House Invasion

When mouse leaves the house... the cat moves in!

Shilah's First School Project

Shilah had a special project to do last week for her preschool enrichment class, for kids who will be in kindergarten next year. At school the kids made a mouse by pasting things on a popsicle stick, and their assignment was to make a house for the mouse. We had so much fun with it!
Before we made the house, I talked with Shilah about the important things that need to be in a house. So we decided not to make things like a TV or computer. We made a refrigerator & stove out of small boxes (the fridge is a bandaid box), a bathtub out of a coffee filter, a toilet out of a dixie cup, a sink out of a matchbox, and a mirror with foil wrap. Notice the little roll of toilet paper and the little faucets made out of metal fasteners :-)
Shilah had fun cutting out felt carpet, curtains, & a blanket. She also enjoyed drawing tiny pictures of members of her mouse's family, and decorating the outside of the house. We made a table & chairs out of caps from the recycling bin, a couch out of a TP roll, and drawers out of stacked matchboxes. Shanti cut out the windows & door, and made a roof for the house. So it turned into a really fun family project!

Pless Pets

Shilah & Serena love to feed & play with our pets! A small blanket is the perfect saddle for Cosmo the "horse." The bottom post is video of Serena dragging a string around for the cats to chase. You can hear her say "Chase me, Westy!" Serena loves Westy and laughs whenever he walks by her.

Tiffany, Tommy & Samuel

Last weekend we had Shanti's cousin Tiffany over, along with her hubby Tommy and their CUTE baby boy Samuel. My brother and his fiancee also came over, and we all had a very nice dinner!

Another Beautiful Fall Day

This time it was a fall day disguised as WINTER!?! Yes, we got 6 inches of snow yesterday, and the forecasters are predicting another 8-16 inches in the mountains by tomorrow. Colorado usually has a big storm in the fall, but not usually until October.
I could not convince the girls to put on pants under their skirts, but at least they agreed to wear jackets and boots. They love to eat snow! Sometimes we will put some clean snow in a cup and pour maple syrup over it for a treat.

Beautiful Fall Day

This morning we took a drive to Kenosha Pass, just 30 minutes up the mountain from our house. The aspen leaves are starting to turn at this elevation, and are breathtaking!
We found a trail that was not crowded at all, and had lunch right off the trail in a small grove of aspens.





Shilah had fun collecting a few leaves in a plastic bag...
It was so neat to see the variety of greens & yellows... pretty soon there will be orange as well! The leaves have not turned at our house yet, but we will post pictures once they do.
A storm started to roll in once we were leaving. There is a chance of snow tonight and the next couple of nights at our house at 8600 feet. Fall is here!

Bathtime Snuggling

Shilah & Serena love taking baths together! Most of the time the baths go smoothly, unless Serena tries to drink the bath water or they both conspire to make tidal waves.

Mountain Family Pless

Here's a good family picture that my dad took when he was in town...
And here is our extremely laid-back cat Westy, ready to slide off the couch!

Rearranging the Basement

Our friends Deb & Greg got a new couch and gave their old one to us, so we rearranged our basement in 2 separate sections: a living room & play area (before it was just one big play area). We love it! Their couch matches perfectly with the colors in our futon. Now we are more inclined to watch movies in the basement, rather than on the main level with our tiny TV. Thanks, Deb!

Grandparents!

My parents left today to go back to Buffalo after a 2 week visit. We all had so much fun with Grandma Sho Sho and Grandpa Rick! Shilah & Serena enjoyed going out for meals and going to parks, along with playing games & having books read to them. Shanti and I also went out to dinner one night and my parents had fun babysitting. Thanks for a great visit!

Little Miss Personality

This picture says it all. Sometimes I have to talk Shilah out of wearing certain things to school :-)
Here is Shilah holding a huge worm we put in our compost pile. Both she & Serena love insects!
And here is Roo snuggling into Shilah's princess gear.

Pless Family Weekend

A couple of weekends ago we went to Gabe & Andrea's and took the kids to ride bikes & play at a nearby park. The next day, they met us at my Jazzercise studio in Conifer and the kids had so much fun just running around & playing in the childcare room!

Tiny Town

My parents have been in town, so we've been keeping very busy with them! They left our house today to stay with my brother for a few days. I will post pics of their visit soon.
A few weeks ago we met my friend Deb and her girls at Tiny Town, a kids place that has lots of miniature houses, a train ride, and a playground. Shilah & Serena had a great time with Maggie! Shilah also went here last Friday on a field trip with her preschool class, and with Grandma Sho Sho & Grandpa Rick yesterday. Serena has been sick for the last few days, but she is much better now.