lovely moments of tomatoes and misunderstandings.

On our way back from Sophie's school carnival, our neighbor, Joyce, handed us a bowl of cherry tomatoes from her plant. With the weather growing cold, this was sure to be the end of the season.

Sophie took the dish, walked straight to her table, and sat down to eat. I love this post because it is so much the personalities of the people in it - Sophie, Riley, and Wendy Dog. It just makes me smile.



I also want to remember this conversation I had with Riley.

On the way to the Carnival we talked about Spore, a game both of us are playing on the computer. He's a lot further than me and was giving me tips. On the way back, however, we had moved on to something else.. I don't remember what. During a lull in the conversation Riley says to me,

"You know how to make babies, right?"

Me, gesturing to Sophie, "Uh, YEAH"

Riley replied, "No, no, in SPORE"

We both had a good laugh over that one.

a 2-week update

It's 7:22 AM by my clock. Monday morning. The rest of the family sleeps and I should be taking a shower and getting ready for what is going to be a busy day at work. But for the first time in 2, yes TWO weeks, I feel like posting a blog.

To what do I owe this laps in blogging? I don't know, except I have been tired. I have also been so filled with thoughts and emotions that just don't translate will to paper. Two half-written blog posts (one about faith, the other about how much I am LOVING our neighborhood) sit in the "draft" column.

Anyway, here's what we've been up to.

We had the good fortune to have Riley with us for an entire week during his fall break. He went horseback riding, helped his Granny around the yard, and played video games at home. My heart nearly burst when I walked into the living room to find this tent:
"Now I just need some food!" he exclaimed. He grabbed the Animal Crackers and dove back under.

Our neighbor, Erik, invited us over to christen his fire place with the first fire of the season.
with dear friends.

and we've spent mornings eating peanut butter toast on the front porch.

I've started going to a church just down the street, which means Sophie gets to wear her pretty dresses more often. Then lay on the dirty floor and color. Do I care? Not in the slightest.

We met cousin Aiden downtown to celebrate Second Sunday (an event where the city closes off a major street for about 1 mile and there are events along the way)

And tried desperately to get a picture of me, Mallory, and the kids but most ended up looking like this.

We spent time with our lovely neighbor, Joyce
and met the newest addition to our neighborhood, Charlie.

These last two weeks have been so full of fun things, so many people that make me stand a little taller, count my blessings with a bit more sincerity and less cynicism. My posts about faith and my neighborhood might make their way on here sometime, but in a lot of ways, looking at these pictures and recounting the events of the last two weeks... they're already here.

We fit right in with the Monkeys

On Saturday morning, Roy, Granny (Roy's mom), Sophie and I picked Riley up and went to the Louisville Zoo. He lives on the Louisville side of Kentucky and the day looked to be about perfect. Not knowing how many more "perfect" days we'll have, we knew we needed to take advantage.

When we pulled in there was a sign saying the zoo closed at 2:00, which only left an hour and a half to walk through. We weren't happy, but had come all the way so we decided to make the best of it. We didn't linger as long as we maybe wanted to, but we had a great time none the less.

We saw Mowgli and Baloo - a HIT with Sophie, and Riley's school play this year is "The Jungle Book." Riley plays King Louie, a perfect role for a boy who is such a ham.

I love this picture. I swear, by this time next year Riley will be taller than Granny. He takes after his daddy in so many ways.

Sophie's favorite animals were the Gorillas and the Giraffes and we had to make on more visit to the long-necked animals so Sophie could show her bear and baby. It was so cute the way she purposefully strode to the fence and held each of them up to see.

I do wish the Zoo was closer, but am so glad that it is just an hour. It was a great way to spend in simply gorgeous fall day.

Well hello there!