October At Last

I FINALLY had the time to download the 125 (!) photos on our digital camera, so I'm adding a few to this blog (even though they are out of date). This is a photo of Bailee's dance studio float filled with hot dancers at the end of the Spud Days parade.

Only Bailee would get a caramel apple with a smile on the bottom!

The brave Bailee on one of the "big kid" rides at the state fair. She apparently was looking forward to it!

Idaho's weather has turned, so it is goodbye to temperatures in the 80s and
hello to nightly freezes and highs in the 50s (if we are lucky). Fall has
arrived in earnest, which is actually a goo thing. It will
settle the kids at school down a little, and it is certainly nice to be finished
with marathon yard and garden work.

We cleared out the garden this past week and have picked most of our plums. Now we just have do the freezing and canning. It's a lot of work, but I actually enjoy it. This is a very cozy time of year. I have some fond memories of family sessions at the kitchen table cutting up vegetables as a kid. Those were good times. I hope Bailee enjoys those activities as much as we did.

Believe it or not, we have had our fist Parent-Teacher conferences. It seems disgustingly early, but I am certainly glad that they are behind me. Now we can settle down to the business of school. We are officially finished with open houses, dedications, and all that other garbage that has been added to our workload. I am hoping that we can all get into a nice routine now.

Stay tuned for the continuing drama of "THE CLARA DRESS." We found out that
the dress for Clara in THE NUTCRACKER weighs 30 to 40 pounds. It's always been
an issue for the girl playing the part, but it has become a major issue with Bailee. She weighs 60
pounds soaking wet and after a big meal ... less when she is dancing hard. I
have visions of her lurching across the stage like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! We're trying to
convince the studio owner that a new, lighter dress is in order. Otherwise we
may have to stuff helium balloons under the skirt!

I feel sorry for Miss Bailee this week. She is sure that we are trying to turn her into a pincushion! Thus far she has had a flu shot, her DPT booster, and the Menactra shot. She still has to get a pneumonia shot (her pediatrician advised this to protect her lungs if she gets the Swine Flu - she has asthma that really flares up when she is ill). Poor kid. Every one of those shots have really hurt. She has let us know that she is tired of sore arms and feeling puny afterward. Oh my. It's hard for her to see that this is supposedly for her own good.

Just to keep life from getting too boring, I'm having more car trouble. While
taking Bailee to eat
between dance classes, I noticed the sound of something dragging under the car.
Sure enough, there was a piece of metal hanging down from the engine.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!! I limped the car to Sunnyside Auto and am now waiting for word on what
is wrong. Huge dollar signs keep appearing before my eyes! This also left me
with no way to get to a class I was supposed to be taking at my district office
this morning. I hope that car trouble is a good enough excuse. This reminds me
of a picture from my Mary Engelbreit calendar - Life is just so DAILY! Isn't
that the truth?!