that word above all earthly powers

last night, the residents of michael delving ate a hearty second-breakfast for dinner.  for afters, boookie requested a loud sing-along of his favorite hymn, "a mighty fortress is our God," complete with much banging of fists and dinner plates upon the tabletop.  

then the two eldest hobbitlings trooped-off for jammies and teeth-brushing, all the while discussing the finer points of martin luther's poetry.  

"what do you think it means that, 'one little word shall fell' the devil?" asked boookie.  "what 'little word' does that?"

to which ela confidently responded, "the word 'please'."

Halloween!

Although it was not a tradition for the Mayor or the Hobbit Wife growing up, Halloween has become a fun time to dress up and have fun.  This year, the festivities kicked off with a CrossFit Kids costumed workout at one of our favorite places to hang out as a family, Locals Gym.  Here's the class doing burpees with Ela leading in the middle as Super Coach Carrie's special helper.

Here's Ela helping lead the class with shoulder shrugs, or "I Dunnos"

Here's Boookie sprinting along with fantastic running form.

Here's Ela posing with her "Spirit of CrossFit Kids" award.  She's not the fastest or the strongest, but she always does her best and encourages others. 

After the workout, Boookie donned his Clone Trooper costume to play for a bit and so he could pose with Darth Vader.  The look on the face of all the kids was priceless when Darth Vader walked into the gym at the end of their workout!

For Halloween, we stayed close to home and dressed up to hand out candy, making brief rounds to visit our neighbors.  Ela was a ballerina, although the black tutu is somewhat difficult to see in the dark. 

 Here's Boookie in his Clone Trooper costume.  Glow sticks have become part of our tradition; Boookie is wearing his on his helmet and in the barrel of his blaster to make it look like it's firing.

Seimi was overjoyed to be able to enjoy the bounty that the other hobbitlings brought back home.

 The Mayor getting in some post-Halloween celebration for a job well done.