Crepe Morning

I treated Ed to a tasty breakast at the French Twist Creperie in Sykesville this morning. He earned his meal by helping me move some chairs at the church before breakfast.

It was a beautiful day to wander around downtown Sykesville. It has a lot of charm with the railroad and the river. As always, part of the fun was trying to get into the picture before the automatic timer goes off! Ten seconds is barely enough time to climb into a caboose!

A June Day in October

June and I had some catching up to do after her trip to Texas and mine to Utah. We visited while we made snacks to take to our visiting teachees this morning. We may have eaten a few candy corns, as well...

After delivering the snacks I helped June pair her phone to her car. She is now hands free! Help her try it out. She's waiting for your call!

Fall in!

It;s fall in Maryland, and we're enjoying the colors. Even a trip to Costco is a thrill when you get to enjoy this scenery along the way.

The pathways at McDaniels college are full of them. It makes going to German class even more fun. I love fall. I'll pretend it doesn't mean winter is coming!

Trunk or Treat

Ed and I went to the ward Trunk or Treat tonight dressed as a spider and a fly. We even decorated our van with spider lights.

The Tates had brought some fantastic Jack-O-Lanterns which added a lot to the ambiance.

The children enjoyed watching the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown movie when they had their fill of candy.The weather was nice enough to sit out on the grass and not be cold!

The decorating competition was stiff, but the Warnocks won the best trunk competition for their five little monkeys jumping on the bed. The doctor handed out candy.

The Warnocks only have two little monkeys, but they also went home with "Skully," our new travelling trophy. They get to proudly display Skuylly on their mantel till next year, when he is again up for grabs. So start planning your trunk now!

Baby, Cats and Dog

We dropped by yesterday on the way to the airport to say goodbye to baby Mabel. Her grandpa had fallen in love with her instantly. We'll miss her.

Find the cats in this picture! (Hint: there are more than two.) We love Brittany and John's new house, which has a lot of room for the animals and people to spread out. Here they are congregating.

We got home at midnight, so this morning I went over to pick up Coda from Kay and Lenny's house. She was happy to see me (and I her), but she had a good time at the farm while we were gone!

Mabel's Blessing

This was Mabel's special day. Her father gave her a name and a blessing in church today. She wore a beautiful white dress made by Aunt Annette 32 years ago for Brittany's blessing.

Annette was able to be here to see the dress again and admire her handiwork. Mabel was lucky to have both sets of grandparents, Aunt Amanda, and Great Aunt Annette and Great Uncle Kent be here to support her today.

Afterwards we gathered at Brittany and John's house for carnitas, rice, beans, cookies and pie. Grandma Melzer made a lot of the food, despite the fact that she wasn't feeling well enough to come to the party.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, and Amanda and Brittany took Mabel out in the swing in the afternoon. Mabel couldn't tell them apart. They look enough alike that she was okay with either one of them.

Aunt Crystal was with us in spirit, and sat briefly with Mabel in the swing.

Roo is now my favorite cat. He is so cuddly. Monkey is out of favor, as she bit me and drew blood. I gave her the cold shoulder after that, which seemed to suit her just fine.

I was happy to have Amanda there and had her proof read my German assignment. I wrote a news article about Mabel's blessing for class on Tuesday.

I talked Brittany and John into singing for us. Mabel also seemed to enjoy the music. Good thing, because I see a lot of it in her future!

Sundance and Amanda

Ed and John worked on draining the sprinkler system this morning. There is a lot to learn after you purchase a house.

Later we drove up to Sundance, where Brittany and John had their wedding reception 4 years ago. The rain kept us from hiking, but we enjoyed lunch in the restaurant there.

We took the scenic Alpine loop home. There was just enough color left to make it a pretty drive.

Brittany and I husked the ground cherries, That was a bit labor intensive. I'm hoping she has time to make a pie out of them before tomorrow.

Amanda flew in from Minneapolis tonight. She wanted to see little Mabel,  but was a little afraid she didn't know how to hold her. "Watch the head," Ed would say.

When Mabel is taken we just have to accept second best at the Nuttall house. Ed got lots of love today from Skimbalshanks!

Work and Play

We had saved some chores for Ed, and were glad when he arrived last night. The best thing of all is a new door handle and lock on Grandma's front door. Grandma herself had the secret hip thrust down to open the front door. Not so much her children and grandchildren. We'll be glad to be able to get in and out without jiggling the handle and pushing the door closed.

We spent a lot of time with Mabel today. I sang "Have I Told you Lately that I Love you" to her. She loves music, naturally!

John stole my camera and took a few cat pictures. They sure love all the places they can hide in the new house!

We took Mabel out for her first Pho dinner. She didn't have anything to eat, but look how well she holds her head up! It is amazing!

Grandma ate more Pho than Mabel, but not much. She had enough leftovers for two or three more meals!

Ed has missed getting baby girl cuddles, and slipped right back into the good old days. Mabel enjoyed laying on his tummy!

Mabel is at her best during bath time. She likes the water hot, just like her mom and grandma! It was so fun watching her that even Roo had to get in on the action!

Getting Ready for Grandpa Ed

Brittany and I cleaned the patio and the study this morning  before stopping off at J Dawgs for a tasty polish dog. Mabel slept through it.

We went for a short walk along the Provo River Walkway, which I never knew existed. Apparently, it goes way up into the canyon, as well as through town! Who knew?

We stopped by at  Brittany's old house to harvest some of her garden.

My job was picking up all the ground cherries. I had never seen one before in my life! They were a bit sour, but rather tasty.

The carrots had gotten out of control!

Ed arrived from Baltimore in the late afternoon. He was so excited to see Mabel! She was pretty interested in him, as well!

We ate in for a change (okay it was Blackjack pizza, but I did make a salad).

We have a big day planned tomorrow, so I hope Mabel and her mom get a lot of sleep toighht!

A Productive Day at Brittany's House

Brittany and I spent the morning sorting the contents of boxes in her living room and basement. We were so proud of ourselves that we went to lunch at Zupa's cafe in the afternoon.  It was just like being at Panera, with good soups and salads. Plus, they give free chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert!

I love the amount of light in Brittany and John's new home. Apparently, the cats and the baby love it, too. They all lined up to catch some rays this afternoon.

The living room looked so nice when we finished clearing out the boxes. The musical instruments around the fireplace added the final touch.

I went back to Grandma's house for a well deserved rest. I finished my blog and am curling up on the couch with cousin Nikki's latest book, Refine (by Nichole Van). It wraps up everything from the first three books, and I'm enjoying it immensely!

I'm looking forward to seeing Ed tomorrow and introducing him to Mabel.

Broomfield Gals

I drove up to Broomfield and went out to lunch and met the Twisted Sisters at Ookas, a new Asian restaurant. I also invited Coreen, who is moving to western Colorado next month. We had a lot to catch up on, especially Lori's love life, which is blossoming! We were all so happy for her!

We had some fun fortunes! I liked both of these.

We walked next door to Good Times for some ice cream afterwards. Any excuse just to talk more! It was just like being at band practice--very little music went on there, either.

I flew to Utah this afternoon to spend some time with Mabel, who is now holding her head up by herself! She also smiles and laughs when her parents make goofy faces at her. She can't wait to meet Grandpa Ed on Thursday!