And naturally with so much time having elapsed there were a few Jewish holidays in there too: Rosh Hashana (most of you got the New year card), Yom Kippur and Sukkot: The harvest festival and one of the regalim.
The boys get directions from Rabbi Lisa during our picnic in the sukkah. Micah shakes the lulav and holds the etrog: Micah follows along intently in his new preschool at TBT.
We mixed it up this year: 3 days at Montessori and 2 days at our temple's preschool which has after school enrichment like Spanish and soccer (that's Micah kicking it waaaay out of bounds):
And then there is just the mechanics of getting up everyday, getting three boys and a girl fed, clothed and out the door to their respective day cares, schools and offices (on time with lunches made adhering to each locations' dietary/ allergy restrictions).
Then afternoons with the boys after school: And bath time: And story time (in our newly painted front room): Evening wind down time with choo-choos (Choo Choos have begun with Levi) And finally bed!
Then there was the trip to Santa Cruz for the Chilean Fonda.
We made the rounds on my old haunts, including the harvest fair at Wilder Ranch State Park: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on a less than beachy day: Marianne's ice cream parlor, still there after 50 years and directly across the street from our hotel (score!)
What else did we do?...oh yea: I went to Ethiopia.
View of Addis Ababa from our office terrace: Me and the VSI crew in Addis: Emperor Selassie's tomb inside Trinity Cathedral: Me holding a "miso" baby from one of our project sites: Me on a site visit sharing photos from a teammates last visit: Mama and baby on their way up to the top of Mount Entoto (10,000 ft): Maryam Church at the top of Mt. Entoto, oldest in Addis and pilgrimage site for the weak, infirm, chronically ill or HIV + . A shanty town surrounds the sacred site full of worshipers.
And after over 24 hours of travel, I still made it home to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary:
Let's see what have we been up to? Most recently there was the school field trip to the painted pony farm. It was blissfully cold and dreary for these SoCal parts. I loved it. I actually felt like drinking hot apple cider which is a contrast to last year's pumpkin patch in the sweltering heat.
Levi contemplates feathers: Micah scores a Levi-sized pumpkin for our little pumpkin: Finding the perfect one: Cheep! Goes the chick: Snore! Goes Levi:
Ok, last we left you on the sunny shores of not-so-Buena Vista Lake. It is now Halloween (yikes!). We'll squeeze in a few posts before the clock strikes midnight to get our monthly average back up, but first the All Hallows Eve shot:
To infinity and beyond...Gotham.
And to make up for the fact that my eldest now gets to decide his own costume and mass-marketing prevailed, we present baby Napoleon Dynamite:
I have calculated that I have exactly 4 costumes to play with before they start to have opinions of their own. Look for gold leggings to feature prominently in Levi's costume next year. And yes, that is a hand drawn Liger on Levi's basket:
Micah follows along intently in his new preschool at TBT. 
We mixed it up this year: 3 days at Montessori and 2 days at our temple's preschool which has after school enrichment like Spanish and soccer (that's Micah kicking it waaaay out of bounds):
And story time (in our newly painted front room):
Me and the VSI crew in Addis:
Emperor Selassie's tomb inside Trinity Cathedral:
Me on a site visit sharing photos from a teammates last visit:
Maryam Church at the top of Mt. Entoto, oldest in Addis and pilgrimage site for the weak, infirm, chronically ill or HIV + . A shanty town surrounds the sacred site full of worshipers.
Micah scores a Levi-sized pumpkin for our little pumpkin:
Snore! Goes Levi:
To infinity and beyond...Gotham.
I have calculated that I have exactly 4 costumes to play with before they start to have opinions of their own. Look for gold leggings to feature prominently in Levi's costume next year. And yes, that is a hand drawn Liger on Levi's basket:
