Thanksgiving 2013

We had Thanksgiving lunch ( as well as leftovers, later that evening ) at Mamo and Uncle Jim's church.  Xia Yu and her parents were able to join us, and they brought several Chinese dishes with them, which I was extra thankful for... :)

I am always grateful whenever Jaxon gets to spend time with his cousins, especially Allen and Anastasia, who live several hours away.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013, One and All

What a multitude of blessings to be thankful for. :) Off to get ready to meet the family for Thanksgiving lunch. Meanwhile, here's the little boy's "artist's impression" of us getting the Cranberry Relish ready last night...

Yes, that is mummy at the table, with Jaxon up on a chair helping. :)

Halloween 2013 Part II, III and IV

Since I got all the photographs sorted out and collaged, I thought I would just put all of these into one post.

The Saturday before Halloween, we first went over to the St John's Episcopal School Fall Festival/Halloween event, where the little boy had such a grand time playing at all the booths.  We arrived close to when the event was scheduled to be over, and so it was not crowded and hardly any wait at all the booths.

We then drove over to Oakridge Church of Christ, where they also had all kinds of different activities for the little boy.  He got his face painted for the very first time ever, and when the guy asked what he wanted painted on his cheek, he said, "A Pumpkin!" without any hesitation.

And of course, hung out at Starbucks for a bit before heading home. :)

 

On Halloween Eve, we made the rounds downtown, with the biggest crowd being at the First Baptist Church's compound, where they had Bouncy Castles and Train Rides.  Every car that was participating in the Trunk or Treat had a line of at least 20 people waiting to play a game and THEN get some candy.  The hubs and I had NO intention of doing that there, and so we walked over to several other churches which were in a 2 block radius there for humbler but just as enjoyable Trunk or Treating ( and with no lines/queues either ).

Last but not least, we went to Hillcrest for Trunk or Treating on Halloween evening.  The little boy loved doing all the little games that were prepared, and even joined in "Cupcake Walk" and ending up with a super delicious cupcake a few minutes later.

 

All in all, we used the heck out of that costume, and the little boy had a grand time, experiencing Halloween over 2 weeks or so, at so many different venues.  

Now if only we could have Christmas stretched out like that as well, I would be over the moon :)

Halloween 2013 Part I

It will probably be Thanksgiving ( or beyond ) before I get through with all these Halloween posts :), but I will try my best :).  I pretty much have the photo collages done and just need to do some tweaking here and there before posting. ( One of the cons of having a digital camera is LOTS of photos to go through - especially if you are a camera-trigger happy Asian stereotype like myself heheh ).

The little boy had told us that this year, that he would like to be dressed up as a pirate, and so we got a little costume and foam sword from Walmart along with a pirates' bandanna I had picked up at the Dittos for Kiddos event a month or so before.


Halloween Part I was actually almost 2 weeks before the actual event.  We invited Cindy along with us to Boo at the Zoo, and she met us there, much to the little boy's delight.

We were early this year, and so it wasn't as crazy crowded as we had experienced in previous years.  It always makes me smile to see all the different get-ups that people/children arrive in.

I was very glad that there were not long long lines like before, but that we could go smoothly from booth to booth for trick or treating, stopping to look at animals along the way. 

Even though this year, the little boy went around pointing out that "That's not really a giraffe, it's just a person in a costume", or "He just has a mask on", he DID want to have his picture taken with Iron Man, Mario and several others. :)

There was a new nook at the Zoo that we hadn't come across before - a huge sandbox, just right sized "desert island" for a little "it's just a costume" pirate boy to dig for buried treasure. ARRRRRR! :)

Fall Adventures

 

So much happened in October ( like how Halloween ended up being celebrated over a 2 week period ), it's hard to catch up, but I'll try - starting with our yearly visit to the Pumpkin Patch.

Even though he is now a ripe old 4 1/2 years, he still finds ways to have fun and delight in the little things he finds there, even if at times, there is impatience when asked to pose for a photo. :)

I hope he continues to find wonderment in everything around him, and continues to be fascinated by even the littlest things.  I think that's one of the things I find so remarkable about the hubs, is how he is so passionate about just everything he comes across.

We had some really pretty days in October, which doesn't happen so much in these here parts.  It is usually quite warm until mid to late October.  On my first visit to the States, I remember that I was fascinated with how it seemed like the whole out of doors was being cooled down by a giant air conditioner in the sky or something. :) I know.... :)

We did finally pick out a medium and a small pumpkin for the little boy, which we decorated with stickers when we got home.

We didn't get to go on a hay ride that day, but we did go earlier the next day with Cindy, and had one!

Last but not least, I WANT to live life like THIS ( see below ) every day :)