Gratuitous cute kid pics, with a fatbike thrown in for good measure

This evening, the girls were ready early for trick-or-treating.

October has been sparse in activity here, but not in real-life activity. Rest assured things have been quite busy around the old bike ranch, so busy in fact that this oft neglected blog has once again nearly shriveled up. So, to make up for the neglect, at least in part, the following are a bunch of photos that are chock full of seasonal flavor. Enjoy!

To start, a couple of weeks ago, our local farm had its annual pumpkin patch sale. As has been the case in the past few years, it was a cold, wet, muddy event. We quickly dashed in, grabbed our pumpkin and got out.

Our furry little creature seems to enjoy sharing the ride with a large vegetable.

We braved the drizzle long enough to have a little fun along the way.

A week or so later, the weather was nicer. I took the opportunity to test out the Daddying capabilities of the Pugsley. The results were quite positive, however riding in rain or dust would undoubtedly result in dirty, unhappy conditions for anyone riding in the trailer. A nice layer of snow, on the other hand might be different. I have a set of kid-sized skis that quite likely have a future in place of the wheels on the Burley trailer at some point this winter. A fatbike pulling a ski trailer is something that I haven't yet seen anywhere else. You are correct in determining that my benefactors at the National Science Foundation are getting their money's worth out of me. They encourage us to color outside the lines.

Pugsley power. How does Big Fat Dummy Daddy sound?

Aww, how cute.

Scout has been with us for 11 months now, and is a changed, confident dog.
Though, we haven't mastered 'sit' or many other non-bike related commands quite yet.

Last night, we finally got around to pumpkin carving. Big Sis drafted the plans and I did the knife work. She decided to go with a classic design, talking of the design process of the mean girls who drew on Charlie Brown's head during It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Deftly, I avoided volunteering my sparsely haired, pumpkin-sized head as drawing material. By the way, this year's airing of The Great Pumpkin was asininely scheduled on Halloween night at 7:00 by the brainiacs at ABC. Don't they realize that's exactly the wrong time to air a traditional Halloween special, because no one will be at home to see it? This conflict is obvious to everyone except a network executive, apparently.

In any case, I'll have to say that the results of our pumpkin project turned out quite good. As is the case with most farm-raised pumpkins, the seeds were perfect for roasting.

This is what happens to eyes when a flash illuminates an otherwise completely darkened room.

The girls' eyes aren't so bugged out in a room with the lights on.

This morning, the girls were up early to get ready for the day-long sugar fest that is Halloween. I continue to be astonished at how the holiday is an entirely different experience as a parent. I confess that Halloween and Valentine's Day are not as popular with me as I edge ever closer into becoming a grumpy old man.

The costumes turned out pretty good this year. Julie sourced the pumpkin costume and parts of the Word Girl costume. As the seamstress of the family, I sewed the satiny cape and constructed the Word Girl emblem on the red shirt. Her venerable red rain boots filled the role as superhero boots. For those who aren't parents or at least viewers of afternoon PBS programs, Word Girl is actually a quite entertaining and intelligently written show that is a gem among programs aimed at children. It's well worth checking out, especially for the quirky villains.

All dressed up and ready to go. 

Our little pumpkin.

Word Girl is ready to fly.

This coming weekend is fatbike Halloween for the Denver area. At least, that's what I expect the Unicorn Petting Zoo as advertised by Surly and Salvagetti to approximate. I'll bet on more beer and fewer pumpkins, however. I plan to make my way over to meet some of the Surly goofballs from the mothership, rub elbows with many of my fellow fatbike colleagues from the region, and throw a leg over a Krampus or two. If I survive the encounter, you can count on a report right here at some point in the future. That is all.