the dells be swells

yes, we made the midwest pilgrimage to wisconsin dells, or "ick"-sconsin dells as amalea put it. we stayed at glacier canyon lodge at the wilderness resort. it must be said that it is rather nice to romp around in a bathing suit when the season is crisp just outside the window.

isabel was almost taken by a shark while miniature golfing. this just happens when you take a 2 1/2 year old to an activity such as this. just across from this fake were some real nurse sharks that we got up close to and watched for a while.

amalea digged the shooting gallery.

swimming sisters.

amalea at one with the camera. always.

'twas the night before thanksgiving...

...and thoughts turn back to all-hallows eve. we carved pumpkins. isabel was squeamish of course. just the other day the feel of fibrous casing of a steamed pea on her tongue made her puke. the faces on the girls' jack-o-lanterns are their own creations (as are the spooky looks they are giving us).

the weather gave us a nasty trick in that it was bitterly cold, thus the wagon and the blankets. needless to say, we did not go neither far nor long for the treats.

the annual trunk-or-treat

with the metamorphosis complete, we witness the emergence of the world's most dazzling butterflies! recall that isabel was a purple butterfly last year. she wanted to be the purple butterfly again this year, but mom told her that she must wear the pink one to get candy.

meet the warrs: the caterpillar, or grub as jason so lovingly put it, chomping on a leaf. the serious cocoon firmly adhered to a stick. and the offspring, the beautiful butterflies.

isabel packing in some candy. she made wearing the pink costume well worth it.

amalea = awwwww!

our trunk decorated as a floral-iffic butterfly world. yahoo, lookey what we have here. lots of candy, and, hey, no coats since it was the perfect fall evening weather-wise (as well as butterfly-wise).

goebbert's "oh-so-much-more than just" pumpkin patch

innocent enough. looks like a pumpkin patch.

but, wait, is that the purplish blue hue of giraffes tongue i see? why, yes. (notice isabel's look of utter disgust as she drops the carrot stick on the giraffe's tongue. and mom's look of concern as she eyes the muscular looking tongue near her child's pudgy little fingers.)

good old goats to feed.

the yearly fall pony ride.

amalea "milking" the cow.

isabel's wisp-o-mullet

isabel was born with oh so little hair (remember, baldy beauty queen?).

now look at what has happened to her hair. it is an odd growth pattern. the temples have less than a 1/4 inch of hair. longer and longer as you trace along the forehead to the center. then the top. and the sides. oh the glorious profusion found there!

just behold.

isabel is quite proud of her mane, often asking for it to be adorned with an assortment of barrettes, hairbands, ties, and such. always proclaiming, "i am beautiful!"

shoes, glorious, shoes!

may i have more shoes, please. amalea made out like a bandit on saturday the 3rd of october. she was the owner of 5 new pairs of shoes from a single shopping excursion.

some of these new shoes were the tying kind. mom showed her once how to tie at the store. then again hours later at home. and then amalea went ahead and tied this shoe that is pictured here firmly onto her foot completely on her own.

utterly amazing! she can definitely keep the shoes just for that.

2 sisters, 3 years

the girls, going back in time down the page, in the head-to-head shots taken annually at just about the end of summertime.