Fun = (Mark + Brittany) - (School + Work)

Brittany took this picture.  I thought it turned out really well.

I had a free weekend this weekend, meaning I had a test on Friday that ended a module, so I had nothing to study over the weekend (actually that's not technically true . . . there were projects from other classes I could have worked on, but did I?  Nooooo).  Brittany and I celebrated it by eating Quiznos for dinner and get this, watching two movies this weekend.  

In all seriousness it was a fun weekend.  Britt and I went out for dessert at a little French cafe on Friday and mostly just hung around with Juliette on Saturday.  We really do enjoy just hanging out, but sometimes we feel guilty about not having "a life," so on Saturday we went out to Great Falls Park on the Potomac River so we could take pictures and prove to the world that we have a life.  We really have been meaning to get out and look at the fall colors for a while now, and the weather was perfect yesterday so we seized the opportunity.  We had a lot of fun, and Juliette especially enjoyed it, riding on my back for the first time.  She jabbered the whole time, except for a brief period where she started fussing after realizing her afternoon nap had been cut short and she was a half hour overdue for feeding.  I was able to distract her from these distressing circumstances by holding her feet so she could stand and bounce as we made a hasty retreat to the car where her bottle was.  All in all we hiked maybe 3 or 3.5 miles.  It was a lot of fun.  And yes, we do have a life.  As evidence, I present the following pictures: 

Two pictures of me and Juliette.

This is Great Falls on the Potomac.  It may not be so impressive to some of you who live out West ;-) but it's pretty and it is a famous river.  And that counts for something.

This is Brittany, looking cute.  As usual.

Also, Juliette is shocked that we photographed her eating applesauce.  So is Brittany (if you look to the left).  Actually, Brittany is falling prey to I-can't-help-opening-my-mouth-when-my-child-is-taking-a-bite syndrome.  I know you know what I'm talking about.  If you don't, try feeding a baby sometime.

In case you haven't heard enough from me . . .

Just a quick plug:  I've opened another blog.  After reading some of Heather's recent posts and responses thereto I've decided it might be wise to separate my potentially controversial opinions from the family blog, which, let's face it, is just a photo album for Juliette.  So if you'd like access to the deep inner workings of my mind and because of temporal or geographical constraints don't have five minutes to sit in a room with me (because that's about how long it takes for me to get on a soap box) check out my new blog at salondulisle.blogspot.com  

Halloween Etc.

 

This is us on Halloween.  Juliette dressed up as a jack-o-lantern . . . which is to say we dressed her up as a jack-o-lantern.  It was very cute.  The weather was great and we had a fun walk before it got dark.  

Our life is good.  I'm starting to get the hang of school.  I've stopped going to lectures and instead study on my own either from home when I can or on campus when some obligation forces me to be there.  The extra time afforded by not commuting combined with the fact that I learn better studying on my own than from lectures has led to a significant improvement in my test scores.  Brittany is still busy, working hard.  We still find time for some fun, although the last two weeks have been absorbed by us putting our stuff in the basement.  I hate moving.  We're living in the basement forever.  Juliette, of course, is amazing.  She's a proficient front-to-back roller, but still hates tummy time, so her back-to-front rolling hasn't come yet.  She's close and would probably be able to if she didn't jerk herself back every time she comes close to rolling onto her front.  She also sits like a pro. 

So that's us.  I will now direct your attention to these cute pictures.  I'll post some more on Facebook.

 

Here is Juliette in her cute ducky dress with and without baseball cap.

 

Here's Juliette in dresses from Grandma McLerran and Granny Lisle (respectively)

 
Last of all, Juliette and I are planning an intervention for Brittany after we found her passed out when she OD'd on Halloween Candy.  It's a rising epidemic in our society.