Halloween Festivities

You know you have kids when Halloween requires more outings than Christmas. The past 2 weeks have been a flurry of Halloween preparations and celebrations. We all had fun, but I was happy when Saturday night came and went - I was done with Halloween. Shane insisted on being a Stormtrooper this year. He wanted to be a jedi, but then he decided he wanted to carry a gun instead of a lightsaber. So the theme was set. I planned for Myann to be Lei, but then she found the elephant costume and insisted on being an elephant. I couldn't argue, it was free and Shane's costume from his 2nd Halloween. Then I decided Anders would be Chewbaca. Shane wanted me to be Asajji, no clue who she is, but she is a character in his wii game. I told him no because it was a bit skimpy.

We started with a trip to a retirement home, dressed in costume to greet the residents. My kids are social, so they really enjoyed talking with the "older" residents. Myann was hysterical. On the way there, I explained we were meeting other kids Grandmas and Grandpas. So when we get there, she starts asking the ladies, "What are you called?" They thought she was asking their names, I did too at first, and then realized she was asking for their identification, Grandma or Grandpa and by what title. Then she met one lady and asked her if the lady next to her was her mom. The lady got a kick out of that, since they both looked to be a similar age. Shane asked ,"Where are the boys?" Sadly, retirement homes mostly have women and Shane noticed.
So stinkin' cute!!!


The kids had school parties - sorry no photos.

Pumpkin Painting at my friend, Jaidean's.





Thursday night was our little party for the mom's I hang out with. The kids just ran wild and had a wonderful time.
It's a hat, it's a witch, no it's just Myann


Decorating cookies, Shane is a huge sprinkles fan


Myann is the elephant, enough said


Playing "Hot Pumpkin"

The group


Friday night was Hallowfest at the school. Shane did his first haunted house and came out saying, "That wasn't scary. I did not get scared." I think he was trying to convince himself.

Then Tina and I went to our neighbor's party. I have been dying to see the inside of this house. I have loved this house since before we moved in. They live up the hill from us and the house is ridiculous. The party was fun, you can see from our crazy neighbors.



Saturday we went to the Frenches for Halloween, as we have for 3 years now. They are wonderful hosts and we had some awesome food prepared by Blaine's parents. The kids love hanging out together and the adults like the community effort. Instead of just drinking wine at the house, I actually went with the kids for a while this year. Usually the dads take the kids and the moms stay home and pass out candy. I wanted to see the kids, but ended up carrying Myann door to door. That lasted 2 long blocks and then I was wiped out.





Action shot at the door, probably Shane announcing, "I said thank you mom."

San Diego getaway

I have been planning to go back to San Diego for a visit, since we were there last year. We took the whole family in the summer of 2008, but I did not get to see a lot of my friends. So I wanted to go back sans kids. It finally worked out that I could go with Brian on his monthly trip. It was a wonderful 3 days. I read 2 books, more than I normally read in months. We flew alone, haven't done that in almost 2 years. We enjoyed dinner on the beach at the Hotel del Coronado. I shopped with my friend Liz, visited my old coworkers, had dinner with my first mommy friends (who I love and miss), and hung out with my aunts, Sandy and Cheryl. We also met some friends Didier and Nathalie, refugees from Congo, who are doing amazingly well. They came here with nothing and now have 2 beautiful children and Didier is working at the San Diego Zoo, a huge thing since he was a vet in Congo, but can't practice here until he takes more classes and gets recertified.
Oh yea, and I did a little shopping at the mall that used to be my daily stomping ground, it is across the street from my old office.

Touring the Midway - aircraft carrier
Cheryl, me, Sandy



Didier and Nathalie

Scenic Train Ride

Today we did the Lions Club scenic train ride from Ione. Sadly, we did not do this ride when the Martinez family visited. However, we were able to reschedule and go with our friends the Prizemans. The drive there was gorgeous, in fact Brian told me he did not want me to point out one more colorful tree. What can I say, the tree colors were amazing. I love fall in the Pacific Northwest. The train ride was enjoyable because you could sit back and just enjoy the scenery. It was gorgeous and we had great weather and could sit in the outdoor car. The photos do not do it justice.








Yes, I gave birth to him.

Snow White

The new remastered Blu-Ray Snow White arrived today. As a special treat we put in the movie after dinner and let them enjoy. At first they were not impressed since they are used to the high tech cartoons made today, but once they got into the story, they were hooked. Not a word out of them for an hour and a half.

Though watching the end at this moment, I hope they don't have nightmares. I don't remember it being this scary. Yikes!

When she died, Shane turned to me and said, "Mom, this is not a good story." Then he followed it with, "They are going to make her alive again right?".

Anders is 13 months

In honor of Anders turning 13 months, I got a video of him standing. No walking yet, but he has mastered standing unassisted, so as soon as he gets the nerve, he will be off.

Ok, so no video, I forgot that he is freestyling and I don't want his business aired on the internet.

Shane's school field trip

My mommy moment arrived...I was a chaperone on a school field trip for Shane. Shane was so excited to have me on the trip, and I think I was more thrilled than he was. It was so fun to see him with his classmates. I met and watched him interact with his best class buddy Andrew. I also got to know his teachers better and generally have a good time on the trip to Walter's Fruit Ranch. We drank cider, picked apples, and picked pumpkins out of the patch.

Anders - my drinker

Anders is still nursing. I love this, but somedays I feel like I have spent the better part of my adult life with a baby attached to me. He is not a fan of the bottle or milk from a sippy cup. Myann went through the same thing, which is why I nursed her until she was 18 months. In an effort to diversify, I have been pushing a straw and he finally got the concept. Of course, now he always wants a straw. He also likes drinking out of regular cups and begs to drink from my cup all the time.

Martinez Family Visit

This weekend my wonderful friend Tricia and her family visited us. I have been so looking forward to having them here. Tricia is one of those people that come into your life and you just want to be her friend. As made evident by the fact that Tricia has sooooo many friends, and I am lucky to count myself as one of those. We met working for the FDA, but should have met years before, since our lives have taken similar paths.

We had lots of plans for the weekend to show them around. They wanted to see the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, a couple days into the trip, their son developed croup, so they also saw the inside of our ER. However, we still got out before and after to show them the sites. The kids enjoyed having Xavier around and Xavier loved our dogs, and he hugged them every chance he got, what a sweetie.

Feeding the ducks






Riverfront Park





Knapp's Pumpkin Patch







At Tubbs Hill



At the Arboretum