The Big Wooden Playground

Last Sunday (the 21st) Bryan and I had planned to go to Rhinebeck, NY for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. We were going to leave at six in the morning and meet our friend Annie there. Well, Saturday night, Bryan got paged. He worked on his computer for an hour, then at midnight he went in to work. He never got home until after we were planning on leaving. Needless to say, he had to catch up on his sleep, so our trip was cancelled.

It was a beautiful day, so Faye and I took the kids to the big wooden playground. That's what the kids call Potsdam school's playground, and they always want to go there. We ended up having a really good day.













Myles demonstrated his skills on the monkey bars.

Two happy brothers:

I had put curlers in the girls' hair on Saturday night, and Berkleigh's hair especially was curly on Sunday.

Myles and Merlyn found out

that parallel bars should be a

one-way street.

Kids at play:

How many kids can fit on the parallel bars?

We decided to take silly pictures to show some great features of the big wooden playground.

We played on the playground for a couple of hours, then Faye left to run some errands and buy us a picnic lunch. While she was gone, the kids rode their bikes in the paved circle and sidewalk near the school.

Boys will be boys...

Carter and Myles loved the pavement because it gave them the perfect opportunity to make skid marks. They spent just as much time braking and checking out the skids as they did riding.

Myles also had fun jumping off the curb, the little daredevil. He'll be making ramps in the backyard before we know it!

Carter, Myles, and Merlyn all got free bike helmets when we went to the Malone Fair in August.

Berkleigh had to sit and rest. I guess walking a bike around like Fred Flinstone is more tiring than actually riding one.

Here's another one of Berkleigh's fits. She just lays quietly on the floor like that, so they aren't too disruptive. This one was because I stopped holding her up to the monkey bars: my arms get tired of holding her before she gets tired of hanging there. Luckily Faye came back with lunch and Berkleigh cheered up.

Pumpkin Patch

Two Sundays ago, on the 14th, we took our annual trip to Grandpapa and Grandma Faye's garden to get pumpkins. Each year the kids take turns having first choice. This year was Merlyn's turn. They'd already decided weeks ago which ones they were going to pick.

Grandma Faye, Grandma, Aunt Kelley, Jason, and Bryan walked with the kids to the garden.

Jason, Merlyn, and Berkleigh are admiring Merlyn's big pumpkin.

The kids worked hard to roll their pumpkins to the garden gate.

Grandma watched her grandaughter and great-grandaughters.

After the pumpkins were all harvested, Myles and Merlyn helped Grandma Faye pick the rest of the squash that was in the garden.

I wanted a picture of all four kids sitting on their pumpkins, but "Miss Stubborn" Berkleigh for some unknown reason threw a fit. I got a picture of the three older ones sitting on their pumpkins watching Berkleigh throw a fit.

Here's a happier girl sitting next

to her pumpkin in the garden.

Grandpapa loaded the pumpkins into his wagon and Berkleigh, Myles, and Merlyn rode with him on the buggy back to the house.

Carter hitched a ride on the wagon.

Kelley walked back to the house carrying her fresh-from-the-garden carrots.

Grandpa watched the activities from a

sunny spot inside Faye and Jerry's house.

Merlyn's Aunt Kelley Quilt

Kelley has started a tradition of making a quilt for each of the kids for their 4th birthday. She gave Merlyn hers on Friday the 12th when she came for family movie night. Kelley's quilts always reflect the kids who she's making it for: Carter's is an american flag theme, Myles' is trees, and for Merlyn, frogs are the obvious choice.
























Anyone who knows Aunt Kelley could tell you that she has a deeply rooted fear of frogs, so it's actually a little ironic that Merlyn is so obsessed with them. Kelley must really love Merlyn to subject herself to hours of looking at frogs while making the quilt.
Merlyn loves her new quilt and matching pillowcase. It's really soft, made out of flannel, and quite girly in spite of the frog theme. I'll try to get some close ups of the frogs, and also pictures of the boys' quilts to show off Kelley's handiwork. For now I'm just trying to catch up on all the updates I'm overdue to post!

