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.

So much to do; so little time.

Okay, I just started reading the new selection of the month for the Time Out for Women book club. It is called Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy: A Woman's Guide to a Better Life by Merrilee Boyack. Normally, that kind of title wouldn't grab me, but I needed something to read while I waited for Caden to finish his art lesson. I don't know what the copyright laws are, so I don't want to post the entire poem on this blog, but I hope that you can check out the poem on pages 6 through 8. Basically, it is a poem written from the perspective of a perfect woman. For those of you who are still in my book club, contact me to find out how to get a discount for this book.

If I made a list of all the activities and experiences I should or want to be participating in during my lifetime, I would easily be panic-stricken. I have a hard enough time doing the most basic of tasks, like keeping the house clean. What activities do you feel merit your time? If we could survive without ever sleeping, what would you add to your to do list? I would definitely add drawing and painting, reading, and going for picturesque, flat-terrain, bike rides.

Tofu- "No"fu

In my never ending quest to live a healthier life, I decided to experiment with our dinner tonight. Instead of using ground beef or turkey in our spaghetti sauce, I decided to try crumbling up a few "Boca Burgers." For those of you not familiar with this product, it is a meatless, soy/veggie pattie. I took great care in how I seasoned it, trying to mask the difference, but no matter how you season something like this, nothing can mask the texture. Right away, Caden asked, "What did you add to the sauce?" I told him that I added brown sugar (which I usually do), and he replied, "I don't like brown sugar." Vance ended up tossing all of his spaghetti out of his bowl. Tevye, after I warned him to try the sauce before he dished up, asked, "Is this turkey?" I asked if he liked it before I answered him, and his response was, "I'm hungry." As for me, I actually thought it was tollerable, but I don't think that I would call this a meal that we will repeat. Moral of the story- eat more chicken!

What'cha Talkin' 'Bout, Willis?

This morning, I had to break the bad news to Caden.

Me- "Caden, go change your clothes."
Caden- "Okay. Where are we going?"
Me- "To school."
Caden-"What? Noooo! I don't like school!"
Me- "What don't you like about it."
Caden- "It's boring."
Me- "Well, it's the law now that you have to go to school. Sorry."
Caden- whining, crying, more whining

Welcome to Kindergarten, Caden!

Today is Caden's first day of school. He is so big now! When we got to school, he seemed comfortable with his surroundings. I am glad that Tevye encouraged us to take him to the kindergarten readiness program this summer. He didn't cry, nor did I, because we went through this in June. When I picked him up at the end of his day, he was all smiles. The first thing he asked me was if he could play his video game when we got home.

When I looked inside his lunch box, almost every item I placed inside was still there.

me- "Caden, what did you eat for lunch today?"
Caden- "The fruit snacks and pizza."
me- "I didn't put any pizza in your lunch. Where did it come from?"
C.- "The plastic bag."
me- "Who did that come from?"
C.- "I don't know."

Needless to say, I will be making an inquiry tomorrow with his teacher.