Halloween!

Erik decided last year already that he's too old for Trick-or-Treating, so he had a friend over and they passed out candy. Here's Erik & Daniel playing their DS game (DQM - Joker) while waiting for the next little (and some big) goblins and such to stop by.

Here's Jake dressed as a whoopie cushion (his choice)

One of the more decorated houses. Not a big percentage of neighbors participate.

After making the rounds (once around the block, pretty much) Jake was done. A nearby Baptist Church had a trunk-or-treat festival, so we went there. It was a lot of fun and the Whoopie Cushion was a big hit. Cotton Candy, a bouncy thing, a bouncy obsticle course, and trunk-to-trunk trick-or-treating in the parking lot.

The little known and often disputed 11th commandment:

All in fun of course!

CRAZY Hair Day

Jake had crazy hair day so we used gel & blue to do this. It didn't stay too long, but he was happy with it.

Alvin-O'-Lantern

From Alvin and the Chipmunks. Didn't have room for Simon or Theodore.

Here it is lit up.

Cousin Justin Pays (for) a Visit

A typical Saturday except for the fact that cousin Justin was here. We went to McDonalds, went fishing (a couple bites, but no fish), and washed the van.

Erik didn't join the festivities. He was out all night with his church group at Amazing Jakes. He's still going, but I bet he crashes by 3 or 4 this afternoon. In fact Jake was up late and up early and he's already crashed on the couch.

Fluffy Clouds

When you don't see clouds for days on end sometimes, it's nice when they finally do roll in.

Even if there isn't any rain in them and it's been at least a couple months since the last rainfall.

Nice View

Just playing with my digital SLR, as the point-and-shoot kind of bit it. The toggle on back hadn't worked too well for a long time and now doesn't really work at all. It's different getting used to focusing and changing lenses, but I think I'm going to like it better than the point-and-shoot.

More Devil's Claw

As promised, here are some pictures of the claws as the fruit ripens. The green husk splits and turns brown. The husk peels off after the curly part splits open. The reasoning for this odd-looking fruit is seed dispersal....An animal steps into one and the hooks grab the leg - it is carried some distance before it is shaken or bitten off.

Where Will My Vote Go?

I know I'm typically not very political, but this election is too important not to proclaim where I stand. Less than a month away and my choice has already been made - forget the next debate - forget the campaigning and all the ads. This is where my vote is going:

Casual Bear for President!

Cousins!

Of course no trip to SoCal is complete without spending some time with the cousins!Uncle Scott, Dede, Jake, Justin, Megan, Erik

Fun in the Sun

The boys loved Grizzly River.

Jake really liked the Haunted Mansion. It had been redone into the Nightmare Before Christmas motif and is probably better than it was before.

Toontown was a hit - even though we didn't get there until later in the day.

Splash Mountain would have been a LOT better if it weren't for the long line.

Disney in October

We decided the kids should finally be ready for Disneyland and went on Monday & Tuesday to Disneyland and Calfornia Adventure. Monday was extremely busy, plus the computers were down for the much of the day. Normally October is a slow month for them, so they weren't geared up for the big rush. Tuesday was much better; it did get a little warm in the mid-90's but not so bad as Arizona would be!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

PLANES:

A ride

A wreck

An imaginary flight of fancy

TRAINS:

A ride

A wreck

A monorail

AUTOMOBILES:

A ride

No wreck

Prepairing for future gridlock

Carpe Carp, Eh?

Finally the weather has turned somewhat cooler...The end of 100+ days? We sure hope so!! I took Jake out fishing early this morning. It didn't take long to get the attention of some carp. The little one I'm holding is about 13" and the big one we let run across the pond several times to tire out was probably at least 20" long - maybe more. We just had to get to McDonalds after that, so this was it for today.