Happy Halloweekend!

Jason carved the family pumpkin at YM last week. A squash with a geometric soul. Julia made her Halloween debut as a Formula 1 racer with her pit crew in tow. We flew to Chicago in time to catch Magnus in his skeleton suit - what a cutie! We celebrated Magnus' blessing and Jenni and Reid's Chicagoland tour and enjoyed spending a few precious days with our family.

Smiles!

Denise found a spunky new friend for Julia in the toy bin at Old Navy. We named the pig Olivia Dora. And here's a shot of Jason reading to Julia before the plane took off from Chicago. The man next to us said that he was grateful to see that parents are reading the same books he read to his kids 20 years ago. I read "Where's Spot" at least 100 times to Tristan...and now I'm making the rounds again with Julia, who is also quite fond of Sally's hunt. Unlike the flight to Chicago, which had a serious crying spell (Jason heard a passenger behind us say to his neighbor, "You're just going to have to get used to it, man"), the trip home was a dream, thank heavens.

With Denise at Matisse

Last week Julia and I went with Denise Doolan to see the Matisse cutouts at the National Gallery. The security guard told us that he wasn't supposed to voice any opinions about the art but he took great pride in showing off the cutouts and discussing their history. He said that he takes notes when the curators come through. I love the faces that Matisse painted in the middle of these cutouts - they convey a unique grace with such spare brushstrokes.