Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2008, over and done. It was way too hot and the kids' costumes made them sweat but they had a great time. We went trick or treating for about an hour with Jeremiah's very good friend Timothy and two of Timothy's friends. The kids were very excited and just ran up and down walkways to as many houses as they could. After about an hour, we walked over to the kids' school for a Trunk or Treat. There were hot dogs, drinks, and about 30 cars giving away candy. There was also a chili cook-off. If I had known I would have entered my chicken enchilada chili, which (if I do say so myself) is pretty tasty. When Alayna started tripping over herself and whining to go potty, that was our cue to head home. We stopped at a few more houses along the way (we live around the corner from the school) and called it a night.

Of course, the battery on our camera went out before the night even got started, but I did manage to get a few pictures and a video.





The Dark Side's protege:


Little Ladybug:



The night is done:




A message from the kids:



One side note:
It stung my heart every time I would see a baby Ezra's age toddling around (there were a lot of them). We had planned for Ezra to be Yoda this year, and he would have looked SO CUTE in the costume. He is always at the forefront of my mind at any family function. I still consider myself a Mom of 3 and us a family of 5. I wonder if that will change.

Pumpkin Patch

We visited a pumpkin patch this morning. It was very crowded, so we quickly went in, snapped some photos, let each child pick a pumpkin, and got outta there! Here are a few photos:

Jeremiah Photo Shoot

Last winter, Jeremiah learned to ride a two wheeler. He's still pretty unsteady, but efficient enough. He feels more confident on the grass, so he rides mostly in the field across from our house. Peter is working with getting him to ride on the asphalt...maybe next year we will let him ride his bike to school! (We live around the block from it...)

Alayna Photo Shoot

A few great shots of Alayna. These were taken at the zoo. Its been nice to have so much alone time with Alayna. I mean Jeremiah got 3 years (well 2 years, 11 months) of us all to himself, and Alayna never had any, until recently. I am cherishing it, because I know that all-too-soon she will be grown up and outta here. And I also know how delicate life is, and not to take any moment for granted.







Alayna loves to play the Donkey Kong Drum game (I don't know its official name). Peter loves this pic.

Our Disneyland trip

We're back! And we had a fantastic time! We spent two days at the happiest place on earth. The kids were so excited (and, of course, so was I). We did pretty much everything we wanted to, except the new Toy Story ride (because we didn't want to wait in a 2 hour line). One of our favorite moments was spreading some of Ezra's ashes in a garden by the Castle. Jeremiah helped and, because it was a little windy, Ezra sort of blew everywhere. It was a serene and perfect moment. We thought of our little man for much of our trip, wishing he had been with us. But, there was never a damper on our day. The weather was great and the kids behaved fairly well. They got a kick out of pin-trading with Disneyland workers. Jeremiah was tall enough for nearly every ride and loved them all (he couldn't choose a favorite when we asked him). Alayna was very sensitive to the sound and covered her ears for most of the rides. It was so nice to be together as a family, have fun, and forget about everything weighing us down. We had a wonderful time and cannot wait to return! Disneyland is always so much fun and I will NEVER get tired of it! I put together a little slideshow for your enjoyment. So enjoy!

Back to My Youth

Ahhh, to be young again. I got to go back in time (sort of) and relive one of the most profound experiences of my existence...New Kids on the Block! Yes, I admit, I was a "blockhead". I was a crazy fanatic whose walls were literally covered with their posters. Joe McIntyre was my favorite and occupied the wall right next to my bed. The entire wall. Even the ceiling was papered with their cute smiles. I finally grew out of them during the first months of 8th grade, but they'll always hold a special place in my heart. So much, in fact, that I spent a ridiculous amount of money to see them in L.A. during their reunion tour! And I have to tell you, they were awesome! I originally bought the ticket for nosalgia reasons, not expecting them to be very good or anything. But, let me tell you, they really know how to put on a show! Nearly 40 years old and they danced and sang and entertained for over 2 hours! I had such a great time! I went with my good friends Michelle and Jen, and Michelle's sister Jenny. It was quite strange to be at a New Kid show without my fellow fanatic fan Shannon by my side--we've been to 4 shows together! She was there, but sitting in a different spot. It was all sort of surreal. But, it was fantastic! I have to say though, I think I am defecting over to being a Jordan fan. He's aged incredibly well, and Joe no longer has that cute baby-faced look to him that I was originally attracted to. I think, also, that my taste has changed and Jordan is much closer to my current taste for men (what with him being tall, dark, and handsome--almost as tall, dark, and handsome as my husband!). So, I went to the concert and had a blast and thought I'd tell you about it. New Kids forever!