More Halloween Fun, 2011

There was so much Halloween fun this year. FIrst Noah and Sophe went to Scarlett's birdhay party. The theme was "The Wizard of Oz". Check out these costumes.

"Pay no attention to that Man behind the curtain!!" Here is our wizard, behind his curtain.

The next party was a special Haunted Museum night at the Children's Please Touch Museum.  Check out David's custumre--especially clever.  He even wore it too work.  What an adorable little Minnie Mouse.

Our Jedi is using his powers to keep us all safe.

He's keeping Minnie Mouse safe on the carousel as well.

This is still early in the Halloween season.  We went to 5 different Halloween events.  Stayed tuned for more fun tricks and treats.

"Generation 5 Pickles"

It is a family tradition: at the end of the summer it was time to make pickles.  Noah had a "Harvest Fair" at his school where all the kids were asked to bring in something they grew or made.  Noah decided he would become the 5th generation family pickle maker.  It started we think with his great great grandparents Mindy and David Zinkerman.  Then his great grandparents (or at least Uncle Albert?), then Nanny taught David, who taught Kathy, and now Noah.  We even gave them a name: Generation 5 Pickles.  Want to see pickles made?

Just getting started.  This is mean business!

Get the cucumbers ready

Light sabers?  Race cars?

Peal the garlic.  Stinky!!

Cucumbers in the jar.

Secret spice.  Very serious work.

Thanks for helping mom.

Fresh dill.

Fill 'em up.

Close em up.

Admire your work.

Pretty proud

Can't wait to try one.

Noah named his pickle brand "Generation 5" pickles.  Mommy made labels for the jars, and they were a hit on the holidays, at school and at home.  Put your orders in early next year.  $14.95 a jar.

The front label says:
"GENERATION 5 PICKLES:
Packed full of history
FIlled with secret ingredients
Bottled with Love"

And the back label says:
"These pickles are a family recipe that started with my Nanny's grandparents.  My Nanny and my Daddy have been making them every fall for many years.  This year it is my turn.
With my daddy's help, I learned the secret ingredients and did every step myself.  This year's batch was handmade by my daddy and me.  I am 5 years old and a 5th generation pickle maker.  That is where I came up with the name.  -Noah Porter, Pickle Maker."

Halloween 2011: Just Getting Started

Halloween season is getting into high gear. What a treat! Evan and Josh came to visit. We went Dutch Wonderland together in our "pre-Halloween" costumes. Grammy used to love taking us all to Dutch Wonderland this time of year. She would have had a great time with these 3 sports superstars from the Phillies and Titans! We were so busy that we didn't get alot of photos for some reason.

Not to mention this little CHEERLEADER FROM UK!!

Smile everyone!

Our next pre-Halloween adventure was "Pumpkin Days" at the Tyler Arboretum. Hey Sophie, do you ike the pretzel? (what do you think!?)

Noah is getting strapped in for the bungie trampoline.

Flying high!

Check out this video. He was a little nervous at the start, but listen closely....

Our two little pumpkins!

Next it was time for some art work. A very serious Picasso!

But hey...I want to paint a pumpkin too!

Great job Sophie! You are going to be a great artist!

We had a great sleep over and short visit. Can wait to see our cousins again! Thanks Evan, thanks Josh for coming to visit!!

Check out this little video of competitive Wii!!

Much more halloween fun coming soon!

Quick Catch Up

(The formatting is all messed up on this blog and we can't figure out why. It has something to do with trying to do the blog on a Mac, but we can't fix it. Sorry for the inconvenience)

We've been busy. Here's a whirlwind of the end of summer and beginning of fall.

Noah is now going to Sunday school last week they had a special day . The day was "Dor L'dor" or "Generation to Generation". Parents were invited to come to Sunday School for a pajama party (Noah is in his pajamas) and help the kids with projects. Here Noah is making a pillow case inscribed with the word "Shalom".

Here he is, ready to leave the house for school. He loves Friend's Central and can't wait to get out of the car when he is dropped off. Someone there helps get the kids out of the car in the drop off line and they always open Sophie's door by mistake. Noah lectures this person repeatedly; "when you see this car, you need to open the other door. That side is my baby sister". We're very sure the person who helps gets him out every day very much appreciates the repeated instructions and lectures.
We did get a chance to go to Noah's school to meet with his teachers a couple weeks ago for a parent-teacher conference. He is doing wonderful things and his teachers can't get over him. Reading fluently, starting to do math. And he is (finally) becoming a little artist. This is the first picture Noah ever drew of himself. This was hanging outside his classroom.

It was the end of summer, and Noah, Kathy and David went for a bike ride (Sophie was home with Erin). Hopefully we'll do more and more bike riding.

And before you know it, summer is over. Rosh Hashanah was here. Mommy made a great dinner on a beautiful table. Shana Tova (Happy New Year) everyone!

L'chiam!


As summer was winding down we spent as much time outside as we could. Noah is a good big brother and playing with Sophie. Look how much fun she is having.

Anybody see a big little girl anywhere? Bye bye baby car seat!

Next trip: Danbury CT

Next Trip: Danbury, Connecticut for a visit at Auntie Marci and Uncle Jimmy's house. First, dinner and desert at the Diner in Bristol. It's about 30 miles from our house and took 2 1/2 hours to get there. So we (Noah) had to have a treat!

We were only in CT for 2 days but made the most of it. Uncle Jimmy took Noah to the Danbury Train Museum. Check out the Engineers!

Then we got to ride an old fashioned train. It only went a short distance, but it was pretty cool

They let us get off the train and go on the turntable. It actually spun all the way around. While we were on it!

And then Samantha and Benjamin came. Sophie is tickling her cousin Ben!

Everyone climb on board!

Ahhhh. That was hard playing. I need a break.

But we all need a little help. Thanks Ben for helping me. And thank you Samantha for letting someone else have a turn with me!

See you all soon! More updates to come.