flowers

Happy Halloween! The day before Halloween we got our pumpkins ready. The kids started by painting a couple. Alli somehow managed to sit on her plate of paint. Then they both helped me carve a few pumpkins. The Mickey pumpkin on the porch is a requirement every year. On Halloween, T and I got off work a little early so the kids could start their trick-or-treating early. The nearby mall starts handing out candy at 4pm, and it gave the kids good practice for later on in the night. Especially to remember their "thank you's". They even had a Minion wandering around. It was a little weird hearing him talk when the characters we meet at Disney are always mute. After visiting a bunch of the stores, we finished by the information desk where they were giving out massive handfuls of candy instead of just a piece or two. After eating a quick dinner, it was time to go out trick-or-treating! T and I donned our Child Detection Agency outfits. We joined up with a group of neighbors with

Happy Sunday and welcome to Disneyland! This morning we were booking it out of the house and made it to Disneyland early. Before much security arrived apparently. With only 2 tents working, the line was quite backed up. T and I are opting to make the walk through Downtown Disney rather than wait for the security line and then the tram line. We actually made it to rope drop in DCA! First thing I did was grab a maxpass for Toy Story Midway Mania, and then we walked right up in the standby line. The benefit of going first thing in the morning, you might just see your score as the Best Today! After exiting, we quickly redeemed our fastpasses and immediately snagged another FP for Midway Mania on the phone. The second time through I set a personal best! Finally I earned the bear! You have to be over 300k and I've been close a few times, but always just shy. After exiting we redeemed our FPs again and quickly snagged another round. In the end, the four of us rode Midway Mania 4 times in

With a birthday in October and a birthday in November, we split the difference and have a combined birthday party! And because it's so close to Halloween, I know what the theme is going to be! Plus it's a costume party! T and her mom did a great job on the food. It was fun to have a Halloween theme. Nice pumpkin carrots and olives. Oooh, and mummy hot dogs. Great pirate outfit Jacob. And thanks for the Mickey Rice Krispy treats! Theresa also had a spread for caramel apple nachos. Yum! We've got guests! A fireman. Plus a couple of pirates! Hi Elmo! It's Super Ruston! The kids had a great time playing in the bounce house. And it was even better when Tick-Tock the Croc showed up and they had someone they could all attack! Kylo Ren! With a fruit skewer lightsaber! For the longest time Ian has been asking for a piñata. He was really excited to see we had a big pumpkin piñata.  These pinatas with ribbons on them work really well for the kids. Everyone grabs a ribbon and pulls