Skating and Halloween

A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to the ice rink in Oakland. This was Madeleine's second time skating, and she absolutely loved it. The kids took turns skating with Daddy around the rink and having snacks with Mommy in between turns.

This was Ross's first time on the ice and he loved it too.

Madeleine is really keen to help me in the kitchen these days, and I just had to include this cute picture of her helping wash the dishes.

Last year they were both a bit apprehensive about Halloween, but this year they got pretty excited about it. Madeleine requested a heart nose for the Jack O Lantern.

Madeleine decided to be a "princess fairy" and Ross decided to be a firefighter. Madeleine was jumping up and down with excitement as we got ready to go Trick-or-Treating, and Ross cautiously followed. 

They were overjoyed at the experience of getting candy and reliably said Thank You, but usually forgot the "trick or treat". 

Uncle Chris Comes to Visit!

We were so happy to have Uncle Chris come visit from Ontario. Here is the scene from the first evening of Chris' arrival, soon after Chris gave the kids the Clifford book...

We all went to Muir Woods to see the big redwood trees, and the kids loved running around with Uncle Chris.

M had a lot of fun building her lego car with Uncle Chris.

The crew taking a break from an afternoon dance party, with Uncle Chris on baby doll duty.

We spent a day in San Francisco and waited in long lines to ride the Cable Car, but it was really fun and Ross especially loved it.

Then came the part that Madeleine associates with trips to San Francisco - ice cream!

We stopped at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge to take in the views.

It was a wonderful visit and the kids were so sad to see their beloved Uncle Chris leave. He was non-stop fun for the kids - never hesitated to say yes to their constant requests to play, and calmly distracted them from sibling squabbles. Steve and Chris also got to spend some quality brother time in the garage giving Steve's lathe a try now that it is all assembled. It is visits like this make us so glad to be back on the same continent as our family.