Trick or Treat!!!

It was a cold and dark halloween night. Even the pumpkins were bundled up snug and tight. It was Mr. Derek's very first halloween.



A little neighborhood duck named Addie, took her folks out for a walk. Another first timer, no candy tonight for her. Sorry kids, you have to wait for a few more teeth before your parents will let you dive into your candy stash.



Natalie, the cowgirl, taught her whole family how to yell, "YEEHAW!!!" on cue. She's teaching her little bro Chase how halloween is done.



Glinda the Good Witch, floated in on her bubble, bringing Emma the cheerleader and Superman, aka mild mannered (?) Eli Robinson. Now these three know how to dive into a bag of candy until the very last tootsie roll is headed down the digestive track.



Back to our little pumpkin and his Mom and Dad. As you can see by the look on his face, this will be the last and only year that he will be sharing his candy with them. Next year they will just have to buy their own (or wait for him to fall asleep).

Boo Who!!!!

oooooOOOOOOooooo .... It's getting to be that time of year. A chill in the air, crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, and pumpkins with creepy expressions.

Today, two local artists came to my house to create these fantastic pumpkin works of art. I think Eve and Eli did a fabulous job, and with the exception of their house, I now have the best looking pumpkins in the hood!




Eli's depiction of his teacher after he said something that just popped into his mind.




Eve's portrayal of Mom after she's talked to Eli's teacher.




Eli's interpretation of Dad after Mom told him what Eli said.




Eve's self portrait after Mom and Dad talked to Eli.




Eli's self portrait, "Have a nice day!"

Babies Everywhere!

Before Katie went back to school, she insisted on meeting the new cute guy on the block. Katie meet Chase. Chase meet Katie.


It was nice for Natalie to chaperone her brother. Doesn't she look happy!


This is Natalie's signature smile. I can't wait to get a copy of her high school graduation picture with this smile.


It's exhausting meeting new people. Chase likes to sleep. Alot. But mostly during the day. Then he really likes to wake up and hang out with his parents in the middle of the night. They aren't so excited about this arrangement. Before they know it he will be sleeping through the night. And then it is only a matter of time before Natalie or Chase borrows the car for the night and they'll be up til the wee hours again.

Peek-A-Boo Maura!

Have you ever noticed that the first party people throw you is a party that they know you can't attend? Your cake, and you don't get a piece. Oodles of gifts for you that someone else opens.



Well, even though Maura didn't make it, her Mom, Stacee showed up. Mom is really ready for Maura to make her entrance ... though she is a little less excited to have 2 children under 2. It will be a short wait, until January 8th when Maegan will turn 2. Hmmmmmmm, infant and 2 year old, not sure that will be a way better deal. Oh well, Stacee is tough & Ryan is a saint, so things should go smoothly. Unless Maegan, the Starbucks Princess, realizes that she is the power center of the family, this could get entertaining.



Aunt Tiffany was the party planner. She made reservations at Claim Jumpers where no one goes home hungry. In fact, typically you go home with leftovers for the rest of the month. Yum! But the best part of a baby shower in a public place means no baby shower games. Yeah! And a cake from the Cake Studio, it just doesn't get any better than that!



Girl's afternoon out!!! Ask the Moms of the preschoolers, its fun to go out with the grown ups. I have a secret for you, its even more fun when your kid is one of the grown ups!

Halloween shopping

With only a couple more weeks to go before the big day, I thought it was time to do a little Halloween shopping for the kids. You know when you wait til the very last minute there are very slim pickens for costumes. I was just hopping that they like the costumes that I picked out for them. Sydney is a lobster and Duncan is Dogzilla.



Aren't they adorable? And don't they look happy? Maybe they can go trick or treating with Eve and Eli. Eve said that she was going to be "Glinda, the Good Witch" (which got Peter & I very excited because Glinda is just about our favorite person in the whole wide world right now). I wonder if this means that Mary and Eve talked Eli into being a munchkin or if he has dug in his heels and will be escorting Eve as a Power Ranger. Only time will tell.

Maybe next year I can convince the kids on a Disney theme and Sydney would agree to be "Snow White" (I know a bit of a stretch considering her coloring, but the Snow White choice has a long history in Farewell Lore). That would leave Duncan to be Dopey or Grumpy (Definately not Happy or Bashful or Sleepy). Or maybe an 8th Dwarf named Barky!

Mr. Photogenic!

Did you see the front page of the Soundlife section of the Tacoma News Tribune today??? The most adorable & photogenic man was featured. His name is Eli.



You can check out the article that goes along with this great picture by clicking here. But truly, it's all about the picture. Can a string of national commercials, a lucrative movie deal, or starring in his own TV series be far off. Just remember, we all knew him when.

Don't Bring Dessert Monday!

Tonight Columbia Junior High School had their annual Dessert Auction, and here are some of the troublemakers who attended. Isn't Jewel looking demure? Don't let her fool you, she is a fierce tigress when it comes to the hunt and kill of the dessert. And our Peter. It's a shame that he doesn't have a better time when he goes out on a Friday night. When I said don't bring dessert to Monday night dinner, it wasn't because Jennifer might share her Chocolate Ganache cupcakes.



It was because of this:



Frightening isn't it. I know, me and charity auctions, it's a slippery slope. But hey, it's for a good cause. Probably no need to tell you that our table was the big scorers of the night. So Monday nighters can expect Captain Jack's Rum Cake (to die for), Tiarmisu (heaven in your mouth), Cheesecake (no calories here) and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza. I'm tellin' ya, don't bring dessert.

Meet Tina and Jason. Aren't they too cute. Tina is our life skills teacher, and Jason is her alarm clock. Thank you Jason, for waking her up every morning and sending her our direction. Tina is great to work with. She is a like working with Stacee Flynn after a year of study in a Zen Buddist Monastery (if you can imagine that, I know it's a stretch). Tina was a para in this classroom for years, and then became certifiable this summer. And after a day of WASL training, I bet she wonders why she every gave up the best job in the whole world for the position of power, glamour and fame.




Meet the hardest working cowboy at the whole gawl darn burn shindig. Toto, I don't think we are in Tacoma anymore, it must be Fife. Mr. Miller is Fife's legendary PE teacher. I don't think their is a graduate of the Fife School District, since it's inception that hasn't had Mr. Miller for PE. As fun as he is to watch work a crowd of adults, you should see him work a crowd of 8th & 9th graders. They don't stand a chance in the presence of the Master. Probably the only reason that our table bought so much stuff was just the shere salesmanship of Mr. Miller, he's da man!

Howdy Neighbor!!!!

Welcome Chase Allan Gordon to our neighborhood. Born at 7:05 am, weighing in at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and stretching 19 inches from head to toe. Isn't he a hunk!!!!!!



What a happy family. And to think that Railene, the amazing, arrived at the hospital a mere 25 minutes before giving birth. What??? Did she think that TG charges by the minute??? Talk about impressive! Jason is such a proud papa (proud because he got the sod put in before Chase arrived). Natalie, such a happy big sister, unaware that this tiny creature has totally ruined her perfect life forever (at least that's the story she will tell in the future). Don't worry Nat, you are older, bigger, smarter, you get him back in ways that we can't even imagine.

Welcome Chase to your brand, new family (btw be happy your parents didn't name you Flash or Jordon).