Brothers and Sisters

Overheard tonight as the girls were putting on their pjs:
Olivia: "So, honey, what was your favorite part of trick-or-treating?"
Sabrina: "Going to Noah's house!" (they love their cousin, too!)
O: "No, that's not trick-or-treating, I mean like, was it saying 'trick-or-treat'?
S: "ya"
O: "My favorite part was getting candy"
S: "Me too"
We'll have pictures of that event soon, but for now, big sister reading to little sister, and blowing on baby brother's belly.
It's getting cold here - dug the toques out of the closet this week. Pay no attention to the fact that Malcolm is in an outlawed walker from the seventies. I promise, we never put it anywhere where there's a possibilty he could go down any stairs! These three sure love each other; it's so fun to watch them play together.
 

This Is What I do and Where I do it

Hey onlooker, bystander, bloggertype. I (Dobby) decided it was about high time to contribute to this site and so what better way than to show you all what I do with 45 hours of my week. I actually have a pretty sweet job. I get to overlook the Fraser Valley every day from the top of Eagle Mountain. On a clear day I can see all the way from Chilliwack across to the westside of Abbotsford.
When I'm not standing around and admiring the scenery I frame houses for 4 Point Construction Inc. This is the latest house we have been working on. These are my coworkers. We work hard and sing a lot (its kinda like a bad musical). Daisy and Barley get to watch from the back of Bruce's truck and mooch food from us during breaktime. Someday we are going to put out a calendar because we are so hot....unfortunately only Tim and Craig are single but lucky for you ladies they are fine young gentleman. 

Saucy

Hey everybody, let's make applesauce! I've got the pot ready. This has been the scene in our house every time one of our children has been around 6 months old - we get (in this case pick) a bunch of apples, a whole bunch of apples, and turn them into applesauce. I make all of my kids' baby food, but the apples are the most fun. This time I had three helpers ( four if you count the baby in the pot!), so it went fast.
After watching Daddy demonstrate the peeler/corer/slicer device, the girls were both eager to take their turn at the crank.

 

I don't know about this, Dad....are you sure this will work? The first batch of apples that made it through phase one. After this, they were peeled by hand a little more to get the rest of the peel off, chopped up, put into pots....
...and cooked. The pot at the back is also full of apples.
The finished product. We put the sauce into ice cube trays to freeze, then defrost a few at a time for Mac to consume. We've got a lot of applesauce now .... hope he likes it!
 

Hidin', Ridin', & Eatin' Cake

So, Malcolm has previously been found peeking out from under various pieces of furniture, but never has he been completely out of sight. Today, while I was making dinner, Olivia says "Malcolm is under the couch." I'm not concerned, assuming he's backed himself in and is actually only partway under the couch. I look into the living room, and he's nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" I ask. "Under the couch." Sure enough, this time he has managed to duck his head under the wood frame of the futon, and is totally under the couch! Also, he's pretty proud of himself! Here's the little prince riding in style, while his ladies in waiting tend to his every need.
Also this week, a lot of cake was prepared and consumed in our house. It was ny nephew Noah's 2nd birthday on Wednesday, so I made him a digger cake (his favorite thing)....
....then on Sunday we had our slightly belated Thanksgiving celebration at my Grandpa and Grandma Falk's house, and I made a "cornacopady" cake (Sabrina's interpretation) for that occasion. It was also Grandma's birthday the next day, so it doubled as a birthday cake.
I was eating the last of the leftover digger cake as I was decorating the cornucopia... and there is now plenty of that one sitting on the counter waiting to be consumed...so much cake...so much icing.... 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Malcolm had a very happy day today, and he hopes you all did too! Welcome to the girls' new home...yes it's true, they live in a cardboard box... but they love it. This is Uncle Dan and Aunt Ruby's BBQ box - the girls have gotten a lot of use out of it (Auntie Laura, sorry you had to endure Brody's tears, but if it's any consolation, the girls really are using the box a lot!)

Notice the beautiful sunshine in all these pictures - it was 19 degrees today...not bad for mid-October. 

We spent the morning at the park, riding bikes, walking the trails, swinging, sliding, and hanging like monkeys! Also jumping off of things, which seems to be a new favorite pasttime. I never would have believed a couple of months ago how brave Olivia would be about things like this, but gymnastics has really broadened her horizons! And speaking of brave, when we got home, Dobby got up on the roof and painted the trim. Dad had already done all of the other trim on the house, but he didn't feel too comfortable doing the really high stuff (as most people wouldn't). Dobby, however, says "I do this every day", and proceeds to hang over the edge of the roof with a paint roller in his hand. Sabrina told him about every two minutes, "don't fall Daddy".....he found that very encouraging!


The house looks much nicer now, but if it had been me that had to do the painting, the trim would have stayed faded forever.
So, that was our Thanksgiving Monday - we're all thankful that Dobby made it off the roof safely! 

Concert in the Garden

Although the concert is much more impressive on video, I did get a few still shots of the show the girls put on yesterday. There was singing by Sabrina ( her favorite selection of songs - Mary had a little lamb, Twinkle Twinkle, and Happy Birthday), and dancing by Olivia. And then an odd medley of sorts where Sabrina sang, Olivia danced, but Olivia was humming her own tune, so it came out as a lot of noise....but cute none the less. The stage was the retaining wall in the garden in the backyard. TA DA!! Sabrina's big finish.
A stork stand - more a gymnastics move than a dance, but she worked it in!
At intermission, they ate the last of the grapes from Grandpa's vine.
Malcolm didn't get in on the concert ( he still has trouble not rolling off the stage!), but here is evidence that he is HUGE!! His six month picture....he looks like he's planning something very clever....