Pumpkin fairies

This Halloween Amber and Ediza are pumpkin fairies. Amber made the wings out of wire, panty hose, paint and lots of glitter. She tried to get me to be a pumpkin fairy as well, offering to make me a pair of "manly" wings. Once she showed me the tights she wanted me to wear, I knew that I was going as a pirate again. Arghhh.

This morning we went to a nearby shopping center where Ediza and tons of other kids paraded around to all the stores collecting candy. Ediza won third place (and a $10 gift certificate) for her costume!

Within the past week, we've been to two Halloween parties, and I got to hang out with a gravedigger for an article I wrote. Tonight we're going to the Sierra Waldorf School for their elaborate celebration. Happy Halloween to everyone!

The third year's a charm

The big news around here is that Ediza turned 3 on Friday. After cupcakes and a pumpkin hunt at preschool, she had a birthday celebration with Amber's parents and sister. We then went to see "Where the Wild Things Are" -- Ediza's first indoor movie. The movie was artistically done and had good music, however, the plot needed some work. Ediza has the book so well memorized that she can read it to us now.

The next day Ediza and six of her girlfriends painted pottery at her birthday party. Amber made festive party hats and the girls painted everything from tiny teacups to ceramic snakes. Here she is blowing out the last candle of her ice cream cake.


We ended the day with a family walk where bats flew around us at dusk. Today, after I finished working around the farm in the morning, we went up to the high country to visit the family ranch of our friend. It was a beautiful autumn day and everyone got into the Halloween spirit by carving pumpkins (check out the final creations).




Ediza ended her birthday weekend with a stroll around the mountains on a horsie named Luna.