Fall Fuggles

Our first hop harvest! Thanks to Craig for donating his Fuggles noble hops from his old house. We "adopted" this plant mid-summer and were surprised by a pretty good harvest. Hops are a fragrant, bitter herb used in making to beer to balance the sweet malt. I'm looking forward to using them in my next batch.

What a Character

Things have been slow on the blogfront lately with home projects, me being back to teaching full time, family in town, and the general busy nature of life. I figured it was time to sit down and add a few posts.

Finn's personality is definitely becoming more pronounced. Here he is getting hyper before bed. He found his hat that no longer fits him in his bedroom and decided that he just had to wear it. It really compliments his pajamas nicely doesn't it? So, he put it on all by himself and plowed through the house giggling away. He's getting pretty proficient at cornering with this toy, without ramming into too many walls or door frames.








Today I noticed that he has two new teeth. That makes ten!

Fall BBQ

The daytime temperatures continue to cool and the night time forcast threatens frost. With BBQ season winding down we decided to host a small gathering. Even Finn got to invite a few friends.

You can see the shed project in the background here. The front is painted a nice pale shade of green called crisp celery. We have yet to scrape and paint the sides or build doors. These are all on the short list but projects have moved indoors lately to the mudroom/back entry. I'll have to try to capture photos of Chris's transforming paint job. Next we lay backerboard, tile and wood treads.

Greta















Kaya













Finn showing off the fridge in dad's "man space" (a.k.a. the shed)

Corn Dog

Last Friday Finn enjoyed his first State Fair. Thanks to Stefan, Jess and Greta for the laughs and for taking all these photos (we forgot our camera - oops).

We didn't get to see too many animals (except Bengal Tigers! and some horses), but did enjoy foot-long corn dogs, square-dancing Texans, people watching, a fun farmer chore activity for Finn and Greta (see photo of him harvesting veggies!), a Ferris Wheel at dusk, and polish sausage!

The ultimate corn dog. I think the age-old DuRoss quote goes well here (used to be on our fridge in Ohio): "You have freedom of choice but not of consequences."

Big apples. Finn and Greta posing

Finn reaping a bountiful harvest

E, Finn and I on the Ferris Wheel. He wasn't quite sure what to think at first (whereas Greta was standing, bouncing and smiling!), but was smiling and clapping by the end.

Perfect Fit

With the cooling temperatures I've been going through Finn's drawers and pulling out the clothes that no longer fit. In the process I ran across this sweater that he got for Christmas. It was worn many months ago but is just now the perfect size. All your efforts and frustrations were well worth it Mom. Look how adorable it is on him!

City of Rocks weekend

This past weekend we got out of town for some climbing at the City of Rocks, thanks to some master group organizing by Craig. We camped at the Breadloaves group site (somewhere around twenty-five of us) and took turns kid watching so everyone who wanted to could get on a few routes. Saturday night we did potluck style burritos. These were hands-down one of the tastiest camp meals I've ever had (and all I had to do was cook up some tortillas). We're typically so good about photos, but somehow we drove away with only a handful of Finn photos and not a single climbing shot. Although, I think this sparked an interest in both of us to want to get out climbing more. With that in mind, there should be upcoming photo opportunities.

Renae entertains Finn and Kaya with bubbles, bubbles, bubbles... "Hey, do you have your helmet?"

Finn thinking about climbing safely already.

Four other kids to play with and so much room to roam, what fun! Finn was all over the campsite. He'd wander off into the sagebrush or across the vacant parking lot, turn around to wave "bye" then continue to wander farther. He's definitely becoming more independent.

Affinity for the Backyard

After years of aspiring to have "dueling hummingbirds" in our yard, we've succeeded. We've spotted at least three individuals visiting the scarlet runner beans and various Penstemon flowers, or sipping nectar from the two strategically placed hummingbird feeders. Most recently this female broad-tailed hummingbird has been fiercely defending the entire backyard as her territory. Both Chris and I savor sitting for hours on end quietly watching them flit around the yard and hearing their high-pitched chirps and whirrs.


It is not just the birds that have an affinity for the backyard. We have an abundance of bees that make their way from flower to flower. They are especially abundant in the mint and the cosmos. I've seen damselflies and even had a huge praying mantis stalking insects on the Sacred Datura plant near the mint.

