Halloween Hoopla

Jenn and Bubba had told us about the Halloween hoopla in their neighborhood, but you can't truly understand it until you see it in person.  Jenn and Bubba's neighbors all joined together in a pirate theme and renamed their street Pirates Way.  When we arrived on Thursday, we were sitting out on their front porch.  We were amazed at all of the traffic, both on foot and in car, getting a glimpse of their decorations.  I felt famous. The evening was pretty chaotic.  They estimated somewhere around 900 trick-or-treaters. It was really fun to be a part of it and it was so refreshing to trick or treat in warm weather!

The outside of Jenn and Bubba's house (so many details you can't see)

Jenn and Bubba with some of their neighbors

We had to particpate in the pirate theme

Trick or treating - no jackets required

Adam liked this house with a spider theme

Crowds of people were in front of their house all night

San Diego Zoo

We had another fun outing to the San Diego Zoo.  Some of the highlights were feeding the giraffes, watching the pandas get fed, and seeing a rhinoceros up close.

Adam taking a turn to feed the giraffe

Outside of the Elephant Odyssey

On the sky tram

No hands

We all rode the Balboa Park train.  Evan is next to me and I had to pry him off.

Sea World

We were all excited to spend a day at Sea World.  It was a new experience for me too and I was quite impressed.  The shows were spectacular.  We saw both a Shamu show and a dolphin show. We left before we got to see everything we wanted because there is so much... and the boys needed naps especially with the time difference of two hours. 

Adam fed the sea lions and was a little disgusted by the fish

Evan and Jenn watching the sea lions (and birds) gobble up the fish

Sharks!  Adam still talks about the music playing when you walk through

It was so cool to get a close-up view of Shamu

The show was amazing.  Evan was mesmerized.

Adam insisted we sit in the soak zone, but we managed to stay dry.

Adam enjoyed this Elmo ride a couple times!

All tuckered out after a fun day.

                                                                                 

Sunny San Diego

We arrived to beautiful weather in San Diego.  We spent our first full day there at the beach with Jenn and Bubba.  The boys were so content to play in the sand and water and soak up some sunshine.  We even saw dolphins.  Adam received his first surfing lesson from Bubba too.

Pre-Halloween Festivities

Adam was very excited about making a jack-o-lantern this year. He actually did a lot of the work this year too!  And he was very specific about carving a happy one, not a scary one.

Cleaning out the "guts"

Evan was a super scooper.  He wouldn't let go of the scoop.

Adam picked out the shapes for the eyes and nose

Our happy jack-o-lantern

Making sure the costumes fit



Adam and Dillon at the Boo Bash.

With the Fischers at Boo Bash

Out and About

We get together weekly (or so) with a group of neighbors.  In the winter, we usually pick a house to play at.  In the summer, we venture out to parks or other fun locations.  Here are a few pictures from a nearby pumpkin patch.

Adam and Willy driving a tractor

Evan feeding a goat

Adam taking a turn

My two pumpkins

The closest we got to a group shot that day

Evan and Cody carefully examining the pumpkin

Evan is an animal LOVER

Fall is in the air!

At the park

Mazza Wedding

We had long been anticipating the wedding of Chris and Julie. Not only are they are great couple, but it was a chance for us to get away for a night without kids and reunite with many college friends. A great time was had by all!

Pumpkin Express 2011

Adam loves trains.  We took a ride on the Pumpkin Express last year and it was a lot of fun, so we decided to go again this year with some neighbors.  We boarded the train in Osceola and rode to a nearby town that has a festival for the kids.  The weather was cool and windy this year, but the boys didn't seem to mind. All aboard!