Not Red States and Blue States...The United States of America

“As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, ‘We are not enemies, but friends – though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help and I will be your president too.”
~ Barack Obama

Trick-or-Treat...

TWO YEARS IN A ROW! Two years in a row I have totally biffed to pictures of Halloween costumes. So let me describe them to you...

Trevor... Black full body suit with a black cape and a mask. Any guesses? I told him he needed to learn to say "Luke, I am your Father" in a voice like the guy that does telephone commercials. Yep, you got it. Darth Vader. I think he wanted to be him because his light saber was broken and that way he could get me to buy another one. Hard to believe a movie that came out when I was a child his age is still such a huge influence. In his 2nd grade class were 4 Darth Vaders and a Storm Trooper!

Elise... cowboy boots, brown long leather jacket, cowgirl hat, pig tails, and bucket that said "pony food" on it for collecting her goodies. That was way easy. She is our "little Cowgirl".

Megan... for a hint Megan's initials are M M. She had on green and black striped tights, black go-go style boots, and a huge Green circle with a giant M on it. She was an adorable green M&M candy.

They were all adorable... we went trick or treating with cousins Caleb (scarey scream guy) and Avery (a pretty peacock) since they live in suburbia and have lots of options for a great looting. They got so much candy that towards the end of the night Megan's bag broke wide open on someones front porch as she was getting more candy. How lucky it was there and not in the middle of the street. Oy Vay! Lucky for her they lady that answered the door gave her a new bag to hold all her junk!

I am hoping someone else got some pictures. If I can come up with photos I will post them here to be viewed by all!
Grandma to the rescue...got a few photo's hopefully my sister got a couple good ones too~

On Hallowe'en the thing you must do
Is pretend that nothing can frighten you
And if somethin' scares you and you want to run
Just let on like it's Hallowe'en fun.
~19th Century Halloween postcard

Life and Death of a Pumpkin...

A video perfect for the holiday...a little spooky for little ones though. Consider yourself warned. It made it so much harder to carve our pumpkins. I should be a liberator instead we scooped out his guts and ate his seeds. They were yummy too!

The kids had no help on there pumpkin designs. Megan and Elise designed and carved their own pumpkins. Trevor drew out his design but needed some help getting it carved. He was a little disappointed Mom was not talented enough to carve the words "The Temple of Doom" on the tombstones...maybe next year?! I better get my act together!

My new favorite pumpkin cleaning tool!
A metal ice cream scoop. Where have you been all my life?

A lot of concentration


A ghost flying out of a tombstone

Traditional with the word "HI" carved in his mouth

Very green and with a giant smile!

I've learned there are three things you don't discuss with people: religion, politics and
the Great Pumpkin.
-Linus

I'm out of my Gourd! But you all new that was the case...

Pumpkins, corn, carmel apples and pictures...! We hit the Bob's Corn festivities this weekend. Corn maze and pumpkin patch Ho-down. We had fun finding that perfect pumpkin and attempting to maneuver thru a 10 acre maze of corn. Grandma, Papa and Brea and her lovelies joined us for a great weather accommodating afternoon. Avery picked herself a tiny pumpkin (although I am pretty sure it was a squash) I think Caleb ended up with the largest -- Megan gave him a run for his money! We have a rule that really makes it easier for the parents... You have to be able to carry your own pumpkin and scoop it out yourself! It certainly makes them think twice about a 50 pound pumpkin...especially since Trevor only weighs 54 pounds himself! Although he tried...you will see he picked a pumpkin that was pretty big!

Enjoy the pictures... there is also a link to a slideshow of more if you are interested.

From Bob's Corn 10/19/08

From Bob's Corn 10/19/08

From Bob's Corn 10/19/08

From Bob's Corn 10/19/08

14 days and counting...

Hi all I will not pontificate on how you should vote. I believe that we all have the right to make up our own minds and not belittle anyone or make them feel like they cannot discuss what they believe to be true. I also believe-- we all believe-- we are in a mess of hurt right now due to poor decisions made by many. The best thing I can do is research and explore why my candidate is the right choice not why the other one is wrong.

So come on...get mad if you have to... Vote however you feel you need to! Make your voice be heard loud and clear!


Decisions are made by those who show up.
- Aaron Sorkin

an afternoon in the life...

Broke out the camera today! Check it out...

Elise today...finally not a canned smile.


Megan having some chill time before hitting the homework! I am stunned at how much homework they all have. Keep in mind Trevor and Elise are in 2nd grade. Megan is in 4th grade. HOMEWORK EVERYDAY! Crazy!



Trevor chowing on a homemade cookie...can you tell Mom had the day off? Gee, you can really see all the fingerprints on his glasses in a picture! Better remedy that...

Have you ever seen these?

They are so cute! Do you know what they are?

They are tiny little Kiwis that aren't ripe yet. You eat them skin and all like a grape...we love them! Probably not something we will buy frequently since they are a little expensive but we had to try them! Next time I think we will try Kumquats.