halloween revisited

for halloween, little girl really wanted to be a princess.  more specifically, of the disney variety.  mr. pike and i have never embraced the disney culture -- only because so many little girls seem to get to obsessed with princesses.

well, little girl is obsessed.  and all without seeing most disney movies.  so when she made her request to be sleeping beauty or rapunzel for halloween, she gave two reasons. (1) they're both nice princesses.  (2) they both wear modest dresses.

i thought that was an impressive argument for a four-year-old.  so, we let her have her dress.

little boy was a pirate (which suited him, since he spent much of the night trying to steal his sister's or the trick-o-treating candy).  and in the spirit of crafter bloggers and pinterest enthusiasts everywhere, i made his costume.  with the help of walmart, which supplied the sweatpants and t-shirt.

finding a happy place

it's been a while since we blogged about life at the pike house.

in an effort to forget the craziness of dumping spices in a cup, unwinding a spool of thread and roll of toilet paper, knocking over a lamp and breaking it, along with screaming games of tag in the house and fights for toys -- and this is just this morning -- i decided to find a happy moment to remember.

this was one of those perfect days.  mr. pike and i took the kids up to lake erie at the end of august. the day was not too hot, but warm enough with a slight breeze.  the kids played in the sand and splashed in the water.  

little girl and little boy were delightful.  they often talk about going back to the beach, and i'm kicking myself why we didn't go up there earlier in the summer.  we could have had many weekends of sand, sunshine, and joy.  

now we have something to look forward to for next summer.  and a perfect memory to get me through the day -- or at least until nap time. 

go bucs, go!

mr. pike called me at 4:30 p.m. and surprised us with free tickets ($0) to that night's pirates' game.
the kids and i hadn't been yet, so we jumped at the chance to root for the home team!

i love the pnc ballpark.  it sits right on the allegheny river, overlooking the city.  and it was
a beautiful night!  the castle-like building on the right is where mr. pike's office is located.

once i got downtown with the kids, we crawled through game traffic and found a parking spot ($12).
i could smell that little boy needed a diaper change before meeting up with mr. pike.  it was a blow
out, out the side of his leg.  and his shorts were benched, and little boy went pantless to the game.
and couldn't have been happier.  (he'd prefer to be without clothes most days.)

mr. pike did buy little boy some new pirates pjs ($20).  (because he couldn't find a pair of replacement
shorts.)  but little boy didn't want to wear them at the game.  so we focused on watching the game instead.
and eating the game snacks that mr. pike bought. ($15)

the popcorn and nachos were really salty.  and little girl really, really wanted ice cream.
so, i searched the ballpark for ice cream and drinks ($13).  and then everyone was happy again.

on the way back to the car, i realized we left our new umbrella ($22) that little girl had brought.
so, our free tickets cost us $82.  but we had a great time!  it was the best ballgame we've seen with the kids.  

grocery shopping

little boy isn't much for sitting in the cart.  most shopping trips, i'm carrying him
and pushing the cart.  or i'm chasing him, when he's wriggled out of my grip.

but on this occasion, he did sit in the cart. (a tender mercy!)
and he found something to pass the time.

a shirt full of potatoes makes for a bumpy tummy.

and a happy boy.  (and mom!)

peaches

we met some friends at a local farm to pick peaches.

and we picked a lot of peaches.

i spent saturday canning peaches and making strawberry kiwi jam.
since i was canning alone, while mr. pike kept tabs on the kiddies, i only canned 5 jars of peaches.
it always feels like you've done a lot of work for not many jars.  but i have more peaches waiting on me.
and i think i'll go back to the farm next week and get some more.  even though it's a lot of work,
in december i'll be so happy to have yummy fresh peaches.

after picking peaches, we played with the animals.

we took a particular liking to this goat.  and i think she liked us.

heaven on earth

one of mr. pike's favorite places on earth is on henry's fork of the snake river in island park, idaho.  he grew up spending a week or two at his grandparents' cabin playing with cousins, hiking nearby trails, fishing for trout, floating down the river, exploring yellowstone.  it was heaven.

now it's becoming that place for our little girl and boy.  mr. pike missed this year's trip to the cabin, but the kids thoroughly enjoyed every minute.  especially getting a chance to explore the river.

here are some moments from our time there this summer.

henry's fork 

floating the river with aunts and cousins

little boy touching uncle j's big catch

at the starting line of the cousins' race

river walking

looking for guppies

when it's hot outside

we stay wet

or learn to bowl