Happy October!! It must be time to break out the kraut and the beer - good Oktoberfest :) The weather was unusually warm today - I think they said that the high was 86. It's day like these, that we all know to expect, that keep us from completely packing away the shorts yet. Unfortunately, these late warm days aren't without their bothers - notably the no-see-ums that bite like no other, the bees, and the asian lady beetles. Still, it is good to have the sunshine and warmth, especially good as there's no guarantee as to how long it will last.

Olivia and I walked up to school tonight to register her for girl scouts. While there are many benefits to having a small school, it also makes it difficult to have enough girls to form a girl scout troop. Last year we registered her and paid the dues, but they didn't end up having enough girls to form a troop. They said that we could take her to Cedar Falls or Waverly to join one of their troops, but how convenient would that be? This year they are putting all of the girls 1st through 5th grade together. I'm glad - it will mean a larger, more sustainable group and more activities for them. Tomorrow night we get to meet the leader - bless her heart!!! - and get information about selling cookies. Olivia is very excited to sell cookies. I'm very excited to buy cookies :)

I leave a week from tomorrow for San Diego. The compulsive list maker is already chomping at the bit. Never having flown before, I'm a little bit anxious about what to expect and what to pack. It sounds like the weather there has been in the 70's with lows in the 60's. That should make for fairly easy packing. The hotel has a hot tub, so you can be sure that I'll be packing my swimsuit!

This weekend we will head to Dubuque to visit with my parents and check out the pumpkin farm. Elliott says that she remembers going last year - hard to say for sure - but I'm sure she's going to have even more fun this year.

Olivia had her friend Megan spend the night on Friday. They had a good time and even went to sleep after the second warning. All in all a good night. I'm somewhat amazed at the difference in perspectives regarding sleep overs. When you're a kid - they are so much fun - you can't believe how stingy your parents are about the frequency of letting you have friends spend the night. When you're the parent - the tables are completely turned. You can't believe what a pain in the keester sleep overs are! Kids keeping you up way later than your usual bedtime (no comments from the peanut gallery please), changing their plan on where they're going to sleep in the middle of the night, and then crabbier than all get out the next day because they got no sleep. Gosh I sound like a sour puss!!!

We went to the daycare birthday party open house on Saturday. It's hard to believe that the new building has only been open for a year. In many ways we are so accustomed to it and spoiled by it. It's nice to have a building that was designed for the function it serves. They have a playground build day scheduled for October 21st. Please keep your fingers crossed for good weather - and let me know if you would be interested in helping. From what I understand, it will be much like a habitat for humanity event and we can use all of the helping hands we can get!

After the birthday party open house we stopped at Walmart. Sugey got a new pink sweater :) I think it's a little on the small side, but it was the biggest doggie sweater I've ever seen and it was only five bucks - so what if there is no way on God's green earth that we would ever be able to get her back legs through the leg straps!! She is awfully cute in it :) Not that we're making her wear it on 86 degree days - not even I am that mean!!! We also got a replacement fish - a betta that Olivia has named Rainbow Fish. Chris has made it his mission to keep this fish alive - he's quite serious about testing the water and making sure that it's absolutely perfectly balanced before we transfer Rainbow Fish into the aquarium. This is another one of those child/adult moments - I don't remember fish being such a pain in the keester when I was a kid...

Let me just say it now - I love you mom and dad :) :) :)