Cole's birthday

Cole had a 1 year old birthday party. He had a blast at his. Sophie had even more fun opening all of Cole's presents.

Almost here

I have a confession to make. Jennifer and I like HSM (High School Musical, for those who don't know what that means). We first say HSM and HSM 2 over a year ago. They were cheesey and funny. These movies are permanently saved on our DVR.

The third installment is coming out soon. But alas, it's a theatrical release, rather than television like the first two. So I don't know when we'll get to see it. Oh well. Something to look forward to.

Go Wildcats (get your head in the game)!

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/highschoolmusical3/

The Great Pumpkin

It wasn't Charlie Brown and Linus....it's Sophie and Cole!

What a day! Actually it was only a little over an hour. It was sunny and bright (hence all the squinting). Sophie so wanted to help drive the tractor for the hayrides, but couldn't bring herself to be next to a stranger. So we settled for this rusty heap instead.

November 4th can't come fast enough

Only 25 days to go..... The end is almost in sight! Hallelujah.

I follow politics. I admit it. I've written to my congressman (Rep. DeFazio and I disagree about most things). I registered to vote before my 18th birthday. And I'm in the minority among my peers who grew up in Oregon to have actually voted at a polling location (has it been 13 years of vote-by-mail???).

I followed the presidential race going back almost two years since the first candidates announced themselves. Now, I have politics (and campaign) fatigue. I haven't even been able to bring myself to watch the any of the debates. The economy and the lousy Economic Stabilization Bill (aka The Bailout) have really made me sour on our government leaders.

The first of two state voter's guides arrived yesterday. Oh joy. In most cases I already know how I'm voting, but I usually have to study the ballot measures closely. I'm an self-admitted ideologue (conservative values) and tend to vote Republican. I'll be voting for McCain. I like the future prospects for the party with Gov. Palin and Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA.) gaining a lot of experience.

Standing Boy

This is my boy.

Cole is crawling like crazy. He likes to pull up to standing. And just yesterday, he began thinking it was fun to let go. Usually that involves a carefully controlled fall on his rump. This time it was 10 seconds of free standing!

This kid is reckless! He's out-of-control. I'm going to have to rein in this behavior.

Seriously, have you ever seen a kid so cute. He cried when I left for work today....aaaaaahhhhh. This evening, Sophie told me that "she liked me a little."

"How little?"

"This little." (showing me thumb and index finger pinched together so close only air molecules were getting through).

"But you love me, right?"

"Yes."

It's a Mommy Phase right now.

Jennifer ordered personalized Christmas stockings for our family now that we're complete. SOPHIA and DAD arrived today (MOM and COLE must be on back order).

Missions Update

This is a newsletter from my high school friend, Mason. He is a missionary in Papua New Guinea. Here's an update from them.

Click on the image for a larger view.

Paint Job

I haven't done too many of these since my college days....that is paint a room. I definitely haven't done it in my own house. Jennifer and I are pretty into our neutrals. But we gave Sophie's room a pink makeover.

She gave us this line after the work was done and she was supposed to be getting a bath, "my room is pink; my room is wonderful!"

When I see this much pink in a room, I think of the line from Steel Magnolia's (yes I've seen the movie - more than once - so drop it).

"What are your colors, Shelby?"

"My colors are blush and bashful."

"Her colors are pink and pink. It looks like the chapel's been hosed down with Pepto Bismol."

Sophie loves it and it's her pink room. We want to repaint the ceiling and Jennifer wants to do a stencil border on the wall.

Here's to pink rooms.

In closing, may I say GO RED SOX. They just beat L.A. (Anaheim) Angels 3-2 to advance to ALCS. Jed Lowrie of Salem, OR got the game-winning hit and RBI.