The forecast and an APB

Missing: Mr. Autumn

Nickname: Fall Guy

Description: An old friend who shows up in these parts around this time of year and shacks with us for about three months. A cool dude, but often moody and unpredictable. Will bring lots of water and colors with him, but no hot air.

If found, please return to October so people can feel like life is still somewhat normal and so they don't have to worry about displaced polar bears washing up on the shores of Florida.

Running in the suburban rat race

The past few weeks have been marked by a lot of running. We've been runnning to and from school events where the kids have been running — first in Moore Miles (where Natasja teamed up with her friend, Lauren), then in a mile run around Pinkerton Park. In between, we've shuttled to and from play dates, soccer practices, Girl Scout meetings, house guests, doctor visits, pirate parties for mom. Somehow, we've squeezed in the occasional nap to make sure we can keep running.

Coming up: Parent-teacher conferences, a pack of dentist appointments, Sebastian's birthday and Geert's road trip to Mizzou.

But our scampering doesn't hold a candle to what Oma and Opa are doing. They're moving this weekend - from Singapore to El Paso, pictured below.

Prancing princesses

By now, we're closer to Sebastian's birthday - the camera kept disapperaring when we needed to download - but we still need to post these shots from Sophia's recent birthday party. It was a nice night at home with friends, a big castle cake and a couple bottles of vino.