Halloween!

Mali did her trick-or-treating with Hannah and Rachel - they left around 7:00, somehow returned to trick-or-treat our house around 8:00 with Andrew's friends Maddie and Joe, and then ended up at Alana's around 8:30, where Susy and I joined them and the full-scale party going on. There were over a dozen adults and what seemed like a hundred kids at Alana's - All the adult usual suspects and then some, plus scores of Olivia's friends. Alana had her usual gargantuan pot of chili, Jennifer brought an amazing apple tart, and of course Deborah brought more cookies and brownies then even the hordes could get through.

Andrew had Rian and Kyle over after school, then around 5:00 they headed over Kyle's party. Andrew, Tiana, Ethan, and Rian ended up at Tiana's house when the rest of the party went trick-or-treating, and Andrew finally got home around 10:30.

Supergirl Hannah, Waitress Mali, and Pirate Rachel.

Leaf Attack

Mali had Rochelle over after their soccer game. They made cookies, then got out the blower and played in the leaves.
Afterwards, we all went to dinner at Alana's with all the usual suspects plus Annette and her friend Alita from Chile, and the big surprise: Deborah finally took a moment away from her new cookie store and joined us.

Home from Redmond

Had lunch before leaving at the Celtic Bayou with Bob, Brian, and John and his kids. Made it back just after the start of Andrew's soccer game, and Jesuit was already ahead 4-0. Southridge lost 6-2. Alana nicely brought Mali and my camera when she came to pick up Olivia from her practice on the other field.

After the game we came home to get Susy and Andrew could shower, then we raced out to Deborah's cookie store to celebrate her taking it over and sample all the cookies. The macaroons were incredible. We all ate way too much sugar.

Ratatouille

Mali, Susy, and I went to the Beaverton Farmer's Market this morning before picking up Moose from the vet - he got snipped yesterday and spent the night there. It was a joyful reunion.
We got lots of fresh foods at the market, and I made Ratatouille (inspired by the movie) and Susy made strawberry-rhubarb pies. Pablo brought over some homemade vanilla ice cream, and Alana brought a spinach salad with raspberries and strawberries. Susy also made ham and cheese pitas - which the kids ate. Rian stayed for dinner too - it was a festive evening.
I finally dove into the raspberry jungle and picked about a gallon of raspberries - enough for Susy to make two batches of jam. We spent the afternoon in the kitchen - the kids spent theirs at the pool.