Halloween

Our Baby Ghost!

One Dracula, two witches, one ghost, and a ghost holder all ready for Trick-or-Treating! Grandma Mickies WE LOVE YOU! Thank you for all four of these costumes(:

I Vant to Suck your Blood!

Hermione casting a spell!

Vampire Alert! Look out Edward...this one is even more handsome and charming!

Year two in this great witch costume....we just love it!

A little Witch and a Black Cat on Halloween night!

Sam's Class Pumpkin Patch Visit

Sam was in charge of bringing all the pumpkins back to class.

Sam likes hanging out with his buddies.

Learning about the ecosystems in a pond.

Class picture with Mrs Whatley

Petting a rabbit.

It was a beautiful day to spend with my little man. He is so much fun to be with and he is always so excited for me to be with him! Sam let Alice and I eat lunch with he and his buddies after the field trip. It was so entertaining to hang out with a bunch of 6 year old boys at lunch and see what they do and talk about(:

Summer time in the Fall

A dear friend is never far away when kept close in your heart.

Meg, Sam & Alice

Meg and Kate with Claire Bear(:

Calvin and Alice

Two trouble buddies from birth! They look so grown up now!

The Summers came out to visit us and maybe some of the beautiful San Francisco scenery too(: It was so much fun to show them our new turf. We had a blast cramming everyone into three rooms and four beds. Emily got a great picture of the boys asleep, Calvin literally was halfway off of the bed mid-air and yet sound asleep...impressive! Calvin and Sam have been friends from birth. We traded watching each others kids while the other mommy went to work for the day. It has been so fun to watch them grow up. We wish we could have more play time together, but we are still able to squeeze in several Summer adventures and play times at least every 4-6 months! Kate still asks to call Claire Bear for a play date every couple of weeks.

Claire and Alice

Golden Gate Bridge

Sam and Kate on the carousel at Tilden Park

Showing Calvin Thomas at Tilden Park's Train Station

Taking Rides on the Steam Engine at Tilden Park

Our First Earthquake

The girls were in their beds and Erik was reading a bedtime story to Sam when their beds started jumping.  Sam immediately thought that there was a monster under his bed.  His ceiling light simultaneously began swinging pretty severely (reports say).   Our walnut tree had to be examined after reassurances that there were NOT monsters under the beds.  Upon seeing that the huge walnut tree was indeed still intact the children all agreed that they had felt their first California earthquake.  

The news reported a 3.8 earthquake with the epicenter in Sunol which is where I go biking....so close to home!  One cannot quite explain the instant fear and anxiety that occurs when you are in an earthquake.  Feelings of complete vulnerability and of one's own smallness on a big earth are present, followed by the complete relief that occurs after the shaking and groaning have stopped and how silly you feel to have been so terrified for such a small amount of time. That being said it is a clear reminder of how temporary life really is and how truly blessed our family is to have each other and to love each other as much as we do!  May we always be so blessed and only have small and short reminders in our lives of how blessed we really are!

"She's an Artist"

The following is a conversation between Kate and her friend.

"Wow!  Look at the pretty pictures!"

Kate proudly responded, "Yeah, my sister made them."

"She did a good job!  These are real good!"

Kate's next response was very matter of fact, 

"Yeah, she's an artist." 

"I'm pretty much the best artist I know."

- Napoleon Dynamite

FALL

I love the fall.  

When the morning chill invites you to pull out your sweaters and jeans and find the down comforters for the beds.  I love the change in colors, change in clothes, smells and animals busily readying for the winter months.  It seems that we make more time for the outdoors since we know that winter is on the way.  The sun stinging your face with it's full rays feels good in the cool breeze.  We ride our bikes and take more walks in the perfect weather and enjoy the blooming grasses and mums.  

I like that it is actually dark when my children go to bed and they seem to accept that it is bed time.   I think I accept it is my bed time as well and find I am not as frantic to get as much done after they are in bed.  It is time to curl up in a warm blanket and read or sit by my husband and relax.  I like the bite of cold in the mornings when I pull a sweater on as I get the family ready for the day, and giggle a little as I see their resistance at leaving a comfy warm bed with happy dreams.  

Mornings are now for warm breakfasts, not fruit and cold cereals.  Meals times in the colder months are my favorite.  I love soups!  A nice hot soup in 100 degree weather doesn't taste good, but a delicious vegetable soup sound good in the fall.  A nice soup warming your tummy with home made bread and butter is a perfect fall meal.  I love the squashes, zucchinis, and root vegetables that grow so abundantly this time of year!   

Our garden is almost done producing.  We have enjoyed peas, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, zucchini and four beautiful pumpkins we are looking forward to carving soon!  Thanks to grandma Patsy, Sam and Kate for the planting and caring after our harvest!

I also love that all the TV season premieres have premiered, and am hoping to see my husband more!  I also love watching my kids playing soccer and sitting outside on sunny fall Saturdays to cheer them on!  GO TEAM JOHNSON!  Hurray for fall!