We've got snow! Seriously?!

Jon turned 11 last week. He was just wishing for snow, when it arrived days after that, over the weekend! Not enough for me to have to shovel (PHEW!); hubby was away again for four days then. Still, I'm thankful it gave the children (who were going, WOOHOO, FINALLY!) and me a little outdoor fun -- and also with a new friend (neighbour) who popped over to play.

Before that on Jon's birthday, I'd caught Meimei's cold -- and was keeping the running around to the essentials so we could all feel better soon. Instead of making the Panda Express (fastfood) lunch delivery to school Jon would have preferred I did like last year, I woke up to make him his fave roast pork with noodles.


"SERIOUSLY???" he asked me, when I handed him the packed lunch that morning. You know, I get asked that A LOT during this I-am-learning-to-communicate-with-my-tween (who-is-wishing-he's-a-teen-already) stage. But I guess it's not just us parents getting used to being plied with their "Nooooooo!!!", our kids also have to learn to take No for an answer ;p.


Still, it was great to see the birthday boy's face lit up eventually -- over the simple bake (a Devil's food cake from a boxed mix) Meimei helped me bake up in-between the daily grind. Think I overdid it with the sprinkles on the cake as camouflage for my so-so frosting, but it was after all my sweet gesture, hehe!


Going over some of our summer pictures, I couldn't help but smile at the ones of Jon striking his signature pose. He was doing that so much, it caught on with Ben and Kait also and I caught several cute shots among them. It's that "I love the great outdoors and our God is an awesome God" declaration! Like when we were at Mt Rainier -- it still had snow in August, during my father's visit and roadtrip with us then:

I just love how much Jon loves the great outdoors. May he embrace all of life with so much zest -- and a grateful heart. Amen!

Chills and thrills

So there was the dressup fun...

And the trick-or-treating!

Because SAHM asked :).


Ask the kids also... it was very much about that yearly sugar high -- more than did the friendly knocking on doors send shivers down our spines! ;p


Then came that Reptile Man night in the boys' school...

Glad their dad could take them. Meimei stayed home with me because of her cold. She found her voice again when she went Eeeeuuuwww!!! at these pictures of her brothers with their dream pets! Still, not to be left out, she grabbed our stuffed Croco for a quick snap, too -- and also went "Aaahhh, SNAP!!!", pretending the croc got to her!


Haha, cheap thrill!

Besides our princess' Jasmine outfit (thank you Viv!), Kait also got to be a fairy during her preschool parade. And that's Travelling Teddy making its rounds in her class. Jon reprised his role as a caped-somebody, with that blanket I'd added a few stitches to last year. Ben was a ninja until he ditched his black ski-mask beanie for the vest, and became some SWAT guy instead! We're erm versatile like that ;p

Seeing red... and gold, my fave hues

I'm talking about the fall colours, of course...

littering the ground with many a red carpet...

and painting the town red!

I caught these lovely reds at the start of last week, while out running errands in-between the schoolruns and trying not to work myself up into a sweat with housework -- before our friend Jac came and stayed with us during her visit to this part of the States.

Then together, we took in more reds, and lots and lots of yellows, too -- mostly with Meimei's help to show her around. Hubby was away on a worktrip after Jac's first day here. One of the evenings our boys after school, also took her for a jog on a trail, and I got a workout, too, from pushing Meimei up the slopes on her trike ;p.

Jac was a natural in front of the camera...

Tasked with being her "personal photographer", I took many more pictures of her with the colours. So glad they held out for us to enjoy them together! The leaves are looking more dried up now, and the trees are balding as I write this.

After the children and I saw Jac off, we were also blessed with their St Louis "grandparents" dropping by, en route to catch their flight back. Turned out to be a bit of an STL weekend; I was wearing my red Cardinals t-shirt after the Cards' 11th World Series win, and hubby himself also got to catch up with some old friends where he was :).

He eventually came back on a later flight yesterday, in time for us to take the kids trick-or-treating together. Of course the hubs has all his work to dive right back into...

And I also have more than just the washed laundry I did religiously last week but had bagged them up like leaves to get on with. It's a new week, and another busy, busy month...

Blessed November to you and yours now!