"The snow is soft, but it's cold."

That's what Tristen told me when he finally stopped crying after he refused to wear mittens home from the coffee shop and then tried to make his first snowball. Poor kid; it was a real loss of innocence. The three of us had been playing in the snow all morning, but we had Tristen really bundled up. He just hadn't realized how cold the snow could be.

We've had a week of daycare closures, sledding, snow shoveling, and hot cocoa. Here's my favorite picture of the kid, all suited up. And yes, those ARE my socks on his hands. He thinks they are mittens and even argued with me the other day that my mittens were gloves, because they have a separate thumb. Don't tell him! The socks actually stay on...

Nature bracelets

Look at all the cool stuff we found on our walk! We stuck it to rings of tape around our wrists.

Evergreen

We were honored to visit cousin Abigail at Evergreen this weekend and to tour Red Square and sustainable housing! What a wonderful community Abby is helping create there. Sounds like classes are going well, too. Roommate Nicole rocks, as does Traditions Cafe in downtown Olympia.

The drive to and fro was nice. Tristen and I took turns with the music. He preferred Raffi's "Little Potato" on repeat. I'm completely enamored by the soundtrack from Once.

First trick or treat

While we waited for Daddy to get home and for Uncle Gep to come over with cousins Elana and Liam, the little monkey and I watched for trick-or-treaters out the window and doled out candy when they came knocking. Tristen was very scared of trick-or-treaters who wore masks -- and he was particularly vexed by a parent who was dressed in a huge snowman outfit. Later, we went door to door with Elana the Pooh. Tristen and Elana were persistent in trying to blow out the candles in jack-o-lanterns -- and overall, they weren't too sure about the whole idea of Halloween. They preferred to come home and run around the house while we adults sipped beers on the couch and ruminated over the upcoming election.

"It's a Cookie Monster face!"

That's what Tristen had to say about Daddy's pumpkin (the one on the left).

South 47 Farm

Pumpkins!

Aunt Amy and Uncle Chance joined us at the pumpkin farm -- and we met Serena and her family, including sweet little Logan there, too. The kids fed chickens, watched Alpacas, and chased each other around straw bales. The adults indulged in lukewarm cider, kettle corn, and conversation.

Pumpkin push!

Tristen and I ran the 13th Annual Pumpkin Push on Saturday morning. Tristen dressed up in his monkey costume and held onto his pumpkin the whole way. I'd like to say that he cheered me on -- but truth be told, he whined the whole way about how he wanted to go to the park. Luckily, there was one at the finish line, and it had a really fast slide! We also enjoyed running into Emeline and Darrick. Pix below of the little monkey and me and of our favorite costume: Bacon and Eggs.

Autumn in Skagit County

There are few things more fulfilling than packing a picnic and pointing the car toward Bellingham, where we barge in on the Chaneys and bask in family time, friendship, and the addictive baby energy of Jonas and Jember.

It was a lovely fall day, so we were lured by one of those "fresh cider" signs on the way up. We just stopped for a jug or two but were happily surprised to catch a small family operation in the act of pressing the apples. We all got to feel and smell the leftover fiber, which the cider-makers feed to neighboring cows. And the cider itself -- so fresh, so tangy sweet -- does anything taste more like colorful trees, sunshine, and the faint scent of chimney smoke in the crisp autumn air?

An aside: I asked the folks about the difference between cider and juice; I had always assumed that cider was somehow aged. But the seller responded to my question, "That's what I want to know! I called the people at TreeTop, and they basically said it had to do with the kind of apples. Cider usually has some Granny Smith in it." Hmmm...that didn't seem quite right, given that all the apples we watched being pressed were red -- and the product sure tasted like cider to me. The "apple cider" entry on wikipedia confirms that, in the US, "the legal distinction between apple cider and apple juice is not well established." The entry did note that cider is generally unfiltered.

We arrived in B'ham in time to make lunch before nap time, then we had a precious few minutes of adult time before the kiddos started to awaken, one by one. Ross and Chris took the twins for a hill walk in the backpacks, while Vicki, Tristen, and I strolled via the boardwalk to a coffeeshop and park. We all met up for the walk home -- possibly to the dismay of Ross and Chris who enjoyed a good bit of attention during their time with Jonas and Jember in the backpacks. Something about "chick magnets."

On the way home, we stopped at Auntie Rebecca Wilhelm's farm in Mount Vernon. In the waning light, we visited with the horses grazing Wilhelm's pasture and said night night to the chickens. Tristen mused over how much horses poop. Rebecca's veggie soup with kale and her boundless energy for making such a lovely home inspired me.

Lookout Northwest; here comes another Marshall!

Abigail started at Evergreen! She and Lori arrived on a Thursday, just in time for the Farmer's Market. We picked up a few things to add to our Friday "Send Abigail to College" Feast.

Our zip code is 98115

Did I just send out the wrong zip code to, like, everyone I know?

98115.
98115.
98115.

Geez, it didn't even change with the move...

Apologies.

Summer 2008 wrap-up

It has been a busy summer in Marshall-Krummville. Some highlights:

We put our Ravenna house on the market. Spent most of the spring and early summer getting it ready to sell.

Why? Aaa; we weren't thrilled with the isolated location, although we FINALLY had the house the way we wanted it. We dreamed of a neighborhood with sidewalks and other families.

The house sold, even in a tough market -- nice validation for all Krumm's hard work.

David O'Grady and Michelle and then John and Elia came to visit during the staging process -- and all were good natured about it, thank goodness. It was fun and grounding to have friends and family interrupt the chaos for just a little while.

With the help of the world's best real estate agent, Kay Rigley, we found a new place in Maple Leaf. The location is perfect; the neighborhood is literally TEAMING with families. It's almost ridiculous how many baby carriages are traveling the street at any given moment. We have full view of them, too, from our corner perch just one block from a very popular coffee shop.

The new place is another Seattle oldie but goodie. It feels small, because the main floor is smaller than the main floor of our other house. But there's a fully finished attic space and partially finished basement with potential. Settling in has been a little overwhelming -- there's a LOT to do. The pic should give you a flavor for the best and worst of it.

Green carpeting already gone. Nice hardwords underneath.

Grandma came for a visit just in time to help us get settled. She was a HUGE help.

Although the move took up most of the summer, we managed to squeeze in our first family camping trip on a gorgeous weekend mid-September. We went with Erin, Eric, and Ruby to a place called Owhi, on Cooper Lake, just north of Rosalyn and Lake Cle Ellum. GORGEOUS sites, if a little populated (with other families, though -- fun!). You park your car at the top and walk in. Great fun! Tristen and Roo spent HOURS throwing rocks in the lake, enjoyed their first s'mores, and slept well in the tents. Here are some pix of the happy little campers:

First post

Welcome to the Marshall-Krumm Family's blog. We'll try to keep you up to date.