(This is a photo of this year's bonfire. We were fairly far away. The bonfire was pretty huge.)

It is definitely that time of year where the whole sunlight situation (or lack thereof) is weird. It is just WRONG that it's dark by five pm. It's also so strange that the sun never gets very high up in the sky. It seems late all day. I really don't like it.

We've been pretty fortunate with the weather so far though. Except for a day here and there, it's been pretty dry. At the end of October, we had some unseasonably warm days, which was wonderful! Over the last week or so though, the weather here seemed to remember it was November, and the temperature dropped accordingly. When the sun is out, it's gorgeous except for the wind/breeze (there always seems to be one or the other around here). It's the breeze that makes it really cold. The sun is warm, but the wind has a sharp, freezing edge to it.

I managed to kill a plant. My Grandfather had the greenest thumb, and my Dad does, too. I thought I'd inherited at least a little of it. At a friend's baby shower, little flowers were given out as mementos. The idea was to pot the plant and watch it grow in honor of the baby to be. Well, I bought a nice pot and some nice soil, and potted the nice plant and put it in a nice spot in the kitchen window. It promptly was devoured by aphids and died. I think I may have over watered it, too. Oh well. It may not mean the green thumb gene skipped me. Even the best lose a plant now and then. It was still a bit disappointing.

Speaking of disappointing, I discovered today that someone threw an egg at our house! I hope it was random. We live in a decent area. I think it's so stupid when people do things like that. Larry said it's probably the same people who pulled off our license plate!

I've been running with the Harrogate Harriers still. I think I can actually see some improvement in my running, which is always gratifying. Because of where the group meets, pretty much all the runs end uphill. Tuesday night, I started up that final uphill stretch and realized I felt good and strong. I enjoyed a sense of power as I increased my pace and accelerated up the hill. It's moments like that when I truly savor being a runner.

Ryan's been doing well. He's started saying, "Ready, steady, go!" Which every time Larry hears, he says to Ryan, "Ready, SET, go!" :P

Last Saturday, Larry and Ryan and I went to IKEA for a few things, then had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Leeds. That was fun. We hadn't had lunch there in a while. Oddly, we were seated at the same table we sat at the last time we were there.

Today Ryan and I took advantage of the nice weather and spent a lot of time outside. In the late morning, we went over to the shopping area where the farmer's market (on every 2nd Thursday) was taking place. It was fun to browse, though I didn't buy anything. Of course we stopped at Starbucks! Actually, during our previous two visits, we got free drinks! The first time was because a very nice girl there doesn't charge us for Ryan's hot chocolate, when she's working the register. I think that's very sweet! She says that it's hardly anything at all, and we're in all the time. It's much appreciated! The second time was because another barista forgot to put espresso in my gingerbread latte! :) Neither time was I expecting it, so both times the freebies were a pleasant surprise!

Ryan and I came home and had lunch, then we went back out to the Stray where he ran around for almost an hour. Ryan loves to run, and he loves to be outside. A few days ago, Ryan accidentally discovered how much fun it is to roll down a slope. Ever since then, he's been trying to duplicate the experience! It's funny how kids take you back to your own childhood. I'd forgotten how much I used to enjoy rolling down hills. Another thing Ryan loves to do that I think everyone loves at some point is kicking and tromping through fallen leaves. It's so much fun to watch Ryan having such a good time!

It's that time of year again, where England celebrates the foiling of the "Gun Powder Plot," and the capture of Guy Fawkes by burning him in effigy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes#General_popularity

This morning Larry ran the Guy Fawkes 10 Miler at Ripley Castle. It was a dry day, but cold and extremely windy. There were 871 runners in the race. The course was tough and very hilly (Larry counted at least seven distinct hills). One hill was a 15% grade. (I was glad I wasn't running!) Larry told me the first part of the race went through the castle itself.

Larry did well, placing 258th overall, with an official finishing time of 1:17:52.

Larry said it was a great running environment, and that, "The Brits do running well," referring to their enthusiasm and friendliness.

Later on in the evening, Larry and Ryan and I walked over to the Stray to watch the Bonfire Night fireworks, and of course to see the bonfire itself. (Photos to follow at some point.) It was brisk out, but not terribly cold.

We timed it really well, since the fireworks started right after we arrived. We also got a really good spot. It wasn't too crowded (which was a feat, since there were supposed to be about 10,000 people there), and we had a wonderful view of the full moon as a backdrop for the fireworks.

Larry tried to put Ryan up on his shoulders so he could see the fireworks. However, Ryan was more interested in trying to run around than in watching fireworks.

