Halloween 2009

Like the last few years we got together with the Huxford family for some pumpkin carving. It was a really beautiful day. Perfect for some outdoor fun. Here are the kids gutting their pumpkins.

As far as costumes, Zach who is almost 13 by the way was trying to convince me that he didn't want to dress up this year. He wasn't coming up with ideas. So while at the thrift store I found this get up, I figured he could wear some of Mikes black sheep garb and if he decided not to wear it, no biggie, at least he had something. So a dead rocker he was...

Raegan on the other hand, knew exactly who she wanted to be for Halloween, Hailey from Paramore. Hailey is a cute punky singer of Rae's favorite new group. Hailey wears alot of street clothes but seems to adorn black and white striped shirts frequently. Finding this shirt wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. Her costume was fun to put together, it is reminiscent of the 80s.
Our Trick or Treat group is getting bigger and smaller at the same time, 5 years ago there were 10 kids in this gaggle. These guys looted up and had fun running the B.C. streets.

It was a great Halloween 2009!

Princess for a day!

My mom aka Nana, came to town a few weeks ago with an arsenal of Renaissance wear in preparation for a visit to the Age of Chivalry Ren Faire at Sunset Park. She made Raegan quite the princess get up for the occasion. She loved her hat and decided it was better to ride to the fair laying down in her carriage rather than sitting up.

As you can see it increased her height quite a bit.

She also had two fellow princesses to run around with. Her little cousins Bella and Goo Goo (Alexis).

The attention this girl got in this get up was astounding. People were calling her princess, bowing, curtsying and giving her gifts. Maybe I should adorn this hat to the grocery store, think they'd give me some additional coupons? Anyway, slumber didn't stop her from wearing her hat. Sweet dreams princess...

Raegan the Cobra Kid 2009

We seem to have a recurring award each year one of my kids attends Martha P. King Elementary. The First Round of Cobra Kid Awards. Every month the school gives awards to students for Academics, Most Improved, etc. etc. My kids seem to get the award the first month of school.
Rae got the Academic Award from Mr. Newkirk.Making a good first impression is important in life, don't you think.

Were proud of you Raegan, you are a great student and a great girl who deserves awards every month of the school year! Sierra Rae's BFF got one too. Now they can slack off the rest of the year! Just kidding!!

What Happens in Idaho...

You can share with your friends and family. Last month Zach had the opportunity to make a weekend trip up to Idaho to meet up with his first BFF Curtis Cook. He was recieving the priesthood (yay!) and his grandparents were driving all the way there from B.C.

It was also Curtie's Birthday, so Zach was able to celebrate with him.

Zach had a great time catching up with ol Curtie Bo Burti. We sure miss the days of living across the street from one another. What a convenient friendship it was. I guess they picked up their friendship as if it never left off.

Zach still considers Curtis to be his #1 Best Friend. Curtis is totally un-replaceable.

Thank you to Richard and Carol Stubbs for letting Zach come along for the ride, it was an awesome memorable treat.

Scout Camp By Zach

Today was my first day of Scout Camp and we are at Big Bear. This is our troop number.

These are what the tents look like. This is our Camp on our first day at Big Bear.


This is our on Sunday about to go to church.
Scout Troop: Steven Weber, Preston Swasey, Nathan Kelly, Riley Stewart, Zach Crabtree, Hunter Ullibarri, Gary Miller.

We saw a few big bugs like this. It's a Queen Ant.


This is another Picture of my scout troop.


At scout camp we had to get up at 6:00 A.M. so you can go to breakfast.
I was so tired I tried to go back to sleep at breakfast time.

One of the merit badges I did was climbing.


I had to belay people to earn this merit badge.


Unfortunately I had to belay the oldest and
biggest scout so when he fell I came up.

This was me when I was climbing the indoor wall
and I fell off.

I also got to climb up a 50ft. wall.


When you made it to the top you had to
touch the top.

I went up to stay the night in a tepee but had to hike up to it first.


And when I got there istayed in my sleeping bag in the tepee.



This is a nice view of the mountain.


This was lunch once.



And this is the final picture we took while we were up there.

I hope next year I can go up there and be a staff member.

Thats one hot dog...

Many of you have already been introduced to our family doggie Ace. Another well known fact about him is that he is one furry dude. So furry even, he's been confined to outdoor lifestyle because dog hair in the fridge, in your bed and in your clean laundry is just unacceptable.

Don't fear this is not an abused puppy, he has a backyard that is 50% shaded, sprinklers that go off a gazillion times a day for him to play in, and a huge tub of water. And we do let him in the house during the hottest parts of the day, but honestly he likes all the action outside because when inside he is confined to an easily cleaned up area.

After we returned from our trip, I was feeling guilty for his long stint outside and alone (except for his daily visit from our doggie babysitter). I've made attempts to shave down his year round winter coat with clippers from Target to cool him off during the summer. While he is cooler, he looks like he has a fur disease, my dog clipping skills beg for more experience, or better clippers since they clog up when I'm trying to cut through his sheep like coat.

I digress... back to the hot dog. I broke down and had him professionally shaved. He has a strange Mohawk down his back, his fur raises like a cat when he gets excited. We may have to rethink this style. I'm not sure he quite knows what to do with himself in this state. We think he was a little slap happy with how cool he felt.

Without all the dandelion fur he can get a little more love indoors.

Our getaway..

After my long stint in July, working on the gig that took up almost the whole month, I decided it was time to get out of the heat, especially since the summer break was coming to a close and we had the free time, we ventured to Orange County for 10 days. So of course we went to...ba-ba-da-daah! Disneyland...
We really really liked the new Toy Story ride. Of course it was like the last ride we went on and we were too pooped to wait in line again.
We finally went on the Grizzly River Run, a ride we have avoided over the years. Typically we go to the park during winterish months, so getting soaked just wasn't an option. But this time we came prepared with rain ponchos.. We loved the ride!! Despite the fact that we were called cheaters, wimps and other such names... They were just jealous.. and guess what were bringing next time? Thats right.. RAIN PONCHOS!!
Here we are with the mouse man himself. This is kind of a sad picture since Mike isn't with us. We only went for one day while he was at work in an effort to spare him from the Disney madness he dislikes so much.
We had a hard time leaving Renny's (our friend who Mike rents a room from for work) place. His digs are pretty cool. An awesome pool, 13 televisions and cable t.v., which may not be a big deal to most, but our home is only equipped with 2 t.v.s and basic 10 channel cable. Our time there only confirmed our reasons for our t.v. situation. Nobody wanted to leave the boob tube, and I too am guilty as charged. HGTV... man if I did have cable, my butt would never leave the couch... (did the house sell on The Unsellables?)So in an effort to get off the couch we checked out Irvine Park (okay been there done that) and then the Laguna Beach art show. Here are a few shots from the hour or so of viewing and "don't" touching we had. (who won Design Star?)
So here is how pathetic we are, we never made it to the beach. I think we may have watched too much Zach and Cody on Deck to feel the need for the water... What were we thinking..?
(Will someone please tell me whats been going on on Color Splash)