Happy Halloween 2009

"What is Cameron going to be for Halloween?" is a very common question these days. I'm not sure why there was any doubt, she wore princess dresses the entire week before. On this day it seemed like she was holding court while in Music class. I really wanted to dress Riley and Cameron in a theme like I tried last year, but that ended up being a bust, since Cameron refused to be Lil' Bo-Peep and Riley was a lonely little lamb. I figured that was unlikely again this year as I couldn't really find a costume that seemed to be a good match without making Riley a lame prince charming.... :-)

During the last week as Mommy struggled to think about what Riley would be, we went out and explored more Pumpkin patches. Riley really enjoyed picking out his pumpkins although he was pretty adamant that he needed an assortment instead of just one. Tim and Turtle helped him narrow it down to one small, one big, and one in-between.

As the day approached and I was no closer to choosing a costume, Turtle decided he would help. He put together a Dopey costume for Riley. He made the hat, modified a t-shirt with buttons and a belt, and made elf shoe covers for his shoes. Riley was soooooo adorable I could hardly stand it. On the big night each time they went to the door together the neighbors would all say "OMG that is sooo cute!!" Turtle was so awesome!!!
Hannah joined the kids on the trick-or-treat outing and Riley was kind enough to always select Snickers (mommy's favorite) whenever he was allowed to choose. This year our street was closed off because of the crowds that come to see the Tims and our decorations. We had lots of new decorations which included a remote control ghoul that Riley loved firing off and scaring the people on the street. This year we got more than 1000 trick-or-treaters (we bought about ~5000 pieces of candy and we handed out limit of 2/visitor with a few exceptions for people we know). It was crazy.

As usual PJ got to clean up. He finished all the pumpkins that were not destroyed by the late-night trick-or-treaters. This is his favorite part.

Disney's Princesses on Ice

Cameron has a best friend at school. Nadia knows all the Disney princesses and their stories and she tell Cameron all about the ones Cameron has yet to see. Her favorite is Aurora and Cameron loves to hear about Aurora because Mommy won't let her see the movie. Given this common interest we thought it would be a good idea to take the girls to see Disney's Princesses on Ice.

The girls got all dressed up and Cameron picked out one of her princess dresses for they day. The entire arena was filled with princesses both big and small (Mommy did not dress up). Cameron sat on the edge of her seat and as the stories began she leaned over and hugged me and kept saying "I love this, I love you Mommy!"

The girls were in complete awe and at intermission could barely stay away from their seat. The show told the story of each princess with Mickey and Minnie making cameos. All the princesses and their princes came together for the big finale and the wedding of Cinderella. Cameron could not have had a better time. It is impossible to forget her face and how intensely she watched the show. When it was over we all went to out to lunch. The whole experience was a little bittersweet because Nadia is moving away. At least they will always have this memory together.

I'm taking Riley on a hike.

Jeff decided he was going on a hike and that Riley would probably enjoy going along. This would be the first Father/Son hiking trip. They headed up to Skyline and hiked around Horseshoe lake.
The nature center was closed but Riley tried to get in anyway. Once he determined that there was no way in he continued to explore around the center. The binoculars were interesting, even without looking through them.

The lake was probably his favorite part. He stood on the pier and looked over the edge. Then he sat down for awhile and just looked around. He saw his reflection in the water and that was funny. He really enjoyed it and had a great nap on the way home.

Blue Angels.... well for a minute

Today, along with Uncle Greg and Grandma Cindy we went to the city to see the Blue Angels. We got to see the United 747 do its fly-bys, a couple of jets fly past, and then about 5 tricks from the Blue Angels.

The clouds were too low and the Blue Angels had to stop the program about 5 minutes in because the planes couldn't see the homes on the hill. Safety was their priority so we missed out. Riley was thrilled to see the planes and the hot dogs were good too.

Its pumpkin season!!!!

Most people know Mommy loves Pumpkin season. She loves it in soup, pies, roasted, and just about any other way you want to prepare it. Even more fun is enjoying the various pumpkin patches around the bay area. One of our new favorites is Uesugi Farms in Morgan Hill. Lets make it a new family tradition..... We enjoyed the day with Hannah and her family, as well as Tim and Turtle.

Uesugi has lots to do. There is a pumpkin mountain, a train, a hayride, corn maze, music, petting zoo, and a huge pumpkin patch. We enjoyed it all. Cameron's favorite part is always the pony ride. This year she rode the pony all by herself and we just stood back and took her photos.

Riley also tried the pony ride. He wasn't sure about this experience at all but he played along well enough. He wouldn't let go of mommy and literally jumped off the pony when it was over. He preferred exploring the pumpkin fields and climbing the pumpkins. He also liked the corn maze because around each corner was a discovery board where he learned about how the bees helped the corn, etc.

We ate, we danced, we rode all the rides, and it was a great day. Riley wasn't sure about what he should do with his pumpkin, but he started with a little nibble. You can see all our photos here.

Sometimes its just fun to stay at home....

We go out and do a lot of fun things, but we have lots and lots of fun at home too. When we bought a new basket to store the many toys that migrate downstairs Riley and Cameron figured out that it could be used for more than just toys. They both jumped into the basket and asked Daddy to carry them around. There was lots of giggling. When Daddy put the basket down the kids turned it over and made it a house.

Everyone knows that Cameron is a princess. For being such a good girl she got all the Disney princess dolls. She sometimes picks a doll then goes into her closet to find the matching dress. We are doing lots and lots of costume changes these days and she will tell you when she doesn't have a matching costume (we just smile and so oh?). Riley doesn't even blink anymore when she comes down in one of her gowns, he thinks its normal.

Riley likes to watch Cameron play with her dolls, and sometimes he'll try to join her, but usually he is doing his own thing. He is fascinated with the office and will hang out while Daddy is working (or playing). He likes that Mommy's computer is usually free because that means he gets his own chair (and computer). We're pretty sure he is a geek.



Cameron got a new bike from our neighbor who had outgrown it. It was a little difficult for her to start but this is a video of her first ride. She is not comfortable on hills and still prefers her tricycle. This bike does have a few features she likes, the princesses and the color!