Happy Halloween!

I've always enjoyed Halloween: the costumes, the fall leaves, the Halloween-themed treats. This year we decided to be the "Washburn Family Garden." Adam was the gardener, Allison was a flower, Jared was a bug, and I had "a pea in the pod." Grandma Washburn made the kids' darling costumes, of course. Adam and I scrounged for ours... but the overall effect was fun.

This year Halloween seemed to last a full week: on Tuesday we carved our pumpkins. On Wednesday Jared's preschool did their costume parade and "trick-or-treating" to the high school classrooms. On Friday our ward had its Halloween party, complete with chili cookoff and chemistry magic show in the fire pit out back. Saturday we'll do a special trick-or-treating night, arranged with 19 of our other Mormon neighbors living at Winfield Village. And Sunday we'll have friends over for the traditional Dickson flaming-eyes ghost cake (I made one last week as well, for Adam to bring to his chemistry lab group meeting).

Isn't that owl cool? Adam carved it, upon Jared's request.

Now that Halloween is over, can anyone tell me what to do with all this candy the kids have collected? Add it to the stash left over from last year, I guess!

Jared's First Day of Preschool

All summer long, the promise of preschool has been motivating Jared to get potty trained. Back then, preschool seemed so far away. But dream finally became reality, and this Tuesday Jared went to his first day of preschool.

Jared's first words when he woke up on Tuesday morning were, "Is it preschool day?" He eagerly ate breakfast, found his backpack, got dressed, and waited for 9:00 when we could leave. We found a parking spot behind a familiar van and, both sporting backpacks, Jared and his friend Spencer walked across the street together for their first day of school.

The entryway was full of children and parents--many of them returning for another semester and some of them new to preschool. Jared was ready to forge straight through the crowd and into the main school room (we had come together once last spring to observe, and I think he must have remembed the cool toys). I pulled him back to greet his teacher, and she asked him to find his name by his cubby, which he quickly did. We tucked his backpack away and pinned on his name badge. At my request, he gave me a big hug and a kiss, and then ran off to join the other kids.

The program Jared is attending is one run by a local high school's child development classes. The head teacher is great, and the kids get a lot of attention from the high school students. I'd estimate that 2/3 of the children are LDS--and nearly all of those are from our ward. So Jared already has lots of friends. But we're still encouraging him to make new ones.

I'm a little sad that Jared is growing up so fast. But then again, he is so excited about preschool that it's hard not to be excited with him. I'm glad that he adapts well to new environments and enjoys new places and new people. And I'm glad that we found a good school for him to attend, with a great teacher and classmates who I know will be a good influence on him.

Adam's New Do

Some people crave change. They change jobs every few years, switch out their wardrobe every other season, and rearrange the layout of their living room every few months. But not Adam. And his hair is a prime example. Recently he informed me that he has had two “major” changes in hairstyle over the past ten years. The first was on his mission when he began using gel to part his hair. And the second was when he succumbed to my feminine persuasions and grew sideburns while we were dating. Big changes indeed. (I guess like marries like: the last time I changed my hairstyle was right after high school.)

But this week Adam made the fourth and most drastic change of all...

...Before

Under the trimmer...

All done! No more hair!

People's reactions to Adam's summer cut varied, but the strongest was Allison's. Since I cut Adam's hair at night, and since he left for work before Allison woke up the next morning, she didn't get to see the new hair cut until the next evening, when we met Adam at a lab social event. Adam ran up to greet us and reached out to take Allison, but she would have nothing to do with him. She just scowled at him and clung tighter to me. Rejected by his own daughter. So that was the only downside of the hair cut. But since then Allison has gotten used to it, and now when Adam comes home from work she grins and pats her head. Then he bends down and she feels his hair and laughs.

Jared turns 3

Jared turned three this month, and we gave him a Lightening McQueen birthday party. We invited ten friends, all of whom were able to attend, and held the party in the Winfield Village community room. (Somehow the echoes and wide open spaces of that room inspire little kids with the irresistible desire to run, jump, and yell. Jared is a prime example. Thus it was the perfect place for an exciting--albeit somewhat crazy--birthday party.)

We started with a story, "Lightening McQueen Helps His Friends."

Then we did a bean bag toss and "obstacle course."

Next we got some dirty Hotwheels cars from Mater's junkyard and gave them a...

carwash!

(Allison enjoyed the car wash too.)

We concluded the games with a "Ghost Light" pinata.

Cake is always a winner (a little drippy from the humidity).

Jared had fun crawling in the bean bag toss. Happy 3rd birthday!

Mr. and Mrs. Yancey

On Friday, April 23, Lori and Matt got married! They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple and had a reception in Provo that evening. It was great to be there with Adam... thanks to his parents, who babysat our kids for three days while we were in Utah! We stayed at the Armstrong Mansion in Salt Lake City and walked to the temple for the sealing the next morning. (It was a great getaway... happy early fifth anniversary to us!)

Here are just a few of the many lovely wedding photos.

P.S. Note the amazing veil, bouquet, and wedding cake that my mom made. She's amazing!

Easter, General Conference, and a Spice Rack

Our family enjoyed a great Easter/General Conference weekend in Bolingbrook with Adam's parents. The kids played with Grandma's toys, roasted marshmallows at the fire pit, rode bikes, found Easter baskets, and hunted for eggs! The warm weather was great, and Jared and Allison got along famously with their grandparents. Oh, and watching Conference was great too because the kids had lots of different toys to play with and a new play space, so that kept them entertained while we adults listened.

Another great surprise was that Adam made me a spice rack! Both he and his dad spent time between sessions in the basement workshop, and they emerged with an elegant and very useful spice rack. No more rifling through a hodge podge cupboard of spice bottles! Hooray!

Scientist in the Making

It's a heartwarming and familiar scene: a father and son snuggled up a rocking chair, reading a bedtime story together. But Jared and Adam aren't read Goodnight Moon or the Three Little Bears or even Where the Wild Things Are. No, every night before bed Jared makes his familiar request and the two pour over their favorite bedtime story: The Elements.


Complete with high-gloss pages and detailed photography, The Elements presents a visual exploration of every known element--from hydrogen to neptunium. I bought the book as a gift for Adam (chemistry PhD candidate) last Christmas. But ever since Jared saw the cover and noticed that iodine bears a striking resemblance to strawberry yogurt, he's been hooked. And Daddy couldn't be more pleased. So, for the time being, my little two-year-old is content to slip into dreamworld each night with images of nickle, zync, and barium dancing through his head. A scientist in the making? Only time will tell.



Not to be outdone, Allison has been working on some tricks of her own--in the language department (winks from Mommy). She seems to have a natural knack for repeating sounds and picking up on words we say. Over the past three days she's learned to say "ball," "please," and "bubble." Add that to Mommy, Daddy, more, uh-oh, thank you, touch, and cracker, and she can say ten words! She's also learned her first color: purple. I taught her to say the word, and the same night at bedtime she crawled over to a pile of colored blocks, grabbed a purple one, held it out to us, and said, "pur-ple!" A linguist in the making? Mommy hopes so!