Halloween aftermath

I am writing this from my couch, where Nick and I are eating leftover Halloween candy and watching British people being murdered (specifically Scottish people, actually).  I'm a little sad that I didn't do my annual Halloween week here on the blog, but I just haven't been feeling it for blogging lately. You can see what we've been up to in previous years here.

We have been getting our Halloween on, though!

First I got a little crafty with some friends and made this little witchy thing, that now lives on top of my fridge. It's not typically my thing, but I had a really fun time and am quite pleased with how it turned out. 

 We went to a pumpkin patch in search of The Perfect One, 

And to a corn maze. 

We made paper pumpkins - again. 

And we took this little train driver out trick or treating. 

 But not before he had spent some serious time driving his train on the pipes outside. Priorities. 

 Espen and his loot.

 Because it was close to bed time, and he's still such a little guy, we only hit a handful of houses. He loved it, and soon caught onto the drill of knocking on doors and carefully selecting his candy. Or "cannies" as he lovingly calls them. We let him have one piece after dinner, but he was so wild and excited about the trick or treaters coming to the door that Nick ended up finishing it up for him. Parenting is rough stuff, I tell you what.

It's really true that holidays really come into focus when you have children of your own. I've always thought Halloween was fun, and have gotten into dressing up and decorating before, but it never really meant much. Seeing the pure joy and excitement on Espen's face tonight, though, made it about so much more than pumpkins and candy. It's fantastic to be given a second chance to catch a glimpse of the magic in the world that only children can see.

Happy birthday, loves!

Today is Nick's  birthday, and so my day is filled with cake baking and wrapping presents. Good gravy, I love that man! Happy birthday :)

Freezing cold and very happy. 

I'll be back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled programming, but until then I have a cake to frost.

As you were. 

Unnaturally curly

In the midst of doing Maddy's hair tutorial, and looking gorgeous! 

One day I'll learn to put on some make up before posting pictures of myself on the internet. Not today, it seems. 

 My hair wouldn't curl if you paid, so we shall see. Stay tuned!

Goodnight, Steve.

Steve Jobs and wife Laurene at his last keynote address.

I am finding myself surprisingly emotional about the passing of Steve Jobs. Not simply because we are a dyed-in-the-wool Apple family and ol' Steve helped make our lives easier, or even because he was an iconic figure of our century. I'm sad to lose such a brilliant mind, and just a plain decent human being.

Of all that has been written about Steve Jobs recently, I haven't seen anything that has touched me more than this blog post written by a neighbor, Lisen Stromberg. Please note that it was written more than a month before he passed away. Not a eulogy, but a tribute to a good man:

My neighbor, Steve Jobs. 



Image borrowed here. 

Toddler activities: A trip to the park

Like many of you, (Hello, UK!) we've been having a bit of an Indian summer around here. We have been soaking up as much sun and warm weather as possible, in preparation for the months and months we will be spending indoors soon. Sigh. 

One of the best ways to spend time outside with a toddler, in my opinion, is to go to the park. There's lots of open space, places to explore, things to do, and endless energy-burning opportunities to be had. Add to that that fact that parks are free to visit, and you've got yourself a seriously good deal. 

We are lucky enough to have (roughly) 20 parks within a 20 minute drive of our house. Only one of them is within realistic walking distance, so when we had the car one day last week we made sure to spend some time at a park we rarely visit in Provo on our way to pick up Daddy from work. 

A few photos: 

Espen the Explorer.

"Circle!"

Isn't he a handsome little guy? 

This was a really easy little field trip. We were going out and about anyway, so all I had to do was make sure we left about half an hour early to make time for the park. The park itself was only a few blocks out of our way, and we parked on the street, which made it really quick and easy to get in and out. Then all I had to do was stay two steps behind Espen while he played his little heart out. He had a great time exploring a new park and playground, and half an hour was just about perfect for both of us. I loved seeing how a new playground challenged Espen and encouraged him to think a little differently. I loved seeing how he is friendly and confident enough to make new friends no matter where we are. I did not love how that same confidence makes him think he can walk off a four foot drop and be fine. But I learned that I can move quickly when I need to! 

The weather is supposed to get colder and wetter this week, so I guess fall is finally here. We will be sneaking in as much time on the playground as we can.