Another night of kids dressing up and running through the streets getting treats from our friends and neighbors. As far as holidays go, Halloween is not my favorite. I know lots of people love it, but I've hated being scared and everything that goes along with that since I was a kid - my Dad and older sister will back me up on that one! But, since this is a holiday that is about the kids I let them lead the way & I'll follow along. T-man was so excited this year it was really fun to feel his enthuasiasm. As he was counting down the days, trying out his cape, experimenting with the face make-up, and trying on his vampire teeth, he told me that he was more excited about Halloween than learning to read, which at the moment is a huge deal for him! I had to smile when we were asking Ian what he was going to be for Halloween and he said he thought he'd be a vampire like Truman! It was so cute to see them together comparing teeth and deciding whether or not to use the fake blood. The girls were very cute too! Bea decided she wanted to be a chef, which wasn't too much of a surpise. Maddie saw a costume of a "not-so-scary-scarecrow" and thought she'd like to be something like that. Once we got her in her costume, she looked so cute we thought she really should be a scarecrow princess! That is the fun part of the night for me - seeing how much fun the kids have dressing up.

Puppy Love



We recently decided that we're probably as ready as we'll ever be to find a new dog to join our family since Bear died a few years ago. We've been looking around & met a few dogs at the humane society, but yesterday we visited one of the animal shelters near us and fell in love with the sweetest pair of big brown eyes. T-man is totally smitten with our newest addition! On the drive home he told us "I can tell, she is my very best friend". When she collapsed for a quick puppy nap T-man brought her his blanket that he's had since he was her age & thought she might like to snuggle with it. It has been so fun to watch them snuggle and wrestle just like puppies. We've settled on the name Pippin and it seems to suit her just fine.

Kerry grew up in a beautiful part of Pennsylvania, and we love to go back and visit! This summer we had the perfect excuse for a visit - Kerry's parents were going to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and the siblings all decided it would be great to throw a surprise party for them. We all arranged to be visiting at the same time and I'm pretty sure we pulled off the surpise part of the party. We arrived in PA a few days before the party and spent one day running around Philadelphia with an old navy buddy of Kerry's and his two daughters.


Although it was blazing hot with incredible humidity we had a great day! The kids loved hearing the stories at the "Once Upon a Nation" story telling benches and I got to see Betsy Ross' house. Did you know she didn't actually make the first US flag? I'm pretty sure in elementary school I was told that & I've believed it all these years. A fabrication I was told, hmmmmm, I wonder what other truths I hold dear are fabrications. Something to ponder.

Back to my story, we got to see the famous Reading Terminal and sampled MANY yummy things! I think sampling local food is one of our family's favorite things about travelling. We had a cheesesteak, of course, but we also tried local ice cream, soft pretzels, honey from upstate, and the yummiest sticky buns ever from a Menonite stand. That was all in our first hour in Philadelphia! We slowed down on the eating just a bit, but basically nibbled our way through a gorgeous town that I'll be glad to visit again.




After our full day of touristing in Philadelphia we headed up to the much quieter mountains where Kevin & Sandy live & where the festivities were going to be held. Kevin & Sandy have a beautiful spot - 15 acres with a pond for fishing, cool old farmhouse they're renovating and TONS of wild berries ripe for the pickin! The party went off without a hitch, Kerry's parents seemed genuinely surprised (and luckily pleased) to see all the kids and about 30 others excited to celebrate such an event. We'd been able to get pictures from their wedding that no one had seen in forever put into a photo album and gave it to them as a gift. The rest of our visit was much more focused on spending time with aunts, uncles, cousins, neices, and nephews. We spent lots of time chatting, eating, fishing & just playing! I had such a good time getting to spend time with that part of my extended family that I miss so much throughout the year!





For our last day on the east coast we all went to Knoebels - the oldest family owned amusement park in the US. It was so fun! I'm usually not an amusement park type person - I don't really like Disneyland or Six Flaggs, it's just not my thing, but this was such a cool place. It was a beautiful setting, and lots of the rides were classic and unique. We had a great time!

Bird Watching...

Truman has become quite the bird-man lately. For Christmas he asked for - and got - birdwatching supplies. His actual request was so cute I don't think anyone could have turned him down. He asked for binoculars, a bird book, bird food, good boots & a little vest with lots of pockets to hold all his supplies. He didn't actually get the little vest, but the rest was waiting for him on Christmas morning & he has loved them ever since. He has been spending a lot of time with his very patient big sister sitting in a tree watching for all the birds that come to visit our yard. Maddie has been kind enough to take notes for him so he can keep track of the birds he's spotted. We've found lots of nests in our yard this year & we had a family of doves living in our pepper tree. We spotted them right before the babies got too big for the nest & had to spend their time hiding in the yard waiting for mama & papa to come back with snacks. This presented a small problem at our house - every afternoon we let our small flock of chickens out to roam & scratch & peck & nibble and they seem to be a very territorial bunch. When the chickens are out and spot any other bird in their yard they charge - head down, wings flapping, full steam ahead at the intruder. When the chickens found the babies hiding near the lemon tree and started flapping & making all sorts of noise Truman decided that he would stand guard over the baby doves while they were staying in our yard. So, for the next few afternoons he stood between the babies and the chickens & shooed them away when they got too close. It was too cute, he was an awesome babysitter. The baby doves have flown the coop & now we watch the skies and hope they stop by the feeder for a visit.

Home schooling - Karen was out-of-town for a few days attending her grandmother's funeral so I had sole parent duty. I thought I should do something fun, so I took the kids out to Cabrillo Monument on Pt. Loma. We picked up some sandwiches from my favorite deli 'brown bag deli' and headed out to the lighthouse. What a beautiful San Diego day it was. We had a great time.

Ah, dirt - bugs - green - chickens, what could be better than that? We've been able to enjoy a few weekends of gorgeous weather between the unusual cold and rain we've been having lately. The chicks are growing and are turning out to be such a great bunch of girls. They are so personable and curious about what we're doing. Hopefully they'll be laying for us soon, I love to go treasure hunting in the coop everyday.