Halloween Night!

What a great Halloween it was. The kids were so excited to get dressed up (minus Brock) and were even more excited for it to "get dark so we can go trick-or-treating!" I think seeing them so excited gets me all excited. Paige said earlier that day that our house wasn't scary enough - so we hung a few extra lights and tried to scare it up a bit.

Here are all the kids dressed to go out. We have Hannah Montana, Mr. Incredible, Fancy Nancy, A Monkey, and Fancy Nancy's little sister. Brock was not having it one bit! We'll see how he does....

Owen grabbed on to Paige and said, "I scared!" I just laughed every time I saw him. That mask kills me!
This girl thought she was so "HOT" in those fake lashes! Look who's warming up to Trick-or-Treating! By the end of the night you couldn't keep this kid away from the houses. He loved it and in fact he lasted as long as Paige and Owen did! Great job Brocky Boy!
What a great shot of all the kids going door to door!

Owen's Preschool Halloween

For preschool on Wednesday the kids came dressed in their costumes and ready for a fun day. Owen was so into being Mr. Incredibles although (if you've seen the movie) I think he looks much more like "Dash" - all the same to him. The kids were all ready for their performance when we got there. To my suprise Owen kept his mask on the entire time. Poor guy - could he even see that good??? Here they are scaring us at the end of a song.

Pumpkin Carving

Another year for pumpkin carving... This year Paige did it all by herself - well Skylar helped out!

We got the kids dressed in costumes just to get a cousin shot. Here they are - Brock wasn't too happy.
We have a Witch, Tootsie Roll, Southern Bell, Hulk, Hannah Montana, Monkey, Mr. Incredibles, Witch and Bat.

FHE: Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with family for Family Night. Of course I had no make-up on and we saw a ton of people there. Go figure! We met up with the Lowry's and tried to get a group photo... Brock wasn't too into it.
The kids road some of the crazy carnival rides they have there - don't worry they cost a fortune!
John won Owen a little pink dog... he loved it!
Paige is always willing to pose for a picture.
The tea cups! You couldn't pay me to go on them.
I couldn't believe how fast these two were going. I was worried someone was going to throw up.
There is John again... spending the kids tickets on games.
And of course a family photo - not too close... once again - I forgot to put make-up on that day. It was just one of those days... too busy... too many things to do.

Mud Run

Last Saturday was the Camp Pendelton Mud Run. This is our group's 4th year participating and my 3rd year running it. This year we ran with the original 5 girls. I am missing my shirt - I just couldn't find it in my messy closet. My sister Elena came out from Colorado to run it too - she ran solo though and finished way ahead of us. Here is a few of us coming up a small hill. Every year we stop for a photo op at the half way point. This castle is at the top of a giant hill and is a perfect stop for a short break. Believe it or not we have to wait to get a photo - so we aren't the only group stopping.
I love this shot of Annalee. Even when you try and stay dry - you somehow always end up muddy and wet.
The water level was high and it was freezing cold. I thought I was going to go into shock... can you tell?
Annalee was nice enough to carry me across - I just couldn't stand the cold on my chest. The water was arm pit high - just look at the girl in back.
Through the stinky tunnel...
If you are wondering just how muddy it really is... here is a picture of some of it. Nice.
And then we finished. I felt great the whole time it wasn't until we were walking to the showers that I twisted my knee and I've been limping ever since. Fun times girls! Next year we are going to beat our time!!!

Owen Won This Battle...

For the last couple of months we have had Owen enrolled in Gymnastics. First of all this was never about learning gymnastics as much as it was about him going to class, listening to a teacher, waiting his turn and all the other social learning experiences that come along with it. Well over the past month Owen has put up a fight like no other. He has screamed and cried and refused to go. We would try every reward possible to convince him to go and almost every punishment reasonable if he didn't. To our dismay he wouldn't go. I just couldn't understand it. Who wouldn't want to jump on trampolines, swing on a rope, hang upside down from a bar and roll on mats. It seemed fun to me! Well we officially gave up. We finally asked ourselves is this doing more harm then good? It was. Owen won this battle, but we are still fighting the war on his stubbornness.

Last Night in Laguna

we took the kids to for dinner at Wahoo's and sat on the beach to watch the sunset. John wanted to show the kids how beautiful the waves are with an "off shore breeze." The sunset was great too. Of course it was a fun night - what I like about this photo is the fact that Owen is still chewing his gum. Not great for photos but this is the first time that Owen has not swallowed his gum seconds after chewing. (Now he just needs to learn how to "Park it" on the side for photos.) Good job Owen!

