Hanging out at the park on a lovely day

Once or twice a week, I pick up Oliver early from school and we hang out. Yesterday was a mild pretty day (75F/24C), we went to the children's museum and the park near our house. Oliver had fun chasing the ducks around the pretty lake.

 

Flashlight in bath

Fall in Austin

Fall in Austin is a mix of weather between warm and a little cool. Great weather for being outdoors...

Happy Halloween! Oliver spent Halloween in his pajamas this year. Pretty cool pajamas  that glow in the dark tough!

Hiking with friends last weekend...

Oliver's new favorite game: wearing papa and mama's shoes...

Nous avons besoin de votre participation / We need your help

Bonjour à tous / Hi everyone!

Version francaise en premier / English version below 

***

Comme vous le savez peut-être, Oliver va à la Petite Ecole Internationale (PEI), c’est une école Montessori avec immersion complète en français. Chaque année, les familles et amis de PEI se rassemblent pour vendre de belles poinsettias au public afin de récolter des fonds pour l'année scolaire. Cette année, nous espérons pouvoir financer une bibliothèque de prêt en langue française ainsi que l'amélioration des ressources techniques et multimédias de l'école. Voulez-vous nous aider à atteindre notre objectif en achetant un (ou plusieurs !) Poinsettias ou en faisant un don à l'école ?

Les poinsettias coûtent 12,00 dollars américains chacun et peuvent être commandés en rouge, blanc ou rose. Vous devez commander les plantes avant le 1er Novembre. Si vous étiez aux US, nous vous les donnerions mais comme vous êtes un peu loin, on en fera don à l’hôpital pour les enfants de Austin. Faites-moi savoir combien de plantes vous souhaiteriez et la couleur, et nous les livrerons à l’hôpital dès qu'elles arrivent.

Si vous souhaitez faire un don d’un montant quelconque, l'école dispose d'un compte PayPal (info@petiteecole.com) et vous pouvez envoyer ce don par voie électronique par carte bancaire. Pour ce faire, suivez les instructions suivantes :

1 . Aller sur https://www.paypal.com
2 . Allez à « Entre proches »

3 . Sélectionnez Envoyer de l'argent

4 . Adresse email du destinataire : info@petiteecole.com

5 . Indiquer le montant et sélectionner USD comme devise

6 . Dans le message n'oubliez pas d'ajouter votre nom et le nom de l’enfant (Oliver), afin de savoir d’où le don est venu.

Vous avez terminé! Aucun don n'est trop petit, tout ce que vous donnez peut nous aider à acheter un livre pour la bibliothèque !

Merci beaucoup !

Ben & Steph & Oliver

***

Dear Friends and Family,

As you may know, Oliver attends a French Immersion Montessori, called Petite Ecole Internationale (PEI), and each year PEI families and friends gather together to sell beautiful poinsettias to the public in order to raise funds for the school year. This year we’re hoping to fund a french-language lending library as well as upgrading the school’s technology and media resources. Will you help us to meet our goal by purchasing one (or more!) poinsettias or making a donation to the school?

The Poinsettias are $12.00 each and can be ordered in red, white, or pink. The plants will be ordered by November 1 and will be delivered in late November. Let me know how many plants you would like and in which color, and we will deliver them to you as soon as they arrive.

If you would like to make a donation of ANY amount, you can give me cash or a check OR, to make it very easy, the school has a PayPal account (info@petiteecole.com) and you can send a donation electronically via a credit card. To do that, follow these easy instructions:

1. Go to https://www.paypal.com

2. Log in and go to My PayPal

3. On the right side of the screen, select Send Money

4. In the To line enter info@petiteecole.com and enter an amount

5. Be sure to select the "I'm sending money to family and friends" radio button, so no fees are added.

6. Click Continue to verify, and be sure to add your name and the child's name, Oliver, to the message, so we know who the donation came from.

You're done! No donation is too small, anything you give may be enough to buy a book for the library! 

Thank you so much!

Ben & Steph & Oliver

Oliver 2yr birthday party

 Since we were in Colorado when Oliver turned 2, we organized a second little party at the house this weekend. As usual, it was as much a party for the kids as for the adults: fancy sliders made by Ben (mini burgers with blue cheese, grilled onions, arugula and some spicy sauce) and pretty awesome chocolate cake by myself.
Oliver got spoiled with lots of presents and had the time of his life!

 

 

 

 

First Fourteener, Quandary Peak, 14,265 ft (4,348 m)

Most 2 year-olds don't make it to fourteen thousand feet because they are obviously too little to hike up there and their parents don't feel like carrying them up there. Well we didn't know that until we got toward the top of the mountain and everyone we crossed path with on the trail, looking at us carrying Oliver, said "whoa, I'm impressed"...

 

 

   

 

I deserve my my own burger today! 

And more hikes!

They might all seem the same to an outsider but I've been enjoying each hike for its uniqueness. Taking a few hours in our day away from work to be in nature is such a wonderful experience. So if you enjoy nature like we do, here's more!

Okay, let's just go on top of this mountain...

 

 1 hour later, whoa that was a little further/higher than we expected. Okay time for lunch..

  Ah thanks nice views!

 It's cold but I really like salami/saucisson

 Now let's roll down!

 2 days later, sweet semi flat 1 mile loop around a beautilful alpine lake

And anther day later, another couple alpines lakes a little harder to reach

Have I mentioned, since Ben got shingles, I'm the one carrying Oliver up the mountains... This hike was about 1,500ft elevation/3 miles one way, not a big deal hiking alone, but carrying about 40 lbs is another story...

 Free at last!