Oh, the difference a few days makes!  We have been blessed with beautiful weather this fall, enjoying temperatures in the mid-seventies through the beginning of November!  It's been beautiful to see the leaves in the valley change color since they weren't stolen prematurely by any big storms.  

On Tuesday Alaina and picked up Connor from kindergarten and went to the blue park to have a picnic.  The kids enjoyed the warmth of the sun, the cool breeze, and the beautiful scenery.






(Notice her "I Voted" sticker?  She was very excited to have helped me cast my vote by pushing the green button.)





This picture...




...reminds me of this picture, taken three and a half years ago. :*)




We said a fond farewell to a gorgeous autumn, then welcomed the snow on Friday.  Alaina was itching to get out in it!  Connor prefers the warmth of the indoors, but it didn't take too long for him to feel like he was missing out on the fun.  He and Anthony came out to enjoy it, too.




We tried to make a snowman at first, but I made the balls too big.  Three days later, and my back is finally starting to feel better after straining to lift the second ball.  I'm a wimp.  We refashioned the balls into a slide, which was more fun anyway!




Self portraits are hard with a 35mm lens!




"Alaina, sit on top of the slide and smile so we can have a picture of what we made!"




Uh oh!  This thing is slippery...




There she goes!




This is what it's all about!













Alaina went down the slide at the neighborhood park.  It was so slippery that it flung her a couple of feet from where she was supposed to land.  I don't think she was displeased.




My resolve has been firm this year to not listen to any Christmas music until after Thanksgiving.  My, how the fates tempt me!




A much more manageable snowman.







Over the weekend, we've had some breaks in the snow, but between Friday morning and Sunday evening, we've got a foot of snow on the ground.  I used to think I hated winter, but my bunch of crazies have definitely put the fun back in it!










The views from my bedroom window






Give me a snowy winter over a dry, gray one anyday!