Fires are one of our favorite things! A nice, crackling fire in the fireplace is a perfect way to end a cold Autumn evening. And with a house full of women, Quinn stepped up and became the lumberjack that he truly was meant to be:
Chopping wood is not the funnest part of having a fire, but it must get done! Even when a wandering Nero from next door happens in on the chopping.
“Nero! Get out of the way!” ~Quinn
Emily was a little bit more lenniant with Nero…
So after more and more chopping,
It was finally time to start the fire!
And though fires are all nice and dandy by themselves, there is something EXTRA special about adding s’mores to the mix:
Eating s’mores inside is almost better then having them outside, as there are no summer mosquitoes to munch on YOU.
Now tomorrow is Halloween, and what would Halloween be without pumpkin carving? WELL! This year was Emily’s first time carving a pumpkin…and for a first timer we think she did pretty good!
Laura chose to carve smaller gourds, aren’t they adorable?
Abby chose to do an elegant carousel for her design:
And though Emily had fun, I don’t think she was ready for the gooey insides of her pumpkin…
While carving, Laura sported part of her costume: a lovely little lady bug!
Quinn had lots of concentration while working on his pumpkin, which was necessary for the complexity of his design: The crest of Hogwarts, from the Harry Potter book series.
During this time Melissa worked at her sewing machine, enjoying the fire in the fire place and the candles burning in pumpkins.
A relaxing way to spend Halloween Eve, unlike the night before (but you’ll have to read on for that story!).
The Story of the Big Black Bear
Last night, Emily and Quinn had just gotten into bed when a frantic knocking met their ears. Abby ran into their kitchen, “Emily! Quinn! You need to come out here!” Poor Abby had been trying to go to bed as well, but Cedar had been barking up a storm. In this season, that means a bear is lurking.
She had looked out the windows, but had seen no bear. She had even gone down to the basement and opened the back door, which turned out to be a mistake. A bear was right outside the door, happily getting into the scraps and garbage from the last couple of days.
Upon hearing that a bear was in the yard, Emily and Quinn quickly put on boots and coats and ran outside. While Emily chased off the bear (well…really she just got up close to it and yelled “Leave our trash alone!” several times), Melissa asked her to “Please don’t get eaten!!!”.
The bear did listen to Emily. But not before sticking its big black head into the trash can and taking a bag (or some ‘take-out’ if you will) down the hill with it. Quinn and Emily then wheeled the trash can inside to make sure no more trash would be gotten into.
And everyone lived happily ever after. Except Cedar. Who did not get any sleep with a bear outside in the yard.
Alaska String Band Blog 
Just found your blog. Love it! When are you coming to Texas? Hope to see you this fall or winter.
Great page. Felt like autumn watching you carve pumpkins and eating smores at a warm fire.