Nana and Paw Paw visit in October

Nana and Paw Paw paid us a visit last week. We had great fun eating WAY too many fresh HEB tortillas, eating WAY too much Chuckwagon bbq, and drinking WAY too many Sonic drinks. We also had the chance to celebrate Catherine and Nana's birthdays and enjoy an evening at Tate Farms, our local pumpkin patch (and fall fun central!).

The girls and me making Nana's birthday cake - a Louder family classic! (German chocolate, yum!)

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Catherine and Nana blowing out candles together
We went with three candles . . . I'll let you guess why!

Nana and Paw Paw gave Catherine a balance bike for her birthday. Here she is trying it out!

Oh my. Is she like 15??? Ack. Gotta say, she likes the bike, but she really loves the helmet. Our girl loves accessories!

Below are some shots from Tate Farms. This is always a highlight of our fall here in Huntsville. Caroline liked the petting zoo area best. She wanted to hug and kiss the pigs!

Catherine's first haircut

Our girls have been a little slow to get hair. Now that Catherine was three, and I was having increased difficulty in taming her wildly random mane, we decided it was time to have the ends evened out a little bit. I have to say, I miss the crazy hair, but it makes school mornings easier! I don't think we can do the pigtails anymore, but hopefully it will start growing pretty soon and we'll be in pigtails and ponytails again!

Before her haircut

Before - crazy but adorable!

She was super cooperative. She thought it was awesome - they had Dora on the TV and she got to sit in a pink car and wear a pink cape. She LOVES pink.

After!

After - can you tell they sprayed glitter in her hair? I think it actually looked cuter the next day. It's winning me over - it just looks so grown up!

Catherine's Third Birthday

After returning from our trip, we began preparing for Catherine's third birthday. We celebrated with some friends up at a state park here in town. It was great fun! Thanks (a whole month later) to everyone who helped make this day so special for our little girl!

The sun is too bright!

Three slides, three kids!

Some of the sweetest people we know!

Girl time!

Center of attention, singing, AND cupcakes? Pretty much all of Catherine's favorite things.

Blowing out the candles

Family pic . . . forgot my Aggie shirt!

Two sweet boys!

Sister hug before we go

Olympic National Park

This fall has been a WHIRLWIND. We've been so busy, with lots of very exciting goings-on. I guess we've been too busy doing to spend any time blogging. In late September, Russell and I took a (somewhat spur of the moment) trip up to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. It was incredible. If you EVER have the chance to explore this corner of the country, take it. But bring a rain poncho. And rain boots. And an umbrella. But go! (We were there for five days. I wore my poncho every single one.)

Olympic National Park is a world in and of itself. We were drawn to it because it contains so many different ecosystems and there is such a wide variety of things to see in a small area. There are mountainous Alpine regions (many of which require 18+ mile hikes to the interior of the park . . . um, yeah, we were there to RELAX, so we skipped out on that), Lowland Forest with huge trees and lush undergrowth, Rainforests that get over 300 inches of rain a year (don't walk too slowly - moss will grow on YOU), and gorgeous rocky and black sand beaches.

I just finished editing our photos. Here are a few highlights! If this doesn't quench your thirst for pics, you can see the other 183 on our picasa site here: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=114943789989653996352&target=ALBUM&id=5938900112826017297&authkey=Gv1sRgCPvduJCUpL-2xAE&feat=email

A very cooperative marmot posing for me on Hurricane Ridge

On top of Hurricane Ridge (Behind us, Mt. Olympus and the rest of the Olympic Mountains, in front of us, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Vancouver Island)

Black tailed deer

A tree root large enough to climb in the Lowland Forest

Russell the tree hugger (Lowland Forest)

A famous banana slug (we were dying to see wildlife, but weren't finding much . . . a slug is such an easy photo target but I took way too many photos of this and other slugs we found)

The George Washington Inn and Lavender Farm (our first B&B)

Lake Crescent
The water was so clear you could see to the bottom almost anywhere in the lake, even at depths of up to 300 ft. Or so we were told by the locals. We were freezing - no kayaking for us!

Sol Duc Falls
This was a magnificent waterfall. Photos can't do it justice. It was certainly worth the hike!

Another shot of Lake Crescent

Recognize this antique object? Another 10 years and it will probably be completely covered in green. Your cell doesn't work in the Hoh Rainforest, so this seems to be one logical place to have a pay phone. But you're outta luck now!

The Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rain Forest
I got lots of pics of the back of Russell's poncho. Some of these trees are over 300 ft tall and 20 ft in diameter. And really, really old. Like BC old. Wow!

Hiking along Rialto Beach to Hole in the Wall
The waves in the Pacific Ocean are enormous and LOUD. What a gorgeous and difficult hike. It can only be completed when it isn't high tide. 1.5 miles doesn't sound like much, but fighting slippery sloped rocks and climbing over driftwood made it quite a workout. The view was so worth it.

My attempt at artsy

Watching a storm roll in at sunset over the Pacific Ocean
The forecast was for rain all day and we considered it a gift from God that we were able to enjoy such a gorgeous afternoon on the beach. We thought we might just have to go home. This was one of the best days of my life - not exaggerating.

Playing with nighttime photography in Port Angeles, where we stayed

Checking out the Pike Place Market in Seattle the day before we flew home
This place is amazing - way more than just people throwing fish!

Found the first Starbucks store. Right after we had drinks at a Starbucks down the street, thinking IT was the first Starbucks store. Yeah . . . oops.

Guess this was the original logo. Anyone know why they changed it??

Thanks to the lovely Peaches and valiant Grandpa for watching the munchkins while we were gone. What fun they had with you and what a blessing to us!

Daddy brag!

There are lots of things we look forward to enjoying with the girls as they grow up, but I am particularly excited to cook with them. When I was teaching, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of doing hands-on projects that require measuring, problem-solving, following directions, and physical coordination. As a math teacher, I could always tell which students cooked at home, built with various materials, and created. I think it's vital for academic and real-world success. And cooking is also one aspect of "homemaking" that I really genuinely enjoy. I can't wait to cook and create with the girls!

So when I saw this wooden safety stool for allowing kids to help with projects up on the counter, I showed Russell and mentioned how great that would be. Catherine has a fear of heights and hasn't felt safe sitting on a barstool backwards or sitting on the counter. I have let her help me stir several times by lowering the bowl onto a chair so she could reach. But then Flash's face is in it. So this stool seemed perfect. Except for the lovely $200 pricetag.

 

So Daddy set to work! Last week, Daddy unveiled a surprise for his girls after nap time. This thing folds flat AND has an adjustable height platform so we'll be able to use it for a long time!

Wow, Dad you made this for me??

Caro likes it too! (Pardon the lack of pants . . . it was a last minute trip outside)

Trying it out after Daddy set it up

Thanks, Dad!

This morning we used it for the first time in the kitchen and to Catherine's delight, Daddy had painted it pink!

Stirring the cookies

It didn't take her long to figure out what the best part of making cookies is. There are benefits to being a good helper!