Yup, we're that kind of pet parents.

Okay, check out these cuties! This year, Ira and Enoch were firefighters. They love wearing the firefighter dress up at the children's museum so hopefully this is a costume that gives us some future play time too! They were SO cute! I'm thinking of taking photos of Ira in his firefighter costume every month and making a calendar. If Enoch enjoyed his more, I'd do that for him too, but he's picky about his clothing and taking these photos required a bribe.

Maeve was Alice in Wonderland and Holly was the White Rabbit. Holly loves to craft up portions of her costumes. It's great!

Greta, sadly, went trick or treating with her friends. She was "Thing 2" and we missed her. Hopefully I'll get to snap some pics of her but now she's in volleyball season.

Oh Halloween. Weirdest holiday ever. What do we do with all the candy???

Spokane is big into running and cross country and I love it. This was Maeve's first season and she had a good time! Her age group's time trials were at their home school, not at a meet like the bigger kids. It was so much fun to go watch her run and cheer her on. Her perspective is a little different because she has older siblings who have done cross country and Greta has made it into the final all-city race every year. Maeve didn't make it to all-city, but she did run with heart!

What a treat it was to plan this weekend with our big girls (The Core Four) in Winthrop. We stayed in a teeny tiny cabin. Our main event was hiking the Maple Loop Pass. It's 8.5 miles and a 2000' elevation gain. It took us about 4.5 hours. There were some cold and wet moments, but the views were amazing the entire time! I loved doing this hike and I'm so proud of my girls. The larches were gorgeous. I was amazed at the green, bright yellow and grey color combinations. How can I make that into pottery?? 10/10 recommend this hike.

We also mountain biked a bit. Greta requested that our next trip have zero trails.

We made it to school time folks! This year we have a freshman, a 7th grader, a first grader and two preschoolers! The boys started at a morning program 4 days a week and I was not prepared for how much Enoch would love it. He loves his backpack, he loves going to preschool, he loves playing with the trucks at the preschool. It is so sweet! Ira and Enoch go to the same place (for now, Enoch will be switching to public school preschool in a week, but he'll still go one day with Ira).

Maeve is happy to be back at school with the same teacher and classmates as last year. She's pretty much unfazed by returning to school and she loves walking to and from school with our neighbors.

My older two are definitely feeling the pressures of their higher grade levels and new schools. I'm hoping that by October they'll feel a little more adjusted.

And me? I've had a productive couple of weeks working on my ceramics business. I feel much less stressed and I really enjoy the time I spend with my kids. This has been a great change of pace for everyone!