planes, trains, and automobiles

Yes, these are some "older" photos. By "older" I mean they were taken in ... August when we took that crazy trip south, east, north, and west. Too much traveling all at once. As I said then, Molly was a super sport, and even offered to help drive when Zach and I got tired!

Speaking of Zach, he's promising pictures from their trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend. I'm as anxious as you are to see them - while they were frolicking in the pumpkins with Nate, I was taking a prep course for my upcoming licensing exam - the first of five. Zach promises he'll show me the pictures, as soon as he gets them off the neighbor's camera.

the Fish on the Bus Go...

We've been singing "The Wheels on the Bus" song a lot these last few days. At first it was just about having fun with the hand motions, which Molly enjoyed. Then, we started asking Molly "what's next?". She would specify "up-down" for "the windows on the bus go up and down", and "babies" for the babies on the bus go wah-wah-wah", etc. And then she started breaking out of the mold. One of her favorite requests now is "fish", as in "the fish on the bus go splish splash splish" (or whatever we feel like making the fish do at the moment). I guess if Dr. Seuss can put three fish in a tree (fish in a tree? how can that be?) Molly can have fish on a bus, right?

Opa's visit

Opa had a mostly wonderful visit last week (the first few days were a little rough for him since he had a tooth pulled the day before he came). He got a lot of quality babysitting time in with Molly. And for at least a day after he left Molly would occasionally ask "Opa?" (as in, where is he?).

Here they are taking a careful walk down the stairs.

Lake Sonoma

Last weekend we went camping with our friends Robin and Betsy, their daughter Lucy, and Betsy's mom up at Lake Sonoma. As usual, Molly loved it. We hiked in a short way - just over a mile - and camped out on the shore of the reservoir. The weather was perfect, and there was hardly anyone there since it's apparently "between seasons" (ie. after the summer camp-out season and before the winter fishing season [?]). There were a few loud waterskiers, but even they couldn't take over the entire lake. And the moon was amazing. 13% brighter than usual, according to some sources. :)

last Sunday's Pictures

Molly does some sidewalk painting with Oscar across the street; Molly practices nose picking; Molly's family walking in the redwoods; Molly.

choo-choo!

We had a great time on the steam trains last weekend. Molly was a little serious during the ride, but clearly loved it and cracked a smile every now and then, and even said "chooo chooo!" (with hand motions) when the train let off some steam.

Slip-Slidin' Away

A few weeks ago my boss very kindly passed along a slide that her kids are done with. Molly has been totally delighted with it. She sends the balls down the slide. She sends the plastic turtle down the slide. And she sends herself down the slide. Over and over and over again. What a hit!

And even better is that the slide was actually given to her by a former coworker (who just happens to be the person that I taught with last spring). This slide has had many many lives and made many many kids happy.

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