Count Your Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday, we went to Tev's parents' home for a Thanksgiving feast of breakfast burritos, mashed potatoes, and corn. When we arrived, I noticed that the yard was covered with fallen leaves. It was so wonderfully fall-like! Michaela got the rake out, and the boys had their first experience of jumping in a pile of leaves.

It is a blessing that Caden was able to have those few minutes of fun, because shortly afterward, he puked his guts out. Poor little guy! He is still throwing up today, so we are stuck at home this Thanksgiving, but I consider it a blessing that we had at least a little bit of a celebration yesterday. I am very sad that we can't be celebrating with my family today. My sister has put in so much hard work and worry into preparing a wonderful feast!

My Birthday Boys

Here is a picture of Caden and Vance on October 12th. I can't believe that Caden is already 5! And Vance is our big 2 year old! Notice his Elvis lip. Caden barely tollerates wearing the tie, but Vance won't let me take his off of him after church. I love that they enjoy playing with each other - most of the time.

Southern California Snow Storm?

Hello, my friends.

As you may have heard, fire season is in full swing down here. On Saturday, the boys and I started our day at Disneyland. The wind was blowing, leaves were gently falling, and the sky was bright blue and pristine. By late morning, however, we started to smell smoke. I knew that it probably wasn't smoke from the fires north of us, and sure enough, another fire had started in Corona. It very quickly spread to Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills. In about an hour, the skies were dark gray-brown, and ash was raining from the sky. It looked as though it was snowing.

The fire spread into Brea and Carbon Canyon. I don't think that it got into Chino Hills or Diamond Bar, but it is still burning at their doorstep. The 91fwy and the 57fwy were closed in certain sections, separating much of my side of the family from us.

Although Tevye, the boys, and I were not in any danger, many of my friends and family were. As of right now, the only loses are of houses, and it seems that the people have evacuated successfully. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who are affected by the fires.

Still Alive

Hello!

We are doing well. I haven't posted lately due to my very frustrating inability to upload photos on Blogger and Flickr. If you have any tips for me (yes, I have even tried uploading one photo at a time), PLEASE share them with me, because I have lots of cute photos that I would like to share with you.

Halloween was fun. This year, we went with my mom and nephews to the Irvine Park Railroad to visit their pumpkin patch and ride the train and hay ride. The boys had a great time. Caden really liked the bounce house, and Vance couldn't get enough of the train. All the boys dressed in their cowboy hats. Caden and Vance were cowboys this year.

The Monday before Halloween, my kind mom-in-law took us to a special trick-or-treat event at Disney's California Adventure. Caden's little legs got a workout that night (Vance was in the stroller) as we rushed from treat station to station and ride to ride. He especially enjoyed the bumper car ride.

For his Kindergarten party, Caden was supposed to dress up as a character from one of his favorite books. We just took his cowboy costume and added a pair of fake eye glasses, and, voila, he was Jack from the Magic Tree House series (Ghost Town at Sundown).

We ended our Halloween festivities by going to the trunk-or-treat in the church parking lot. My sister-in-law, Talicee, spent a great deal of effort organizing a Clue Mystery Mansion for people to walk through that night. Each tour had a different solution to the mystery, much like the Clue boardgame. Many people helped out, and it was a great success! Great job, Talicee!

Okay, I have a lot more to write about, but I will let you digest all of this first.