Extended Family Movie Night

Aunt Kelley and Jason travelled from Maine late at night on the 11th. Friday the 12th was our family movie night, so we invited Aunt Kelley, Jason, Grandma Faye, and Grandpapa over to eat pizza and watch "Whispers: An Elephant's Tale".










































It was Jason's and Grandpapa's first time at our Family Movie Night. They'd both heard a lot about it, and now they've enjoyed it in person. I was also a participant that night, but as usual, no one wanted to take a picture of me. I'm beginning to get a complex...

Andrew's Wedding

I'm posting out of order, which goes against my symmetry/order compulsions, but I know how impatient some people are to see pictures of Andrew's wedding. So, here are a whole bunch. For those of you who don't know, Bryan's cousin Andrew married Erica on October 13th. Erica has a daughter, Emma, who is one day older than Myles and is in kindergarten this year.

Here's Andrew and Erica just after saying their vows, then while they watched Emma coming up to light the unity candle.

Andrew's oldest brother Bobby and Grandpa were the best men.

Andrew's youngest nephew Braden slept through much of the ceremony. Braden's older brother Nolan was the ring bearer.

Erica and her sister and Andrew and his

nephew Gary are laughing at one of Bobby's

stories during the best man's toast. On the

wall behind them is the sign that I crocheted and Aunt Val had framed for Andrew for

Christmas a couple years ago.

Andrew's sister Karen and sister-in-law Donna got teary-eyed at the end of Bobby's toast.

The kids got right out on the dance floor before dinner. Bobby and especially Donna helped get them started. Notice how Merlyn can't wait for her turn to be spun.

The kids were enthralled with the bubble-blowing machine. First they'd watch for the bubbles, then the fun would begin:

Aunt Kelley and her boyfriend Jason were quite impressive on the dance floor.

Alison and her boyfriend James looked good out there, too. Alison was the soloist at the wedding, and she sang beautifully.

Myles, Merlyn, and Berkleigh had tons of fun dancing with Alison and James.

Carter really got around on the dance floor. He danced with Aunt Kelley and Jason...

and Grandma Faye and Grandpapa...

and Aunt Kelley...

and me...

and the two flower girls.

Grandma and Grandpa watched the dancing in between visiting with friends and family.

The extended family always has a good time together.

Zach and Kristen (standing in the back) are getting

married next October.

Here's Karri and Brian with Braden, who woke up during the wedding. I loved the bridesmaids' necklaces, which were like chokers in front and hung down the back.

Uncle Randy and Aunt Val are the groom's proud parents. Uncle Randy did the flowers for the wedding (he also did all the flowers for mine and Bryan's wedding).

Even Grandma and Grandpa got out on the dance floor. I had to chase them around with the camera to get a picture of their faces.

Bryan danced with Berkleigh, who wants to be a swing dancer, I guess: she kept falling down on purpose to slide between Bryan's feet. Finally he decided it was easier just to hold her.

Merlyn and Aunt Claire were celebrating something, giving each other "high tens". Merlyn sure does love her "Aunt Quay".

Some of the kids lined up on the edge of the stage to watch the garter and bouquet activites. If you look closely you can see one of the geese decoys in the middle. Andrew is
a big hunter, and the two decoys were dressed as a bride and groom as part of the decorations.

Myles really impressed us with his dancing abilities.

He worked up a sweat, and had to take breaks to

drink and make cup sculptures.

Nolan was quite the wild dancer, too!

Karri danced with Nolan -- they looked so cute with their matching outfits. Then Karri got to rest while holding Braden, who fell asleep again. Weddings wear kids out (and adults, too.)

Everyone seems to be in agreement that Carter gets his sense of rhythm from his father. Here are some consecutive pictures to demonstrate Carter's dance moves:

Erica and Emma looked so nice dancing together with their coordinating dresses. Erica was a beautiful bride in a beautiful dress. I loved how the train bustled behind the knees instead of at the butt. Emma's dress was adorable with all the ruffles, and she was a sweet flower girl.

It was a wonderful wedding, although I spent a lot of time in the bathroom, taking Merlyn, then Berkleigh, then Merlyn and Berkleigh, and so on and so forth all night.