and I am still trying to get caught up from all the fall happenings. I went down to Corvallis sans Rory and we hit the traditional fall festival and started some early Christmas shopping. 
Owen had a great time meeting Benny Beaver 
and getting a tour of a CPD car. 
The weather was beautiful and another example of why I love fall in the NW. 
it was the best game of football I think I have ever seen. 
The actual football was great, and the atmosphere was so fun. 
I have been to some big Beaver wins, but this was next level. 
GO BEAVS! 
That night we had people over to our house for dinner and trick or treating. Rory loved being a bee all night, loved handing out candy to all the kids, and was very into going door to door. 
Our neighborhood is INSANE with kids, I think they bus them in from all over Portland. I can see why, several houses gave Rory full size candy bars (which we promptly rehanded out!) I gave out play-doh and am shocked we didn't get egged! Rory did great, said "trick or treat" with a little prompting, and was thrilled with the treasures she collected in her "pumpkin purse". 
She doesn't know what candy is, so she just thought it was cool to collect the different shapes and colors, she didn't know what was inside. She kept shaking the M&Ms like they were an instrument.
I am sure next year will be a different experience. By the end of the night she was answering the door in her diaper and was basically asleep on her feet.
Grandma stayed to babysit while Mandy and I made an appearance at a real live grown up halloween party- what a treat! Nothing says fun night out like two pregos out past 9pm. We could barely get a conversation in between all the yawning! I did steal rory's bee wings so technically I was in costume! A fun night for all and another first for miss rory. 
and all marched together. The kids were so cute. 
It was great because it gave them another excuse to wear their costumes. Owen was Sir Owen of midvale, a knight with cape and hand made shield by grandpa Stan. I didn't get any good pics of him so see Sahnow Boys blog for those. Quincy was a farmer and got lots of comments on his shoes which were crocs that Shahnaz had tied farm animals too- so creative! Rory was "alt bee" as pat was calling her. She had the regular bee accessories, but added her combat boots, striped baby legs, and down vest with yellow duck tape stripes. The new pixie haircut (a total accident and worthy of a different entry) just added to her alternative look. She reminded me of some of my students at gateway. Anyway, they all looked great and had fun. 
My favorite part was that my dad spent the entire time on the side of the parade route waving to the kids. As soon as we would get past him, he would run ahead and then yell and wave at them again. 
Rory loved it. Each time she would spy him, she got really excited that someone was there cheering her on. I think he got more of a work out then he had anticipated. He defintely gets the award for best parade audience member ever! I am hoping that this becomes part of our yearly halloween tradition! I forgot to mention that as many adults were dressed up as kids, including Brady and Pat as "blazers"? 
those two are as cute together as the cousins! 
This year the trek out to t
he Sauvie Island Pumkin Patch was super fun. 
Rory was into everything, and the mud was at a minimum. There is a barn with lots of animals which was a hit and the tractor pulled hay ride out to the field of pumpkins was almost as good as a roller coaster in her eyes. 
She did show her ultra sensitive side when we got to the field and she saw that some of the pumpkins were smashed or rotting. She started crying and saying "broken, broken". 
She recovered enough to enjoy the rest of the trip and all in all it was a great day! 
My next favorite is this outfit that I dug out of stuff that my mom had saved. It is circa 1979 and even though it is a 2T- it barely fit over Rory's tummy and the skirt looked a little too Brittney Spears for my liking. 
I thought she would hate it b/c it is all scratchy, but she insisted on keeping it on, twirling in the skirt and reading books in it for almost an hour. 
It was so cute. And last but certainly not least is from today. My dad and Linda sent via Madi this leotard/tutu number. 
The minute Rory saw it- she was in love. She just kept saying "pretty" and pointing to the shiny parts. So as soon as she got up from her nap today she asked to put it on. I thought she would just play around in it- but I swear within 5 minutes of putting it on- she went to her shoe cupboard and added the boots- 
I could not stop laughing long enough to get my camera. She then proceeded to go about her business, read books, climb on chairs, etc. all in this ridiculous outfit.
I swear Jim Carey wore this in Ace Ventura. My favorite part is how it flips up in the back- too funny.
I am not sure what this says about her fashion sense. Some days she is totally my little alternative artsy kid, and some days she is straight princess, and some days as her aunt madi's friend noticed, she just looks like a drug addict. She has never seen an accessory she didn't like. Anyway, I am trying to get caught up on posts- but these pics were too funny so I wanted to get them up. Thanks to dad and linda for the outfit, hope your trip is going well. thanks to mom for saving my clothes for 30 yrs. it was worth it!
We had so much fun. It was a long day but the weather was perfect and the pronto pups delicious! Rory even got to try her first french fry! I had always gone to the rides portion and had never really explored the other parts of the fair. With the kids in tow- obviously the ride place was the least attractive so we spent hours touring all the animals, 
the gardens,
the dog show, petting zoo
and some crafts.
The baby mini horses were the best as they were rory and quincy size and super friendly.
We did hit the rides on the way out and Owen was able to go on 3 rides all by himself.
I couldn't believe what a big boy he was! Rory was super tired at that point, but would perk up enough just to watch owen go round and round and wave each time he passed- super cute. I think my fav was at the end we went back to the mini-van and attempted to get all 3 kids changed, pj'd and fed. It was chaos- they were crawling all over the van and pretending to drive.
luckily with 4 adults we managed to get it done and hit the road just in time for bed. All in all a great day and a future tradition I'm sure. Thanks to dad and linda for such a fun day and to shahni and the boys for sharing it with us! ~Britt
lots of people, some of which appeared to do the whole sidewalk lawn chair camp out thing-
we just walked up at the last minute and sat on someone's steps 
and enjoyed the view. Rory really liked the dairy float with a mascot cow on it- she had just learned to sign cow-
and was very happy to use her new word. She also loved all the marching bands and drums. Overall I'd say it is definitely something to add to our growing list of traditions. 
Maybe next year we will get organized earlier and get a group to go together. ~Britt oh yeah- this last shot is of rory's "whatchu talking bout Willis?" face. classic.