Finn is taking advantage of his newfound mobility to make the rounds in the backyard. Not only is he picking tomatoes from the garden (with no consideration of whether they are ripe or not), he is now ravenously eating the Finn sized tiny yellow cherry tomatoes. I never thought I'd keep up with how fast they were ripening, but as of yesterday afternoon he's effectively wiped out all of the tiny little gems.
Behind Finn you can just see a glimpse of our enormous pumpkin. Soon it will be pushing on the sides of both raised beds. I'll have to get a picture when we pick it

The bountiful harvest we returned to after vacation

Homelife

Finn relinquishing his "mommy-mode" for Daddy time. He just lights up when Chris gets home from work. Below: he's crawled up into Chris's lap to share an after work snack of chips and garden salsa (omitting the salsa for Finn since it has a bit of a jalapeño kick and he's not too fond of tomatoes yet).Finn's creative play shining through. He's stacked each drum on its own step and is pushing them all around the house, giggling as he goes along.

Simple Pleasures

Finn got some Fall clothes in the mail from Grandma. He was way more interested in the packaging than the content. Who knew that a few sheets of packaging paper could be so much fun?

Post II of II: Adults Had Fun Too

OK, here are the rest of the photos!

This was the start of Finn's magnetic attraction to the ocean!

Finn ready to call it a day

Typical Fort DuRoss

Requisite shower shot

Papa and his clan

What's up "cuz?"

Somehow I managed to capture this storm off the coast to the south. The bright white light above the trail of taillights is the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.

Finn's first ocean swim! He loved it.

Stingray?? Doubtful. They stay away from the surf - it was probably just a cloud of sand. Actually everyone is looking for a lost sand toy.

Papa enjoying some much deserved rest.

Finn checking out the waves. That's me in the red shirt in the background.

Papa and Judah. Judah knew from day one that he needed to be in that ocean.

Post I of II: Giant Sandbox

OK, it's time to get posting - even Chip and Audrey posted their NC shots and they were a week behind us! Our excuse is that we all recently came down with the stomach flu (seriously).

Here are our Outer Banks photos (hard to narrow it down from 400+ photos!). We really had a memorable time, and are thankful to have had the chance to catch up with Derek and Hope (miss you guys already!), and see the three kids go crazy together. It is so amazing how unique their personalities are. Of course we also loved seeing Nana and Papa soaking up all the kid time ("I'll be at the beach if you need me!") - and can't thank them enough for doing so much to make our time together so special.

Here is the "kid collection" of photos:

Finn predicting that large waves will fall upon us

Finally, the pool all to myself!

Judah and Finn workin' in the sun. That bucket eventually became Finn's favorite resting place!

Success! Papa and I had doubts that that "inflatable kite" would actually fly.

Finn's first fins. Daddy I saw a fin just like this in the water behind you!

Judah clearly has the best style. One of my favorite photos - amazing that they all sat still for so long (4 seconds).

Look at the hole I dug!

Ocean Beaches ------->

Here is a photo-video from our recent trip to Oregon and Washington. We had a great time - and soaked up as much time with Chip and Audrey, cool port-town air, wet rain forests (redundant), and incredible ocean beaches as possible.

Thanks again to C & A for sacrificing much, and for making our stay super memorable. Enjoy the video (sorry, kinda large)... C & E.

Boy Ages 6 Months in 6 Minutes!

We just gave Finn his fourth haircut! Here is a before photo:

And the "after" photos:
Now that his hair is "#7" short, he looks so much older - especially combined with him walking around!

He's been loving climbing all over our gear for our upcoming trip to Oregon/Washington! So much for traveling light. We're definitely going to be maxing out our luggage poundage limits as well as every bit of free space Chip and Audrey have.

And here is a quick photo from our garden. Our first Jalapeño peppers! I was thinking that they would be a little less hot - reasoning that the spiceyness reflected the local climate, but boy was I wrong. They are mean little green things.

Centenial Post!

Just now, the thought crossed my mind: I wonder how many posts we've racked up, and if it's anywhere close to 100...cause it would be cool to post a 100th post. So I looked, for the first time mind you, at the number, which unbelievably was 99!

So here you go. Our 100th post (in 9 months)! Probably our 92nd post of Finn. That kid is going to have a record of his upbringing suitable for a presidential library. We're doomed as parents as he'll easily be able to pull up posts in support of feeding hudson, dressing up hudson, refusing to eat, or making a huge mess (when eating, just in general).

My favorite post? That's hard. Drummer Boy is probably my favorite. This is right about the time when we wondered what happened to our cute infant who slept all the time! Hmm, I also really like Snowy Sunday Hike, which recalls our first official hike together. Of all the firsts, this one seemed pretty meaningful to me.

My least favorite (or rather, hardest moment to recall)? Parting Shots

Most comments? Surprising I Passed! That was a big day for me though.

Most meaningful? Easy. Reflection and Renewal. Still gives me goosebumps.

More to come...E still needs to weigh in.

-Chris