Arthur's Attic Adventure

I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving! Here are some things that have happened since Halloween:

• The girls went to NYC to see Annie! Since then, I have been asked many questions about Ms. Hannigan being arrested and have been treated to many performances of Tomorrow! and It's the Hard Knock Life! Thank you to Aunt Mim for taking them to a real NYC broadway show and to Grand Kathy for hosting and babysitting. 

• Arthur turned 43! We made him a cake, chocolate with chocolate icing of course, and gave him many presents.

•  Arthur bought a locally-made Have a Heart Trap, told me that his new business plan is to advertise his critter catching services on Craigslist, dressed in a tiny jumpsuit and then ascended into the attic to catch the varmints we were certain lived there. He found nothing which was a relief because the girls were lobbying really hard to make a pet out of whatever we caught in the cage. 

• We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Nehalem Street Vinings and Wisconsin Rocks. Pete's older sister, who is a lawyer in Milwaukie, told us stories about Pete's formative years which have given us some real insight into his character. 

• Then we chopped down a noble fir to use as our Christmas tree. It is perhaps a bit too perfect for me, but the Bradfords in the household prevailed. It is a lot bigger than the Rock's tree, which Arthur believes says "a lot". 

• This morning our neighbors dropped by in their pajamas and helped decorate the tree. Then we took everyone to Reed for some kickball and bike-riding. Walker, who is obsessed with fishing, inspired us to check out the Reed fish-ladder. While searching the rushing waters for signs of steelhead, Walker dropped his peanut butter crackers into the creek. For some reason, Arthur jumped into the creek to retrieve them.  For a few seconds I considered calling 9-11, but he managed to pull himself out, crackers in hand, which Walker declined to eat. Then, soggy pants and all, Arthur performed some incredible aerial stunts on his skateboard. I just can't believe he is 43! 

•  PS We have apparently run out of our allotted photographs on blogger so I cannot post any photos right now.