This was yesterday

Today it's supposed to be in the 50s, so all of this probably will melt. It's a good thing, too, since I have to go to Omaha tomorrow. I know those of you who were jealous of my trip to Tulsa are going to have even bigger issues with Omaha, but you'll get over it.

Yes, that's a horse dressed as a lion

Yesterday Laura and I went to Halloween with Horses at the Colorado Horse Park. One of the more interesting activities was the costume contest. We didn't see the earlier rounds -- there were age groups -- but among those who were in the finals, the Chronicles of Narnia entry was Laura's favorite.
Photo-taking was complicated by the shiny state of the arena, the result of two inches of overnight snow that had melted by the time we got there -- at least in the areas that anyone would want to walk.

Added later: a better view of the horse/lion:

Help! I've become like Dad!

This morning as I was getting Laura ready for church, I realized I couldn't find the little chainlink belt that goes with her skirt. I knew it had been in her jewelry box, but there was no sign of it. She insisted she hadn't done anything with it, which obviously wasn't the case.
"You want me to believe that it sprouted legs and walked away?" I asked.
As I left the room -- before she said that yes, it had -- I realized I sounded like Dad.

It's 24 degrees outside, but our jack o' lantern is nice and cozy

In the refridgerator.

Kevin's trip to Washington

After he was done with the Foreign Service test, Kevin had time to goof off and such. One of the places he went was the National Gallery.

A look back at Miami

This was the view from my hotel room in Miami. I should have posted it days ago, but I kept forgetting to download the photos, and then Kevin took the camera to Washington.
But now, since it's supposed to snow tonight, I'd like to go back to a warm place.

How hard will it be to move a piano to Zimbabwe?

This morning, we got our neighbors' piano. This afternoon, Kevin called from Washington to say he'd just passed the next part of the Foreign Service exam.
So, I've delayed buying living room furniture until we found out about the Foreign Service, but now we have a piano instead. It's a console and thus not huge, but still.

Do all these things make our lives better?

Today I volunteered in Laura's kindergarten class. An actor playing Johnny Appleseed came to visit. Johnny said that in his day, there weren't electic lights and central heat and such. He asked Dustin, one of the boys in the class who was trying to explain thermostats, whether modern conveniences make our lives better.
"Well, yeah," he said.
Of course, most of the questions the class asked weren't really questions but were statements. Such as, "We have cubbies. We put our stuff in them."

Florida. Again.

I'm leaving this morning for an ACES board meeting in Miami. Now none of you can say I didn't tell you where to find me.

Doesn't everyone need a crystal-encrusted alligator?

The Neiman Marcus Christmas Book is out. I'm not crazy about the $100,000 backyard water park, but there definitely are some interesting things in there

A weekend pal, a week late

Last weekend, Laura got to bring her class' Pal -- a stuffed bear -- home for the weekend. They have to write a report on what he did and draw a picture of some event. This was her take on the two of them waving bye to me when I left for work last Friday.