I'll Show You Which Pumpkin Patch is Most Sincere!

Of the countless gorgeous Autumn days we've enjoyed, it wasn't too hard to pick the best of the lot to head WAY up north of Denver to Anderson Farms for all the pumpkin patch joy we could stand, and we weren't disappointed. Obviously, there were pumpkins galore, plus corn mazes, hay wagon rides, the feeding of various critters, and on and on. The kids were in germ heaven, and it was a banner day for hand sanitizer and Claritin for all.
My kids rarely surprise me, or do things that are out of character (maybe a sign that I spend too much time in their faces?)...these pix of them and the pumpkins they love are just so typical of them as individuals. This shot is just Eve all over...can't put words to it, but don't you think so?

In real life, Gracie is a smiler, but no so much with a camera pointed at her. She managed to take a nosedive in a haybale maze and scraped a few good lines and imbed even more gashes in her forehead, just days before our scheduled Christmas pictures. Of course! She's got that great sense of timing in common with all of her siblings.

Ty Cool, master of all he surveys.

And Shane. Would any post be complete without a shot like this of Mr. Bo-Baney?

Grace and the Yak...seconds before he/she/it slimed her hand, I warned her not to touch her eyes afterwards. As I'm reminding her the second time, she turns around, wiping her open palm into her eye and asking "What did you say?" Awesome! Didn't take but an hour for her eye to be leaking...whatever it was leaking. And don't forget the joy of taking your three-year-old to the porta-potty and having her pick up the urinal cake for you to identify and examine...like I said, it was a germy, bordering on nasty, day, which they all just loved like nothing else.

Summertime Rolls

A little Jane's Addiction to begin the new posting session...and thus we see that Perry Ferrell et al. had the right idea: summertime rolls on, and right out of our lives. Sigh.
The Crawfords spent our last day of summer vacation in Heritage Square, riding all the fun rides in beautiful Golden, CO, nestled against the scenic foothills of the Rockies. Sigh.
So our glorious season is over. Every spring I worry about the yawning chasm of time the kids will be home, but each summer gets more and more blissful, and right about the time these pictures were taken, I was just a little brokenhearted to see it end, again. (Mother of the Year, anyone?) The great recompense is that football season is begun! A big shout-out, as usual, to Payton Manning, but a bigger one to my 2-0 Broncos, and you've gotta be thrilled with the Cougars!

Hey, Teacher: Leave Them Kids Alone!

Gracie's first project: the time-tested, crowd-pleasing, easy-to-explain family poster.
Ty's 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Strange (who's not, but consider the source), has a mad obsession for all things bovine, hence this project. Matt applauds his oldest son's loyalty to his hometown allegiances, and I'm just hoping not to be run out of town: Where's the Rockies paraphenalia, boy?

Shaney's self-portait, 'natch.

Much like Mrs. Strange, Shane's kinder teacher, Mrs. Adams, has a fondness for bears. So...

What is this "Free Time" of which you speak?

Pinch me, wouldja? All four Crawford kids in some form of schooling,

five days a week? Stop the madness!

Gracie, all set to charm the socks off of the staff and fellow students of the City of Castle Rock's very own Adventure Club preschool. Dy-no-mite!

Eve (4th grade), Ty (2nd) and Shane (K), all set to invade Douglas County's newest elementary school. Yes indeedy, they are Clear Sky Bison, and Bison proud! As long as weather permits, we're walking, biking or scootering to school for the first time ever. Oh, joy!
Oh, if I only had more pix like these of Shane! Oh, wait, I do.

I warned you previously about my jones for pictures of kids on playground equipment. But I love this for the theme element: Eve and Ty, wearing Clear Sky gear, on Clear Sky Way, at Clear Sky Elementary, on a clear sky play structure, against a Clear Sky backdrop. Serendipitous!

Calling all ABBA fans: We've found the Dancing Queen

Guess who's taking some time off from swim team?

Just to de-chlorinate her hair and wow a new set of people

with those legs that just seem to go on forever.

Seriously. Look at those legs. Is she Matt's kid or what?
Evie, sporting the elegance only a "Space Chimps"
temporary cheek tattoo can lend.

Tiny Dancer

The best thing about pregnancy, next to receiving your initial test results, is the ultrasound(those may be the only two good things about the process)...you hear you're being blessed with a girl, and these are the kinds of visions that run through your head.

OK, maybe not this particular vision.
Even if she shows no feminine inclinations a few years down the road, you can't resist putting your princess in ballet class. Especially yummy: when your sweet girl eats it up as readily as Gracie does. She's just a diva in nice-girl clothing, a prima ballerina who'd rather sit than not walk on her tippy-toes. Now she's in me, always with me...

I Get A Kick Outta You

With all apologies to our hero Don Henley (save Walden Pond!), here's the bitter truth

of what exactly happens after the Boys of Summer have gone...

All suburban kids go to the soccer fields, eating up their family's Saturdays in abominable ways.

I said, can I get a witness?

And yet, to have them work their ya-ya's out and get photos like this? Priceless. The boy's got MAD SKILLZ!

Ah, Shane, in his natural environment and behavioral pattern.
Also priceless: To be a fly on the wall (or grass) and hear the particular conversation that elicits such a response.

Shane on the field reminds me of the Detroit Pistons' Bill Laimbeer (oh, so, back in the day); he's all muscle and interference, a bit of jogging here and there, and pure power to the net. If it weren't so dang expensive, I'd swear I ought to play him as linebacker for football instead.