October 2020: Halloween

Most of the neighborhoods in the city cancelled trick-or-treating, but we hosted a trunk-or-treat in the church parking lot. Some of the kids' costumes were recycled this year and some new. 

I didn't even know that elaborate trunk decorations were a thing until a friend asked me what I was going to do to ours and I started internet searching. You can even buy kits! For ours I decided to blow up a bunch of balloons that looked like bubbles and borrow the church's bubble machine so the kids had to walk through a bubble cloud to collect their candy from the trunk.

There were a lot of other fun ones but I only managed to grab a few phone pics. This is a friend with a ballerina daughter and a giant van, so they set up a stage.

A bee car!

The kids had a lot of fun and were so relieved to do something *normal* with their friends.

For costumes, Dema reigned supreme as always. Edie wanted to be a Christmas tree and claimed Agnes as her present to come along, and Dema made it happen. Mary recycled most of her Mary Poppins outfit, including her coolest ever handmade bird head umbrella. The ketchup packet costume was reused, but instead of fries to go along, Dema made a matching mustard packet. 

Catherine doesn't like dressing up but was a big help grilling food and watching Agnes and supervising the candy bowl. So they didn't get to go trick-or-treating but they all had a really fun time and got plenty of candy anyway!

October 2020: We Met Baby Jo!!!

October was full of fun, but this was the most fun of all the fun - we got to meet our new niece / cousin! Thomas and Jena adopted their newborn daughter Josephine Abigail in August, but between the covid restrictions in various places and the fact that they already had to travel across the country and back home when Jo was born, meant we weren't able to visit with them right away. But thankfully they went to the trouble to make a trip to St. Louis is October!

I totally missed it as I was still getting Agnes out of the van, but I'm told that Catherine's face when she first saw (and immediately scooped up) baby Jo was the cutest thing ever. I'm guessing it was like this, but even more delighted.

Squishy baby face!!!

Jo was uncommonly patient and accommodating throughout an evening of ALL the cousins wanting to hold her constantly. The only reason Agnes doesn't look happy here is because Jo is in Edie's lap, not hers.

It's kind of fun to have big kids who are near-professional baby holders.

Catherine claimed all feeding opportunities, buffeting and ignoring protests from the rest of her siblings. She might be the most stubborn among them.

It might have been around this time that Jo started to wonder if this was her new life or if she was going to get to go back to her quiet, cousin-less home at some point.

But really all she needed was some time with her mama.

Gussie was so excited when Jo smiled at him! 

Don't get made at me kids, but that's one of the cutest baby smiles ever.

Agnes loves babies and was desperate for a turn to hold Jo, but in typical toddler fashion her love can be a bit jarring and smothering. And Jo was getting tired of being passed around, so Agnes got a quick turn and then back to mama.

We got to see them again for picture day, where we took the grandkid photo for Grandma's Christmas card (no sneak peaks - you have to wait until I make it to December in blogland!). But I also snapped a few of Jo with Thomas and Jena. Ohmygoodness they're such an adorable family.

Tiny baby fingers! Tiny baby lips! Fluffy baby hair! 

And the quizzical baby eyebrows can't be beat.

Catherine had the last snuggle before we had to go and they had to make the trip back home. Happy, happy congratulations to Jena and Thomas! Welcome to the family Josephine!

October 2020: Elephant Rocks

We continued our October Hike Streak with a trip to Elephant Rocks with Dema and Grampy T. We don't go often -- the drive always deters me a bit -- but when we do go I remember that it is totally worth it. There is near endless clambering and climbing and general gallumphing to be done there. And it was an absolutely gorgeous fall day as well, with fall colors and warm sunshine and air that smelled of leaves crunched on the trails.

Random picture of a moss covered rock.

Besides the drive, the other reason we don't go to Elephant Rocks a lot is because extra adult hands are absolutely required. First it's like playing "Where's Waldo" with all the kids all day because they pop into crevices and over boulders and behind trees and it's just generally hard to keep eyes on all of them. This happens in a lot of places honestly, but at Elephant Rocks the base danger level is a bit higher, with larger climbing boulders and sudden dropoffs, and of course this cliff into a small lake.

See, Agnes and I got behind on the trail around the little lake, to the point that the big kids were on the opposite side, but Dema was right with them so it was fine.

I have no idea why Catherine was making this face. Maybe she was imitating Mary, who had just claimed she had been attacked by ladybugs and therefore wasn't going into any more rock crevices?

This is Catherine's and Agnes's strong muscle pose after Agnes made it to the top of the rock.

See what I mean about playing "Where's Edie?" all day?

Edie is an expert at clambering and scampering. The boys had attempted to scale this particular boulder, and gave up after a few minutes, declaring it too smooth with not enough handholds. Edie was undeterred and ended up being the first one to the top. Her success motivated the others to try again, and eventually there was a group of them up there.

But I think she had to show them her route first. Then she had to come down and show it again so I could take a video.

Edie says we have to go again this year because she was only five then and now she's six so she can climb even more boulders!