Happy Birthday, Gabey!

Gabriel celebrated his 5th birthday! We were very glad to have my parents in town for the occasion. We celebrated over the weekend with bowling, cake, and friends and family. On his birthday, we were glad to have my little sister Alison in town. She and I braved Wendy's with 5 little boys to wish Gabey a Happy Birthday (we were in charge of nephews Lincoln and Tad). A great time was had by all!

McKay loved the balloons.

We love you, Gabers!

Sea Dogs!

Lucas just wrapped up his fall baseball season with a team party. He really enjoyed his first season doing machine pitch.

We couldn't have asked for better coaches. Coach Randy's on the left and Dominic's in back. They each have a son on the team, and have been coaching together since their boys started in T-ball. Lucas was put on their team for T-ball last spring, and I requested that he be with them again this fall. As long as they're coaching, we want 'em! They have fun with the kids and are able to teach them life skills as well as baseball. Go Sea Dogs!

I Love Costco

For many reasons.
Like for the fact that nothing in Costco comes in small quantities.

I was checking out the other day when the cashier asked the usual, "Do you want stamps?" Normally I politely decline. However, this time, I realized I did, in fact, need stamps.
"Yes, " I said, and she handed me (what I assumed was my book of)stamps, which I shoved in my purse.

Later that day, I pulled the stamps out of my purse and did kind of a "What the....?!?" then started laughing.

I am the proud owner of $43 worth of stamps.

Only at Costco!

Pumpkin Picking

Trunk-or-Treat

The night before Halloween we did trunk or treat at our church (this has become my new favorite way to do trick-or-treating). Here is our Clone Trooper, Scarecrow, and Frankenstein.

Here is the whole crew, which includes cousins Lincoln (storm trooper) and Tad (Spiderman). We are THRILLED to have my brother Scott and his family living by us! They just moved to Arlington from Michigan for Scott to do training to be a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department. Brooke was home with 2-week old baby Natalie, but Scott and the boys joined us for trunk-or-treat.

Crazy Hair Day

Since Lucas is long overdue for a haircut, we had some great material to work with for crazy hair day at school!

Halloween

Ready to go trick-or-treating.A disgruntled Batman at the end of the night.

We had a great Halloween.

Well, most of us.

Gabey wasn't a fan of many of the "festive" decor at some houses we went to (like the one with the lifesized dummy that the homeowner dropped behind you from a wire as you walked up the driveway).

Scott, Lincoln, and Tad joined us on our trick-or-treating trek. Besides the 5-minute downpour midway through our evening, the weather was perfect. No jackets necessary.

We ended the night with a small sampling of candy, putting exhausted children to bed, and settling down to the computer for an episode of "Ghost Hunters".

Lifting Burdens

Lifting Burdens