The Thurber Gang

Every year the girls want to carve pumpkins. And every year we let them paint them instead. . . We always have good intentions, but the thoughts of the ensuing mess usually overpowers those intentions, and painting them can be pretty fun, too. This year, we promised - and we KEPT that promise!!! The girls had a fabulous time. Vivien and Mommy designed a Kitty pumpkin. Ella drew silly eyes on the pumpkin she designed with Dad. Madison and Lillian designed a traditional pumpkin, and were huge helps cleaning out the 'guts'. We roasted the seeds with salt and cinnamon. YUM. Lillian was *awesome* for cleaning out the pumpkins. Not grossed out at all!! And here they were last night - we put them right outside the door, just before bed. They looked so cute and the girls were VERY proud of their work. . . But, around 2:00 this afternoon, some boys came by (we were even home!) and smashed the poor pumpkins. . . Madison picked up all the pieces so that they weren't sprawling al

We *LOVE* Dairy Queen cakes. LOVE, *L*O*V*E* them. Not only are they about the tastiest things ever, they are ice cream and cake together, so for birthday parties, they are EASY. We've had amazing luck with the artists at Dairy Queen, making beautiful cakes for our daughters that compliment the themes of their parties perfectly. Here are a few examples. . . Sadly, our 8 year streak of good luck ended when Milo picked up Vivien's 5th Birthday cake, about 30 minutes before the party, and was at a loss when he saw the art work. . . Mucho disappointing. . . but pretty funny!! (As a point of reference, here is the picture that I brought to them to replicate. . . I just asked for Merliah - the main Barbie)

Just before school started, each one of the girls won a goldfish at a local fair. One by one, the goldfish left us for the ultimate fish bowl. . . except one. And his name is Lucky. Lucky was a very active little fishy until the third fish died - over a week ago. . . since then, he sits at the bottom of the fish bowl, doesn't move, doesn't flip his fins at all. . . unless I scare him to see if he's still alive. I think poor Lucky is depressed.