November 2011

We began November with lots of snow.....and no electricity for 5 days. We had a lot of fun sledding, and building snowmen and snow forts for the few days that the snow lasted!



We named our snowfort "Fort McMurphy".
I love this picture of the girls!

Trick or treat actually was postedponed from Halloween and took place on Nov. 6th instead. By then most people had power back. We joined Libby's friend from school (Carly) and her family. It was a lot of fun. Below you can see that this year Libby was a dragon, Sarah was Winnie the Pooh and Daniel was a spider. Ian was a wizard.





Daniel takes great pleasure in driving Sarah crazy. Here he is celebrating the fact that he has confiscated her bunny blanket (her most special toy).

Thank goodness the snow melted and gave me a second chance at clearing all the leaves out of the yard.....Of course my helpers found that leaf piles were fun to play in ....or just scatter about. :)


Daniel's first time helping Daddy bake.
What a good sport.....presenting Princess Dory.......
New skills that Mom and Dad aren't quite ready for..... Climbing up on the recliner arm, and
climbing onto the bench by the table.
One Sunday morning Libby and Sarah were painting.
Sarah: "Momma, these pictures are for the people who can't find their children so that they can have bright colorful pictures to hang on their walls."
Me" "That's a great idea Sarah. I'm not sure how to find those people to give them these paintings though."
Sarah: "Yes you do! They live in the big white building up the hill from MOPS"
Me:"Oh, do you mean the senior center?"
Sarah: "Yes"
So, after the paintings were dry we delivered all of her artwork to the people who live in the assisted living facility that she was referring to. The people seemed happy to have her visiting and handing out paintings. She wouldn't give anyone a painting before confirming with them that they LIVED there. If they answered yes, then she would say "okay you can have a painting then".
(I was pretty impressed that she came up with this idea all on her own. I was also proud of her for following through with her idea and hand delivering each painting to a resident there.
The turkey cake that Libby got to bring in for their Thanksgiving feast...
walking with Uncle Scott.......
The newly engaged couple...........Kris and Christophe...........YAY!!!!!!!!!
Sarah walking Dory........

October 2011

October was another busy month for us. Libby (above) is showing off the horse that she made. Below: We went apple picking during a break in the rain showers.


Then a quick visit to the pumpkin patch!
Daniel is learning to climb onto anything he can.
Thanks to Rhonna and Kirk for the idea to make this table runner. The girls had fun collecting leaves on a hike. Then they designed this.

Sarah had to make a horse too....once she saw Libby's.

We met Becky and Carter at a local apple orchard/pumpkin patch. The kids had fun visiting the animals in the petting zoo and playing in the hay maze.




They enjoyed taking a try at driving the tractors too!


Then we picked out a couple of pumpkins and got some delicious cider donuts for a snack before heading home.
The boys.....
Wearing her new favorite hat that Nana knit for her....
Daniel got himself stuck in the bucket. :)

Daniel LOVES Dory so much and she is SO patient with him.
Driveway art........
Carving Jack-O-Lanterns
Harvest Fest

Ian and Sarah
Libby and Daniel


The Horribles Parade (Note how much fun Libby the dragon is having with her friend Samantha)
Pooh Bear (AKA Sarah is taking a rest)
Daniel decided to check out the pitchers mound instead of running the bases with everyone else.
SOOOOOO tired.... Cousins Joe, Angel, Joey and Max came to harvest fest too. And then they came back to our house for dinner. It was great to see them all!! (I wish I had pictures of the boys to share, but I'm now realizing that I forgot to take any.)
Today was Scarecrow making day for the Murphys!









Sarah and Daniel dressed in costume for Faith and Playgroup.
I recently pulled the Jump and Spin Zebra out of storage and it is a big hit!
All of our Halloween books seem to have bobbing for apples as a common party game. The girls have been begging to bob for apples. I finally gave it on a not super cold day. But since we only had one apple left in the fruit bowl, they bobbed for apples and oranges. :) It is not as easy as it looked in the books!

We made special Halloween cupcakes.

Then we traveled to NY for a Halloween party and a 40th Birthday party on the same day....same house.
Making mummies was a big hit!

Happy Birthday Cynthia!

Back home to a dark, cold house.....no power due to the big snowstorm that hit while we were away. So, we lit the woodstove, fired up the generator and went sledding!!! Happy Halloween!!! I don't think I have ever gone sledding on Halloween before. And due to all the downed trees and branches and the power outages, trick or treat was postponed for a week....another first in my life. The girls were SO excited to trick or treat. But, the handled the news very well.







We are constantly amused by little things with our kids. One thing in particular that is cracking us up these days is Sarah's pronunciation of the word "Thumbkin".

Libby is our performer. She loves to sing and dance.