Happy Birthday, Kyla!!!

Our baby girl turned 14 this week....that's right, I said "baby girl". I'm having a little trouble cutting the apron strings!
We are so proud of our precious girl! Her main request this year was for a skateboard, so she has been enjoying trying out this new hobby.

Casey dressed up the cats in their fancy halloween costumes. A few scratches and bites later, we finally had the chin strap fastened. What a cute little punkin head (the cat doesn't look half bad either).

Ollie was having none of the costume action, so poor Skip had to model both costumes. What a good sport.

Great America

Kyla decided that instead of having a party this year, she would rather go to Great America with the family. She has to wait until her real birthday, on Tuesday, for cake and presents!
The park was all decked out for Halloween.

Casey loved playing in the bubbles....we almost lost him. I couldn't help but think how much my nephew, Grant, would have loved this....he's LOVES bubbles more than anyone I know!

The Nickelodeon characters were on site for pictures and to pass out candy.

Kyla tried on a few new hairstyles in the arcade. We had a great day!

Can you tell it's almost Halloween?

One holiday that our kids absolutely love is Halloween. They have been searching high and low at every store imaginable for just the right costumes. We haven't found them yet, but here are a few dress-up photos in the meantime. Casey and his friend decided to dress up in their best spy gear. Notice the yellow ear phones (made of Lego); that's my favorite!
Kyla the skeleton is just taking in a TV show, minding her own business....really, this IS typical behavior in my house during the month of October. I'm sure there will be more candid costume photos to come!

Our cats are really growing, but still act like kittens. They love the laser pointer. Ollie almost got it!

Two boys hangin out.

Tag

I agree with Nikki, these tags can sometimes be time consuming, so I'm shortening mine from 7 to 3.

3 things I can do:
Run
Teach
Love unconditionally

3 things I can't do:
Ride in anything without getting sick (boat, plane, roller coaster, etc.)
Hold a frog
Eat sweet potatoes

3 things that attracted me to Brandon:
Sense of humor
Unconditional love, admiration, and life goals
He was a "bad boy", or at least looked like one ;)

3 things I say most often:
Am I in the twilight zone?
What the heck?
I love you.

3 people I admire:
Brandon (one of the most amazing people I know)
My parents and brothers (and I always will)
My kids, especially Kyla for all of the "extra" challenges she faces every day

3 favorite foods:
cheese
ice cream
chocolate

3 tags:
Mom
Jenny
Nat

Fall

One thing that I really miss about the midwest in the fall are all of the beautiful colored leaves. We don't get much of that here, but we have our own beauty to enjoy here on the bay.
We enjoyed a nice warm day on the beach this week with Bran's mom. Brandon and Casey have been working on Casey's arm for that college football scholarship. Brandon's winding up for a long bomb to the boy.

On one of our last days with Bran's mom, we took a trip out to the pumpkin farm.

We had to borrow a wagon to wheel in our perfect pumpkins. Hopefully they are still perfect by the time Halloween rolls around!

We also took a drive out to Toro Park where Casey is showing one of the many trees that were "decorated" by the woodpeckers. You can't see it, but there are acorns stashed in each of those little holes! I think the squirrels and the woodpeckers are working together.

We were very sad to say goodbye to grandma today, but were so happy to have her for a week. After dropping her off at the airport in San Francisco, we stopped by Golden Gate Park to visit a remodeled children's play yard called Koret Children's Quarter. Kyla and Casey decided they were probaby too old for this park, but we had fun anyway!

Grandma's here!

Brandon's mom came to town last Friday for a week of fun. We are really enjoying our visit. This is only day 3, so there are sure to be more pictures to come! These are a few photos of us enjoying Lover's Point and Asilomar beaches.

I like searching the tide pools for something interesting.

Yep, I found my treasure for the day.....a dead crab. At least it didn't pinch me.

King of the mountain....I mean, the rock.

Kyla enjoying the peaceful sound of the waves from a ledge that is much too high for my liking!

Who can throw a rock farther....Casey or grandma? Who's that bum in the background?