I get some off a phone.

It was a wonderful holiday and nobody visited the emergency room so it gets bonus points.

Painting

Last week the kids did some painting on the back deck. Lest you think they're going through a Goth period, I'll say that they're using the paint from Asher's one-way sign so it's all black and white. Actually Asher and Rachel worked together to make a very beautiful painting that looks almost like storm clouds. I will post it when I get a chance to take a picture.

And here's a picture of Chiara in the skirt Rachel knitted for her. It's quite beautiful and intricate and Chiara's obviously having fun.

Halloween Pictures

We had a very good Halloween Saturday. Rachel got three pumpkins at the store but neither of the kids really wanted to be involved in the cutting so she carved them herself but under Chiara's direction. She choose a two-tooth Jack, surprise-face Jack, and Moon & Stars Jack for Chiara who loves the moon and will chant "see moon" in the car or in her sleep.




I took the kids out trick-or-treating to a few houses but we went early and a lot of our neighbors were out at parties. Asher choose being a one-way sign weeks ago and was very amused that kids kept calling him "one-way" as in "Hey, One-Way, where you going?" as if it was his name. Chiara insisted on being a kitty cat with a purple ribbon so although we didn't want to reuse Asher's costume, it made sense since we already had the cat costume and it fit her to use it.