Busy Time

Is there ever a time of year that I won't be busy, I wonder? The onslaught of what needs to be done right now seems neverending. I just opened my calendar to November, and it's strangely blank. I'm pretty sure I've avoided filling in the things that have come up because I don't want to see how overwhelming my schedule is becoming. This year we've really tried to keep the focus on the kids' schooling, so I haven't volunteered to be in charge of anything, and I've kept my daytime commitments down to almost zero. The kids have been making steady progress, but I've not seen the expected decrease in whining. Well, I guess that's the next thing to work on, then, isn't it?

We did make time for Halloween, here's the crew before setting off for trick-or-treating.
From left to right, we have a Medieval assassin, cowgirl, cowboy, and King of the Nine riders from Lord of the Rings. They had a great time!