Fingerprints, Hot Dogs, and Leaves

We had fun at the corn maze with Dan's work. Rhett got to see some of his friends and we roasted hot dogs for the first time over an open flame. We only got a little muddy. We learned that this pumpkin patch actually hoses down the path to make it extra muddy for the whole corn maze experience. As it got dark we could hear the peaceful sounds of a chainsaw and screams coming from the haunted corn maze.

Is it just me or is this kid getting cuter by the day? I figured out how to get a "normal" smile. I told him to give me a skeleton smile and this was what I got.
Rhett had fun today raking leaves in the front yard.

On Friday we got our first set of fingerprints done. We are getting along with the home study paperwork. We hope to be done with the paperwork in a couple of weeks. I would love for our Dossier to be in Ethiopia by Christmas, but I'm not sure that is too realistic. We are working hard though. We just want to bring that baby home!

Our Trip

We are back from sunny,

hot,
Florida!
We had a some great time on the beach. We tried to go in the evening or when it was a little overcast. Us Oregonians can't handle the heat!

Here is Rhett and my Dad swimming.

Rhett has a new doggy friend. His name is Tucker and he is a GoldenDoodle. Rhett love wrestling with Tucker on his bed.

Dad and Debbie were great to have a bike waiting for Rhett. Rhett didn't mind that it was a girl bike. We didn't think he knew the difference, but he called it his "girlie" bike.

Here is the "private plane" we took from Fort Meyers to Tampa.

I am not the greatest airplane passenger. I was really nervous about this plane, but I planned on putting on a brave face for Rhett. I was ok for about half of the flight. I couldn't look out the windows, so I basically meditated with my eyes closed. Every once in a while I would tell myself that as long as the sounds don't change or the pilot doesn't start talking on his radio then we were fine. Well it started with a weird cracking noise. I watched the pilot look at each of the propellers. Then the noise got really loud. The pilot looked at us and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know what the noise was! That sent me over the edge. Let me just say I'm glad Rhett was asleep, because I didn't have my brave face on. I kept imagining a bird stuck in the engine and bringing us down. The noise lasted for about 15 minutes. When we landed the pilot said he thought the noise had something to do with the vents. I don't think I'll be going on a ride on a small plane like that again.

It's Halloween Time

Some of you reading this like to tease me about my Halloween obsession. You know who you are. I love Halloween decorations and the fun Halloween time activities. But all of this wouldn't me nearly as fun without Rhett! I'm realizing just how much I love the Fall!

Here is a Halloween costume preview brought to you by Nate and Chris. Thanks for the awesome boots and "Blue" the elephant!
We made Halloween birthday cupcakes for Mimi.

Pumpkin patch! We went this morning and had a great time with our friends Talia and Elliot! Rhett has been talking about the pumpkin patch ever since our berry picking hay ride triggered a memory. "Remember the yucky pumpkins"? We were surprised he remembered from last year!

Rhett found this pumpkin all by himself. He wasn't sure about carrying the "dirty" pumpkin, but we were able to get a quick picture of the buddies.

Elliot and Rhett worked really hard pulling the pumpkins.

Rhett rode on his very first pony. This will be something that he will look forward to for next year! The look on his face was worth the $5 for the short ride.

We are heading out to Florida for ten days! Good bye October in Oregon and hello to the Summer we never had! Sorry to the Oregonians, but I hope the weather gets really yucky here while we are gone!

We have checked off a couple of things off our homestudy list and plan on doing a ton in Florida! Everything we do brings us a little closer to our baby!

Did You Know Dan Turned 30?

Yes, Dan is no longer in his 20's. But I'm convinced that the years in our 30's are going to be some of our best!

Rhett "helped" me make a cake.
We spent some time with our best friends last night! Rhett loves his little worshiper Elliot, but Rhett can be heard saying, "Elliott pinched me!" (as Elliot reaches for Rhett) And, "Don't grab me!" (as Elliot tries to pull himself up on Rhett) You could see in Elliot's eyes how much he likes to be with Rhett, but Rhett is going to have to understand babies are not the horrible monsters that he sees them to be. Here they are reading their favorite books...Elliot may be a step above Rhett in this area.

We had a family trip to the Zoo today...

That's my boy...

It's Fall!!!!!

Bring It On!

We have gotten "the packet" and we have officially started collecting the documents for the home study. This kind of stuff scares me a little, but thankfully there is a tiny baby that is great motivation to face all this scary paperwork. We leave for Florida in a week and that will be a great time to work on the checklist. I hope we can get all this paperwork done quickly...