Happy Halloween!

Wednesday we had a little Halloween party at playgroup, and the kids looked so cute posing for pictures in their costumes. Shilah had the most fun decorating (and eating) a cookie. We have been trying to ration all the Halloween treats this week, but that's very hard to do when a 3-year-old is involved!

Shilah's First School Field Trip

Shilah went to Luke's Farm in Evergreen for a school field trip today! Kids dressed up in their costumes and got to feed the goats, take a tractor-train ride, decorate pumpkins, and get their faces painted. One of my friends watched Serena, so I spent some nice one-on-one time with Shilah and went with her as a parent chaperone. Shilah was also so excited to ride on a school bus for the first time! She had a great time with her friends Sadie and Maya.

Weekend with Daddy

Shanti had a great time with the girls this past weekend while I was gone! On Saturday he took them to "Boo at the Zoo," where kids got to dress up in their costumes. Serena was a chicken and Shilah was a fairy princess (without her crown or wand). That evening they all went to our friend's pumpkin-decorating party. Thank you to Uncle Gabe for taking these great pics!

Welcome Home, Mama!

I had a great time in Portland, Oregon at my friend's wedding this past weekend! It was fun reuniting with my college friends-- good laughs!

First Big Snow!

Yesterday morning we woke up to 8 inches of snow! The yellow aspens look so pretty surrounded by white. Shilah and Serena liked getting all bundled up!

Sisters in Action

Here are a couple of videos, one of both girls riding a tricycle and one of Serena playing peek-a-boo. Serena has really been talking-- she says "thank you" and "I love you," so she's starting to put together words. It's neat to see her point to something and try to say the word! She also tries to do everything Shilah does, of course :-)

Double Birthday Party!

On Sunday we went to a birthday party for Cousin Emory (he turns 2 this weekend) and our friend Alex (she turns 3 this weeekend-- bottom picture). The party was at Sunflower Farm in Longmont, and it was a blast! There were farm animals everywhere, and it was very kid-oriented-- with a trampoline, giant tree house, hammocks, swings, and sandbox. The fall weather was absolutely gorgeous. After the party we went to Gabe & Andrea's for dinner. This first picture is a great one of the Pless brothers and their kids.

Ridiculous headline of the day: Chimp takes Segway for ride, then bails

First Picture Day!

Shilah had her first school pictures taken last week! We've never gotten professional pictures before, so I explained that someone would have her pose and there would be a big flash. But then I realized that I have probably taken thousands of pictures of her already, and she has quite a bit of experience posing and smiling :)
Here she is practicing some poses at home with her quasi-pro mom behind the camera.

Westy

Westy is one crazy cat! He will sprawl out or hide anywhere he pleases. His sister Roo, on the other hand, has a more shy personality.

Learning

Serena has been learning so many words and motions! Here she is doing "all done" (it looks like she's signaling a field goal). The bottom picture is one of Shilah's preschool "play plans." Each day the kids fill in the blanks of a sentence starting "I am going to..." A teacher writes in the words, kids draw a picture of themselves doing the task, and then they actually go do it. Neat! Shilah drew a picture of herself reading a book. The curriculum is called "Tools of the Mind." Shilah continues to love school, and even practices her drawing & writing at home on her own.

Ridiculous headline of the day: Chihuahua's ears emit radio squeal

Hanging out with the Grandparents

Here are some pictures from a recent visit to Evergreen-- good pizza at Beau Jo's, and lots of ducks to feed!
Yesterday we had our third annual Herbivore Hoopla to celebrate Vegetarian Awareness Month. My parents were so helpful hanging out with the girls so Shanti & I could cook & socialize! We had close to 60 people this year (including lots of kids)! The weather was a little chilly & misty, but we had a fire pit going and a tarp outside. I made 4 main "meat" dishes, and Gabe was very helpful making his yummy seitan "meat"balls. I posted some good info on meat alternatives, how to make a complete protein, and famous vegetarians. Fun! Check out some new info on my recipe blog: http://veggieaimee.blogspot.com/

Shanti: Back from Portugal!

Shanti recently got home from a work trip to Portugal! He is now considered one of the leading experts on zero energy buildings in the WORLD. WOW! We are so proud. It was nice having my parents staying with me while he was away. Portugal is 7 hours ahead of our time zone, so that was hard for him to adjust to. And a little side story... Shanti left his Blackberry in a cab in Lisbon, and asked me to keep calling it so he could find it. Finally, some Portugese guy answered! I couldn't understand anything he said, but I kept repeating the name of the hotel Shanti was staying at, and he actually returned the Blackberry to Shanti! Pretty cool. Shanti will post some pictures from his trip soon.
Here are some random pictures of the kitties relaxing...

Grandparents in Town!

Shilah & Serena have been enjoying Grandma Sho-Sho and Grandpa Rick! They left our house today to stay with my brother in Denver.

Kissing Sisters

Serena (and Shilah) love to give kisses! My parents came into town on Thursday for a 2 week trip, so the girls have been having a great time with grandma & grandpa. Stay tuned for more pics!

Triple Carseats

Serena moved to a forward-facing carseat a couple of weeks ago. We have 3 across the back now to make it easier to carpool for Shilah's preschool. It's a tight fit! As you can see, the middle carseat gets use even when we're not carpooling :)

A few new papers

Another 3 papers this past year...and look for more on zero energy buildings currently in the works.

http://shantipubs.blogspot.com/

Cosmo the Horse

Here is Serena "riding" Cosmo. Shilah has been doing a lot of pretend play, and recently she has been pretending Cosmo is a horse. We went to a friend's house last week whose mom boards horses, and Shilah rode one all by herself! So now she puts a saddle (towel) on Cosmo and leads him around. He is truly a saint and we love him!

Crazy Cats

Westy & Roo are two crazy cats! Westy is such a fun cat, with the exception of his litter box issues (Tinkles reincarnated?). Roo is petite and a little more timid. Check out the bottom picture of Westy playing with Cosmo's tail.