Detritus: Fall Activities (post one) and Vaction (post two)

As October winds down, the light at the end of the tunnel becomes a bit brigther. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and shortly thereafter, winter break begins. Sean and I both have our hands full with kids, teaching and writing. My proposal is in the works, and Sean continues to work on his dissertation, along with other projects. He's been selected to write two Encyclopedia articles: the entry on Hassan b. Ali and Uthman. My topic, as I've mentioned before, is the mytho-poetic persona of the qur'anic Eve. The qualifiers before her name are necessary since, ultimately, she is not explicitly named in the Qur'an. This venture has forced me to look at pseudepigraphical literature and Christian apocrypha, in order to become familiar with the oldest narratives which appear in late antiquity.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Eid. Some friends organized a trip to the bowling alley. What started off small eventually grew to include 15 couples or so. Fun was had by all. The bowling alley was not only equipped with bumpers, but a device on which children could position the ball so that it would roll directly down the middle. This was a big hit with the children, and something that I could have benefited from as well. I don't think I broke 100, but that's okay.

On Friday, we finally made it to the American Girl store (pictures to come later). My hope was that S would pick out one of the historical dolls. Not only do they come with books, but they come dressed in a time-period outfit. She had her heart set on a particular doll, however, that came without a name. I had to resist my urge (with the help of Sean) to micromanage her choice. I have to say that the dolls are made well, and I am satisfied with the purchase. S2 got a bitty baby. Frankly, I don't see any difference between this doll and its Target counterpart. S2 was not overly impressed with the store.

Eid at the Bowling Alley:

Our friend Laura's 10,000 day birthday party:

bonfire and the reaction of tasting burnt marshmallows!

It is becoming more apparent that someone got my hair (and as most people know, I have never embraced my curl :) ):

We've been to two Harvest Festivals this year. The first at ResCov, was hosted by Heath and Thais and co., and was tons of fun. Sean and I took the kids. The second was here near home. The kids ran free in the gymnasium, while I hung out with my friend, Sana. No pics from that (forgot the camera).

S painted S2's face:

Thais with kids:

The last weekend of summer:

Later in August (less than 2 weeks later, actually), we went to visit my parents. They live in Hot Springs Village, which is mostly a golfing community. They rented a townhome for us in the "deep, dark WOODS!" this is how we jokingly referred to our
location. The girls and I haven't lived in a rural setting, so it was kind of a joke. We had a great time and hope to go again.

My dad's house: