Hello friends!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying fall, my favorite time of year.

Since I last wrote, a fair amount of this and that has happened for my family and me.

For starters, Jim and I finally were able to visit our Arizona-living family. It had been more than a year since I had seen Brayden, Camden, and Declan and more than two years for Jim. And boy oh boy (and boy) had they grown in that time!

There was a lot of basketball playing the weekend we were there, with all three grandsons participating in tournaments. Which was a fantastic treat for PawDad and me to see each playing the game they love best.

Speaking of ball playing, closer to home, Benjamin joined a flag football team. His first time ever, and he loves it. And we loved attending one of his practices (they don’t play games at this age, only practice the skills).

Benjamin also turned five — with the family celebration featuring the cheetah cake he had wished and wished for and that I made for him. Plus he started pre-K. The kiddo has been busy!

Robert, who will be three on Thanksgiving, started solo stays at Gramma’s twice a week to give Mommy a break while Benjamin is in school. I’m loving the opportunity to get to know this silly little man independent of his influential big brother.

On October 14, all my family watched the annular eclipse together … separate from one another, in our own yards. We’re holding on to our glasses for the full solar eclipse in April.

On the home front, I bid farewell to the bounty of beautiful flora and fauna that adorned my yard all summer …

… and said hello to the equally beautiful autumn colors adorning my trees.

With a subsequent hello to the fallen leaves that followed, of course. A joy of a different sort.

Also a joy: Attending a Peter Gabriel concert in October. Because my words are inadequate in relating how strong that man’s voice and performance skills still are at 73 years of age, I’ll share this:

(Please note: I am not the kind of concert goer that watches the entire event through my phone; I did record a couple of my fave songs for posterity’s sake.)

Bringing things to current is this: James’s goofy-as-can-be Halloween costume. With Benjamin and Robert sick as can be pre, post, and on Halloween proper with something — negative for Covid, flu and RSV — big brother’s costume was the height of their holiday fun … and the only photo I have of Halloween 2023.

Cheers to all the this and that to come for my family as well as yours, as the holiday season is somehow right around the corner.