Pumpkin Patch in 100 Degree Weather

It didn't feel much like Fall but off we were to Tanaka Farms with Owen's preschool. As you can see Owen loved the farm animals... He would walk up and hug them - I had to tell him to stop kissing them.
Here is his entire preschool class. What a fun group these kids are.
Look at how red his cheeks were... after running around in the corn maze and picking veggtables we were done. It was a lot of fun just SUPER HOT!

I have rights too...

Vote Yes on Prop 8

Kids Eat Free in the OC

Anyone looking to save a little money here and there?
Here are a few places that offer free meals to kids... check it out.

1. Pat & Oscar’s: Kids eat free every Tuesday evening from the Kid’s Menu. Adult Entree purchase required. Available at all Pat & Oscar’s locations.
2. IHOP Restaurants: Select restaurants (i.e. one in Garden Grove, two in Anaheim) have Kids Eat Free evenings every night after 4 P.M. with purchase of adult entree. Kids can choose any item from the kids menu. Select locations only.
3. Chick-Fil-A: Varies by location. At Irvine Marketplace location, kids eat free kids meal every Tuesday with purchase of combo. Promotions vary by location; some offer 99-cent kids’ meals.
4. Denny’s Restaurants: Kids eat free every Tuesday from 4-10 P.M. in all Denny’s across America. Up to two kids can eat free per one adult entree purchase. Some Denny’s extend their Kids Eat Free to Saturdays, on individual-restaurant basis.
5. Ruby’s Diner: Kids eat free from kid’s menu every Tuesday evening after 4 P.M. starting September 22. Adult entree purchase required.
6. Rainforest Cafe: Kids can eat for $1.99 on Wednesday “Family Fun Nights” with purchase of any entree. Only available at mall locations (i.e. South Coast Plaza location). Other ways kids can eat free at Rainforest Cafe: participate in their Summer Reading Program or finish the rainforest lesson plan in school.
7. Taco Mesa: Kids eat free all day Sunday. One 10-and-under child per adult entree. Kids can choose from a variety of kids meals: cheese quesadilla, steak or chicken breast taco or chicken fingers. Offered at all four Taco Mesa stores.
8. Carrows Restaurants: One child per adult entree purchase can eat free every Monday and Tuesday after 4 P.M. Offered at virtually all Carrows locations; dates may vary depending on location, though most in O.C. district are Monday and Tuesday.
9. Fred’s Mexican Cafe:”Family Fiesta Night” every Sunday evening from 4-9 P.M. Free kids item from kids menu (variety of items). Other family-fun activities available: balloon maker, pinata, coloring and guitar hero. Offered only at Laguna Niguel location.
10. Stadium Brewing Company: Family Night on Monday. Kids 12 and under can eat free with each adult entree purchase.
11. Angelo’s and Vinci’s Ristorante: Kids can eat buffet items for half price. Every Tuesday evening free spaghetti for kids with every adult purchase.
12. Lone Star Steakhouse: 2 kids can eat free kid’s menu item with purchase of any adult entree every Tuesday and Saturday from 11-4 P.M. Available at all Lonestar locations.
13. BeachFire: Kids can eat free from kids menu with purchase of adult entree every Tuesday. Available at all locations.
14. Jerry’s Dogs: Kids eat free every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening after 4 P.M. Kids get free Kid’s Combo with purchase of Adult Combo. Available at all three Jerry’s Dogs locations.
15. Sonoma Restaurant: Kids eat free 6 days a week (restaurant is closed on Monday) starting from 5 P.M. As long as children come with parents or adults, no limit on how many children get free meals. Free meal varies depending on what chef prepares; meals range from pasta to chicken to burgers.
16. Baja Fresh: Kids Eat free on Mondays with purchase of adult entree.

I suggest calling ahead to make sure they are still offering these deals. Personally we like to go to Ruby's on Tuesday nights.... maybe we'll see you there.

Where Have I Been?

Facebook... I think I'm an addict.

Supporting Paige!

For those of you who are interested, Paige is trying to sell wrapping paper and other goodies to raise money for her school. Up to 50% of the proceeds go directly to the school. If you would like to help out Paige and her school please click on the link below. It will automatically recognize Paige and her school. Or, if you would like to scan through the items and order directly through Paige you could save on shipping.

http://www.innisbrook.com/index_students.cfm?id1=R128964D&id2=&id3=

Only 7 more days, so don't delay!!!