Halloween Preview

We went to the ward's trunk-or-treat party tonight at a Christmas tree farm, and the girls had a blast. It might look like some remote spot, but it was really in a neighborhood. A beautiful, way-beyond-our-price-range (that's a lot of hyphens!) neighborhood, but a neighborhood none the less.
First, we hung out in the car while Jared went to get candy in the store. Charley thinks I'm hilarious.
Katie likes to think deep thoughts and stare out the window. Don't worry; they're only in half costume. The butterfly wings refused to be strapped in.
Here they are at the party, in their full butterfly-costume glory. Charlotte models the front of her costume for us while Katie shows off her fantastic wings. You might notice that for a party, there aren't that many people around. That's because the babies, perhaps having inherited their parents' slightly anti-social tendencies, found a hill and and only wanted to run up and down it instead of participating in the festivities.
Katie gives us a smile. Ahhhh. She's cute.
Charlotte hurries to catch up. Look at her eyes. They're saying "Don't leave me, Mom! I'm coming." Shortly after all this cuteness, Katie had a meltdown. We decided that she had a cute overload and needed to let off some steam. One can only be cute for so long. She expresses her feelings by putting her Halloween basket on top of her head.Charlotte is content to hold her basket and (surprise!) smile at us.
Thus ends our first trunk-or-treat. Since we had the previously-mentioned meltdown just before the actual trunk-or-treating started, we didn't get to get rid of any of our candy. Oh well, there's always next year. And by that, I mean we're going to save the candy we bought and give it out next year!

North and South

My friend Sherri told me about this movie years ago, but I didn't watch it until recently. It is based on a book by Elizabeth Gaskell, who was writing in the nineteenth century. I read the book and liked it, but I loved the movie. I stayed up until after 2 in the morning watching it and then rewatched the last hour the next day. It got hazy near the end there.

Margaret Hall is a young woman who is raised with her cousin in London. When her cousin marries, she goes back to live with her parents in the vicarage of a picturesque village. Her father is a vicar but has doubts about the church and feels he can no longer be a part of the ministry. So shortly after she comes back, her father moves her and her mother to a dank and dirty town in the north of England. At first Margaret dislikes the north and always is comparing it with the more genteel and idyllic south. However, she grows to accept her circumstances and starts to adjust.

Because he has left the ministry, her father now teaches private students and has very little income. One of his students is a local factory owner, the rich but rough John Thornton. He wants to become more cultured and so takes lessons with Mr. Hall. Thornton and Margaret pretty much hate each other on site, so of course they're going to fall in love, right? The story follows their developing relationship but also deals with the tension between the factory owners and workers. There's also tension between Thornton's mother and Margaret. The mom is a fearsome character. Talk about a potentially terrible mother-in-law. I'm not sure I would have had the fortitude to marry Jared if his mom had been like that. Also, I'm not sure I would have married him if his name were Chester, so thanks for not doing that Sisko.

Ok, confession time. I liked the movie way better than the book. I know, this is blasphemy coming from an English major. What can I say? I have no excuse. Although part of the reason is the actor who plays Thornton. He's all Mr. Rochestery (yes, that is the official literary term) and makes the movie. If you are a fan of period pieces, you will probably like this movie. If you're not a fan of period pieces, then well I don't know you.

Playing In the Backyard

Last time we were swinging in the park. This time we are playing in the backyard. We are trying out our new jackets. Yes, you sometimes need jackets in GA in October. This is the closest we got to both of them looking at the camera at the same time. Charlotte likes to wear her hood. We like to call her the baby unabomber.
She thinks it's a good name! Although she wonders why I'm pointing my toes on the concrete behind her. She kinda thinks I'm weird. Actually I'm doing the same thing as I type this. I wonder how frequently I sit like that without even thinking about it?
Katie kind of looks like she's doing some dumpster diving.
Here she thinks it's funny that we called her a dumpster diver.
And finally they are ready to go inside and do some plotting. They like to plot. Or maybe they'll eat a snack. Snacks are good.