Whooooo! It's spoooky Halloween!

Can you tell which pumpkin was carved by Nicky and which by Walter?

We found a praying mantis next to our side door. Here are some pictures of it - have you ever seen one so big???

Oscar passed away last night after 18 grumpy but good years. He had been so lifeless on Wednesday that I was going to bring him into the vet when Craig returned from San Francisco. It was almost like he was waiting for Craig to get home... When Craig came in and scratched him behind the ears, Oscar lifted his head which was the most movement I had seen since lunch. Craig then took the girls to swim and I stayed with Oscar. About an hour later he was in my lap and took some noticeable breaths and then died. If you gotta go, that's the way to do it.... :(

I asked Maddy who she thought he was pestering this morning for a drink from the sink and she replied, "Oh - Mommy, he can drink from the bowl again!"

THE ROOM IS DONE! Well sort of - there are a few more projects, plus some decorating that needs to be completed, but they can move in! We patched all the holes from the electrical work (which was a terrible mess), then we painted. The girls were a great help with the painting. I did the cutting in and they did the paint rolling on the walls.








Here they are working on putting the bed together. Is Craig helping the girls or the girls helping Craig??????





















The finished room!











After all that hard work, we need a good night's sleep!

The much awaited picture of Katie with her brand new glasses! She says the world is much clearer now! :)

So here are pictures of the much awaited finished porch! Unfortunately, now we decided the tree needs to come down and then the landscaping needs to be reworked. Of course Craig would like to fix the ugly soffit & gutters as well.... One project just leads to the next in this house! :)