Hallowe’eny Goodness

Greetings, all. It’s that time again. Fall is in the air. Or, at least, it should be. currently, i sit typing while the very non-November sun comes streaming through the windows, making photo editing challenging, if not impossible. But, in any case, (wow, do i love the commas today) what you will be served today is a scrumptious potpourri of harvesty loveliness.

Beginning with gourds.

These graced the table last night at the Koch’s.
And these, our own creations,
Edmund’s

(agatha carved this one completely by herself)
lastly, the piece de resistance:


(there’s a reason my nickname is Jennifer “A Bit Much” Milley.)

Next, we have the Annual “Crazy Hat and Hair Day” photo:

As mentioned previously, we spent All Hallow’s Eve avec les Kochs and their lovely children:

The Milley contingent went as a selection of characters from…see if you can guess:

a fantastic time was had by all, leaving everyone sugar-sated and tuckered out.

and, a last one, just b/c i can’t resist the cuteness, Cindy Lou Who poses for her close-up:

Question o’ the Trick or Treaty Day: What’s your favourite Hallowe’en treat?

Housecleaning

An apt title for today, as I am both avoiding the task in my actual abode, but managing to do some organizing and resizing of photos here on the computer. I give a random assortment of photos from the summer so far.


Waterpark fun

Cooling down in the creek at mes parents’

a rare, if slightly blurry, photo of my camera-shy sister


rollin’ rural style

my handsome husband, in an inadvertent send-up of the James Dean photo

me as flowerchild

the trees at the top of my parents’ hill (which i am apparently obsessed with)

Question o’ the day: What is your most memorable summer 09 moment (so far)?

quick, now…

name your favourite dessert.

(i just got to share some of mine at bacchus. the lovely ladies and i split some: white choc. creme brulee, triamisu, freshly churned espresso ice cream and a choc/hazelnut croquant–definitely a new fav. aren’t i a lucky girl?)

Breakin’ it down, facebook-style.

Jennifer is fascinated by the remains of the wasp nest her husband so valiantly destroyed last night. posted Jul 11 2009

Jennifer is with her family at her daughter’s teacher’s wedding. posted jul 11 2009

Jennifer is enjoying dinner, champagne, and great company at the Kochs’ new house. posted Jul 12 2009

clearly, i sometimes miss me the “facey bookey”.  and what of you?  what is your current ’status’?

Summer feet.

ever since i was a wee’un, i have been mildly obsessed with my feet. perhaps it is because they are freakishly skinny, often the only part of me able to lay claim to that descriptor. in any case, there is a moment, a moment that happens only once every few years, where my humble toesies become the perfect symbol for a perfect summer.

this year, it’s made even better by the addition of friendship anklets (or, “piglet anklets” as edmund calls them). agatha made mine herself.

A perfect summer, you say? What makes it a perfect summer?  Well, this:

several hilarious and mostly successful rounds of scrabble,

baking and craft sessions just me and the kiddies,

down time,

day trips with cousins,

water fun of all kinds,

and Canada Day cuteness.

As a sidenote, i love how a gallery of photos distills the fun times, making them far outshine the regular bumps and hiccups of daily life.

Now, we’re back, and into the thick of our first summer of lessons.  Just swimming and yoga, mind you, but the first sessions where both the children are occupied at the same time.

so, now that you’re overwhelmed with photos, a Question O’ the Day:

what makes a summer perfect?

testing my resolve

today i assembled  the cake for edmund’s third birthday party.  it did not go as planned.  in fact, as you are about to see, it had some serious structural and artistic difficulties.  nevertheless, since i am dedicated to bringing you an authentic version of my life (smirk), i have recorded the various foibles and mishaps in a timelapse.  fortunately, there is no voiceover (i hope you like the track i chose instead).  though, if you look carefully, you might notice the air turning slightly blue at certain junctures in the protracted procedure. to jaegen, i have offered several apologies for my foul mood as i wrangled with the fondant behemoth.  however, enough with the inelegant preamble.  i give you:  ChocolateFondantCastleCake2009

(you’ll note that, despite my whinging, edmund and his cousins were quite pleased with the result.  this, i suspect, has much more to do with the liberal helpings of jello, and sprinklings of candy, than with the structure itself.)

Question o’ the day:  what is your favourite kind of birthday cake (or treat)?

4 things that give me joy.

From edmund’s birthday on friday:

From this weekend:

from today:

Question O’ the day:  What’s warming your heart these days?

MayLongWeekendFamilyFestExtravaganza 2009

Here’s a whole set of photos from the long weekend, which we spent at Keats. The weather was great (for a Vancouver May long weekend) and i even mistakenly crisped like a lizard on Sunday. (In fact, am still a bit sore. i always forget how intense the sun is at this time of year).  The writing for this post will be some what abbreviated, since the children are beginning (quel suprise) to resent the fact that i’ve spent half an hour on the computer.  of course, with small people that’s not an unbroken half hour, of course, but one punctuated by, “Did you fill your shorts again?” and, “Mom, I can’t find the hairbrush,” and, “Mom, do you want to see our magic show now?”  (about 10 times in 5 minutes).  anyhoo, here are the photos:

what a lovely thing to have a professional photographer in the fam.

Here agatha shows us her “Fruit Compromise”, as she terms it–it’s not a most desirable “fruit stick”, but it is dried fruit.
Moses discovered the fun of a playpen this weekend, and my children discovered the joy of making adults put them in and out of it to “play with Moses”. Or, in this case, “bake” him, as Edmund declared, waving the drool-covered spatula.
self-explanatory.
Crab catching at Salmon Rock.
and, last, my attempt at a Baby-and-Mummy portrait. aren’t they the loveliest?
so, there you have it. we are truly grateful (thanks, Milley Parents) to have such a wonderful place to escape to.

tune in tomorrow, when Jenn returns to gripe about her life in a most detailed and cantankerous fashion.

Question o’ the day: what’s your favourite beach activity? should I clarify, and say “favourite legal-in-most-countries” beach activity”? i’m awaiting your answers.

As promised

I am here posting some photos. It’s going to be a big post, so prepare yourselves, and be patient with your browser.

Up first, some soccer moments captured by a proud and bemused father:

Our lovely Garden Park, home of Soccer Mania. And last but not least, the most important tradition:
The Halftime Orange. Must confess, due to a complete ignorance of team sportage, I had no idea what this was, until I was recently enlightened. I still have no idea as to the origins of the ritual–refueling, team-building, a defense against scurvy….?

Next in the docket, some pics (does anyone else loathe that shortened word as i do?) from our visit to Aurora’s abode. Still loving the manual focus on the portrait lens:
oh, the bette davis eyes on that one…

who doesn’t love trying on the guests’ shoes?

Still more to come.  Friday was Agatha’s first Sports Day, and from what I observed, it looked like a giant FunFest for all involved.  Here she is in one of the relays:

And here, skipping to the Final Tally of Points:

Not done yet.  Here is a final one for THIS post, stay tuned for another whole post about the long weekend:

My Weekend: A Photo Essay

Intrepid explorers, we set off looking like this:

This was the view from our room (photocredit: Jaegen Milley):

There was a lot of this:

this:

and playing on this (photo by jaegen):

and on these:

It was all hosted by these fantastically generous people:

and

The rest of the crew:

What a place! (Barnabas, Keats Island, that is)

pond photo by jaegen, too…i think our photography styles are really working together, don’t you?