Zadie's Lazy Eye

So apparently Zadie's left eye hasn't been doing its chores. It has become a little lazy. We had to go to the optometrist to get her vision checked out. The right eye was perfect but the left eye didn't see so well. It was somewhat of a traumatic experience for her (and Dad!). She had to have eye drops put in to dilate her eyes and then the doctor checked them out. She did not want to have glasses at all. We got back today from a second appointment and were told that she really didn't need glasses but would have to patch her right eye for two months. Two days on and one day off. We worked it out so she wouldn't have to have the patch on during her birthday party. Today is an on day. She is taking it pretty good. Better than Dad is! Lazy eye is called amblyopia. For more information about amblyopia you can click here.

Frankenstein

It was our third year growing giant pumpkins. The first year we grew two pumpkins weighing in at 326 and 301 pounds. The second year we grew two pumpkins weighing in at 494.5 and 569 pounds. This year wasn't our best year but we got three pumpkins. Their weights were 386.5, 237, and 157 pounds. I thought I was on to something by bringing home the wasted parenteral nutrition bags from work and spraying them with it. In the end I think it wasn't such a great idea! We had a great family outing on Monday night and carved the ghost picture in the 386.5 pound pumpkin and tonight we carved Frankenstein in the 237. We think they look pretty good!

Carlson's Halloween 2008

Here we are with our 386 pound pumpkin. We carved it as three ghosts looking into a window. Rick's job is to clean it out and get the seeds. Kendra's job is the creative part of carving. All the kids chip in with help with everything. The first year they were not excited to get their hands dirty. This year they were up to their elbows in pumpkin guts!