It was a good display, and we enjoyed watching it.

Happy birthday Rene!

Happy anniversary Shawn and Jeremy!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

First, happy birthday Jim!

On Halloween I set out a jack'o'lantern to let trick or treaters know we had candy (since we don't have a porch light). At one point I went out to check on the pumpkin, and noticed that someone had taken the "lid" off and set it to the side. There was a slight burn mark on the lid. I thought it was nice of someone to spot a potential fire hazard and remove it for us. Very considerate! :)

We did have some trick or treaters, but we had waaaay more candy than we needed! :)

Ryan enjoyed answering the door, and it seemed people enjoyed seeing Ryan! (He wasn't even in costume!)

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(Drawing by Venessa http://www.mudblood428.com/index.html)

Here it is!

Halloween 2006

Today has been an unbelievably gorgeous day! (It's amazing what a little sun will do for a person's disposition!) The sun's been shining all day long, and it's been unseasonably warm (for here). I went for a run and wore a long sleeved shirt, but would have been comfortable in a short sleeved one.

Friday evening was the start of our Halloween festivities this year. There was a Halloween fair in the gym at MHS, with lots of games and things for kiddos to do. Ryan could participate a little bit more this year than he could last year. He did a "treasure hunt," where kids looked for big "coins" in a bunch of hay. Ryan actually found a couple. It was neat, because he saw some coins stacked on the nearby table, so he put the ones he found back on the table. He did this all on his own, without being told, and without seeing anyone else do it.

There were lots of freebies at the fair, which was fun. At one station, there were big plastic eyeballs with various "prizes" in them. Ryan picked one out that had a cute pumpkin necklace in it.

There was an area with little kiddie tables and chairs, with paper and drawing utensils. Ryan sat down to draw, and of course went for the markers. I just have to ask, who puts out permanent markers for kids to color with??? (Especially kids in costumes!!!) Luckily, Ryan didn't get any on his costume.

My mom always made my Halloween costumes, and I am thrilled that the tradition continues with Ryan. Ryan is a Jedi this year, specifically Obi Wan Kenobi (from Episode II). Ryan's the cutest little Jedi ever (if I do say so)! My mom even included a light sabre, which is about twice as big as Ryan is! :)

After the fair, Ryan and Larry and I walked to the housing area for trick or treating. It was a perfect night for it, with a yellow crescent moon low on the horizon, and an occasional creepy cloud drifting by.

This was Ryan's first time trick or treating! At first he wasn't too sure what to do. After a while, he sort of got the hang of it; although he mostly just wanting to ring people's doorbells, and go inside their houses! We never did get him to say, "trick or treat," but we think we heard a quiet, "thank you," once or twice!

It was great fun taking Ryan trick or treating. Larry and I are both so glad to have a safe environment for him to trick or treat in.

Once home, we of course had to check out Ryan's haul! Pretty respectable, for a first time. We let Ryan pick out something to eat. He only ate one piece of his candy. He's always been that way though - never a glutton. We would have let him have a bit more, but he wasn't interested. One piece was plenty! :)

Our Halloween festivities continued the next day, with a baby sitting co-op trip to a place called, The Forbidden Corner. http://www.yorkshirenet.co.uk/theforbiddencorner/ We were supposed to dress up, so I put Ryan in his costume again (any excuse for him to wear it more than once!), and I put on my ren faire outfit. Larry declined to dress up.

We were the first ones there. I saw British families getting out of their cars, and none of them were dressed up! I was starting to worry. After a little while, the rest of the co-op members arrived, and it seemed no one else had dressed up! I was beginning to feel like a chump, but then to my great relief, Carissa and Tom and their boys were dressed up. Yay! :)

It was lunch time, so we all had a bite to eat in the café there before heading out to explore the Forbidden Corner.

The place turned out to be a lot of fun! It's pretty much all outside. It's sort of a big maze, with lots of things to explore and surprises to be had. You get a pamphlet at the start, which has clues in the form of rhymes that lead you around the park's various sites. If you're not careful, you can get squirted with water at various points throughout the park (which I think is particularly evil, considering it's cold and windy this time of year)! Overall is was a lot of fun and I'm glad we went.

The last part of our Halloween (or, "Hallowe'en," as it's spelled over here) festivities will be on Tuesday. We'll be giving out candy to trick or treaters. Last year Ryan loved answering the door. I hope he'll enjoy it this year, too!

(Photo album to follow.)

Happy birthday Sierra!

Love,

~Ryan, Holly, and Larry