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?

My great kids

Kyla and Casey have been doing some really great things lately.

This week, Kyla had the opportunity to attend a question/answer session with Sandra Day O'Connor. It was such an honor for Kyla to meet her and she came home that day sharing lots of great stories about the event. Kyla was chosen along with 50 other honor students from her school to attend . Smart and beautiful? If we all could be so lucky!

Casey has taken up the trombone! He is having a great time learning something new, and doing a fantastic job at it. He's trying it out this year to decide if he wants to play in middle school next year. What a musician!

Tagged!

Sorry it took me so long to get this up, Ann and mom. I've been laid up with strep throat all week, eeww! If your name appears at the bottom, you've been tagged and it's your turn to answer these questions on your blog.....here it goes.

3 names I answer to:
1. Mom
2. Siener
3. Mrs. Owens

3 restaurants I like:
1. Elli's
2. PF Changs
3. TGIFridays

3 trips I have planned for this year:
1. Great America for Kyla's birthday
2. So. Utah for Thanksgiving
3. No where else, everyone is coming to us....yeah!

3 things I really want:
1. To be more assertive
2. A home of my own
3. An amazing future for my kids

3 pets I have/had
1. Jake (the best dog ever)
2. Abby Boy (the coolest cat in the world)
3. Skip and Ollie (our new kittens)

3 things I did yesterday
1. Sleep, sleep, sleep
2. Write more sub plans for Mon.
3. Watch too much TV

3 things I ate today:
1. Mashed potatoes
2. Vanilla ice cream
3. Popcicle (can't wait to get back to real food!)

3 fears I have:
1. Panic attacks
2. Frogs
3. Confrontation

3 things I plan on doing today:
1. Sleep
2. Football
3. Play a game with my kids

3 things I plan on doing tomorrow:
1. Play hookie for one more day from school
2. set my fantasy football lineup for next week
3. read in the tub (aaahhhh!)

3 holidays I love:
1. Christmas
2. Halloween
3. Thanksgiving

3 beverages I like:
1. Diet Pepsi
2. Green Tea
3. Coffee

Tag, you're it.....
1. Sheryl
2. Linda
3. Ross

Fun Run

We had a fun morning at Marshall School running together in a 1.5 mile run. I was so proud of the kids because even though it was hard for them, they didn't give up. Kyla surprised us all by leaving us in the dust with those long legs and meeting us at the finish line. When the three of us got there, she was standing there with her arms folded and said, "Where were you guys, I've been waiting here for like 5 minutes!"

What would a blog entry be without a picture of the two most adorable kittens ever.

An Apple a Day...

I absolutely love fall when the weather turns crisp and you spend more time outdoors. We went apple picking this weekend.

Kyla loved the red delicious apples.

My Casey.... may he always be mommy's little boy!

The kids stopped for a picture after picking some golden delicious apples....they were our favorites!

It was a long haul down the road, and my little gentleman carried the bucket for his momma.

After picking apples, we went back to the barn and ordered some hot apple pie, a la mode. The kids played on the hay after enjoying some pie.

I made her pose.....she hates posing. What a good sport, and even a smile to boot!

The kids tried to figure out how to crank up some old farm machinery. We had a great day at the farm picking apples and can't wait until pumpkin season!

Outdoor Theater

We had an amazing time last night at the Outdoor Forest Theater at Carmel-by-the-Sea. The production we went to see was "The Wizard Of Oz", the musical. By the looks of the theater (dirt floors, uncomfortable wooden benches, etc.) you would think this was a small camp like atmosphere, but this is Carmel after all. Once folks got seated, everyone began to pull their fine china and wine glasses out of their backpacks. You could see everything from expensive wine and brie to gourmet olives being consumed all around us. It was the most hilarious thing I have ever seen. Luckily we got a heads up and were able to bring our own gourmet food, Owens style (smores, cheese and crackers, etc.). It was a great experience!
We weren't allowed to take pictures during the musical, but here is a picture of the kids waiting for the sky to get dark and the show to start.

And now, a complete change of subject......

What is that you say? You ask, is that Brandon with an authentic Rams football helmet on? Is that two TV's set up in the living room? Is that a laptop ready to tally up fantasy football points on the live Game Center? Is that a Rams signature football on the coffee table (just in case Steven Jackson or Torry Holt run through our living room)? The answer to all of those great questions is.....yes! It is football season, and to the Owens family, that is reason for some serious celebration! Please don't take offense if you call us on a Sunday for the next several months and your call goes straight to the answering machine. We'll call you back on Monday. ;)

Skip and Ollie

Losing Jake and Abby boy all in the same year was pretty tough on our family. We thought we would try having no pets for a while, but that didn't last long. The house was too quiet, and before we knew it, we found ourselves at the animal shelter peeking at kittens. Meet our new babies, Skip and Ollie.

Oliver (Ollie) came home first. This little guy is the most beautiful cat you've ever seen with the personality of an angel. He is so lovable and the calmest kitten I have ever seen. He loves to cuddle, but hates kisses!

Skippyjon Jones (Skip) joined us a few days later. For those of you that know the book series starring the character Skippyjon Jones, he has exactly the same personality! He had to have surgery, so he wasn't ready right away. He is full of energy and a joy to have in the house. It's hard to get a picture of him straight on because he's always so busy! He does a great job getting Ollie up and about, and they love exploring the house and playing together.

These two cuddle bunnies aren't natural brothers, but you wouldn't know it by how much they already love each other. No pet will ever replace Jake and Abby, but we are so excited to have these two new little boys!