Yes, it is here, the most wonderful time of the year (and we don't mean Christmas.) For me, it is fall and winter in it's entirety (though mosty fall). For the kids, it's Hallowe'en.
First, some context. Leif saw Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas when he was 4.5 (yes, we kept him away from any tv for all those years only to then show him the scariest stuff we could fine. Nice.) He loved it. He asked me to sing him the main song every day. I finaly had to print out the lyrics and teach it to him. Here is how the original goes.
And here is my dear boy, at 4.5, by his request making a movie of this song, with some help from the always sweet baby Hannah, then just-turned 2. Oh man, seeing it 4 years later is a heart-breaker.
Now they are both trying to teach Ivy. And so, we get pretty excited about Hallowe'en around here. Observe the clan in their new pj's on Sept 30th:
On Oct 1 the decorations went up, stage 1.
Stage 2, the outside, consisting of skeletons, tombstones and cobwebs, will be set in motion next week, if I can stall them that long. I managed to keep the nature table in a more fall-like theme, though even Ivy's plastic owl got a black-bat garland around his neck.
And talk about timing!! Guess what spooky lego parcel arrived in the mail this week? Leif's long-awaited eBay win, the Harry Potter's Sirius Black's Escape from Azkaban set.
True, capturing the essence of Gary Oldman as Sirius black is a real tough one when using the flat round head of a lego guy. But still, when I look at the silly yellow lego guy with long black hair, I see this in my mind. Works for me.
As promised, here are some shots of their pottery from Japanese Art class. They made these cool boxes with grasses pressed into the clay to make imprints:
They made wide vases with a base they'd turned on the wheel. It has a narrow opening at the top.
And here is a shot of some plates and fantasy animals they made. Imagine four-times this stuff and you get an idea of how much pottery is now all around our house.
Hannah has also been playing with beach finds with her Grandma. Here is her own beach art thing:
This week Leif got in his first game on his new team, a big deal around here. He plays for Gordon Head SC, which is the club headed up by his coach of the past 4 years. He's taken soccer classes from Steph since he was 3.5 and when it was time to move on to a team I wanted that continuity of teaching style, and Gordon Head agreed to let us into their club even though we live out of the catchment. He now has two great coaches who really know their stuff (one is a former National Coach) and he is ready to meet this next challenge in life.
Hannah is also back at soccer, and she too is being taught by Steph. She joined his classes when she was 3.5 and is now enjoying her spot in a class all on her own, as Leif has moved out of this group. It is all hers and she's loving it. She still stretches her bright orange soccer socks right up to her thighs and wears matching orange shorts. Her skill is really improving, she is now in a place where she understands the point of the game, to pass, to control the ball, to aim for the corner of the goal. It is great to watch her begin to master this.
At Wildkids Camp this week we did a community service project readying the community garden for fall, to create great soil for spring planting. We spread bonemeal and an odd tofu by-product all over a huge series of garden beds, then layered straw and wet cardboard on top. We talked about how much it costs, both in money, gas and pollution, to buy food flown in from other countries. That there is a season to each thing we eat, and buying them out of season is not logical when you look at the damage it causes, even though it can be tasty at times. It's hard, but we're working on it. This month we're going to explore what does grow here in the fall (apples!) and how we can get our vitamins in this colder season without buying things flown in from all over the globe. Those New Zealand Kiwi's beckoned, but we bought a bag of apples from BC instead.
The kids are learning so much at Aikido class. I'll explain it a bit more next time, but it involves showing respect for others, for yourself, your Sensei, the dojo . . . and they look very cool in their white Gis. (that's pronounced Gee. Picture young Jedi's).
My habit of reading before I fall asleep has now transferred to the entire family. We all lie in bed together with our various novels, board books and magazines. This is what I rolled over to see last night, in th bed that Ivy and Leif share:
And then later:
We hope your October began on a spooky note.
Love
C
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