pumpkin carving gala 2006

Ok, so not so much a 'gala' per se, but definitely a fun time was had by all. Five women with pumpkin tools, cupcakes & cookies, and piles of pumpkin guts all the middle of the living room floor - awesome.

Mine (the one with the stars) is a bit of a switch from the 'Reformation Day' pumpkins of years past, but I figured the neighborhood folks here might not appreciate Latin phrases as much as the seminarians. :D

new house rule...

...according to Josh.

"Whoever lands the first strike gets dibs on clean-up."

Clean-up on the bug guts that is. >:p

(This picture of a camel cricket is not actual footage from our house, just a representative of one of the many ugly ones sneaking up from our basement. They're so darn fast too - ick.)


In other, happier, news....Julia is now the proud mom of two!!! Here are some of the beautiful pictures. Congratulations!!!

I found it!

Well, actually, Josh found it on youtube. I promise it wasn't there a few days ago, but this is the clip of the art gallery giant slides I saw on tv. Enjoy the flying Brits!

Oh, and we had to scrape our windshield this morning. Holy frijoles.

it's almost worth a trip to London.....

I saw this on BBC news yesterday - how cool! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track down a video clip yet, so this is the closest I can get.

the more you move, the more you learn :)

Did you know that Columbus Day is a major Italian-American holiday? Me neither, until we moved to a place with a very substantial Italian community. (Hence the great food available, as earlier mentioned.) The New York parade is televised here - and wow, these people are fierce about their heritage. Here's a short history, if you're interested....

I've also learned that Delaware is one of THE best places to enjoy fall. Not as cold as Grove City, where it's already freezing, and not as scorching as Mississippi where the leaves never turn. It's been awhile since I've lived somewhere with an actual fall - there's actually an apple tree covered with bright red apples right down the street! I have to say, I do miss the huge pecan trees at RTS and the afternoons shelling baskets and baskets of FREE pecans, but the crisp air here is a huge plus. I'll see if I can get some good pictures of the leaves changing for our friends still in the Deep South. :) (Or you can always road trip to see them yourselves - we only have a spare bedroom til February!)

Ok, about the 3-D pictures Josh has of the little bambino. It was actually part of my ultrasound, and apparently they all look a little alien at that stage since their skin is still transparent. (Check out some similar pictures at this cool website on fetal development.) So you're seeing a lot of skeletal and muscular structures. The bumps on the head are actually where the skull is fusing together! Cool in theory, but definitely alien looking.