Category: holidays

Halloween Pics

E loved the Halloween festivities this weekend. On Friday afternoon I took him to N’s office for their party. E was a little apprehensive at first but very quickly got the gist of the holiday (i.e. candy) and would scoot up to people and mumble “icko-reet!”

E as a dog and me in my cop-out black cat costume.

N and his team at work rockin’ it out as an 80s hair band.
(Note: this is the only photo of N wearing jeans you will probably ever see. He hasn’t owned a pair since he was 14. I had to go to a thrift store and buy these especially for his costume.)

Before this weekend E had only had candy on a few occasions. But he very quickly learned how to say “candy” and has been running around the house trying to wheedle pieces from us all weekend. On Saturday evening I had planned on just taking him to a few houses but he insisted on going all the way around the block but then lost steam and I had to tow him back home.

All things considered, it was the best Halloween I’ve had in a long time.

We came. We saw. We ate hot dogs.

It’s strange to think about how this was E just a year ago. He’s such an active part of our lives now but I can’t remember him doing a lot back then.

Anyway, the weekend was nice. N had the day off on Friday and so we went to the local dinosaur museum with our friends Earl and Judi and their kids. Then on Saturday we had lunch downtown with my friend Amber and in the evening we went over Earl and Judi’s house for a barbecue and to watch their city’s fireworks display. They live just up the hill from the launch site and so the view was great.

E hates loud noises and so at first he was really freaked out by the fireworks. But after a while he got used to them and enjoyed them a bit.

Part of the big finish.

Kids setting off fireworks in the street.

Swinging in the hammock was more E’s speed.

The weekend was great but I didn’t get anything done around the house (funny how that happens quite frequently around here). We fly to Seattle on Friday morning and there’s quite a list of things I need to do before we leave. It’s going to be a busy week but I’m looking forward to this trip.

The Ideal Gift

You may have heard that the ideal gift for the eight anniversary is bronze or pottery. But it’s not. It’s collectible vinyl toys!

I’ve been collecting these keychains for a while but the local store that carries them hasn’t had them in stock lately which has been pretty disappointing. Well, yesterday N surprised me with a wholesale-sized box of them!

Twenty-five yummy breakfast keychains in all their blindbox glory. *drool*

On top of that, N had swapped out one of the keychains and hidden another present inside its box. So I had to open all the boxes to find it. It turned out to be a lovely pair of earrings! Best. Husband. EVER.

In general N and I are pretty frugal, but anniversaries are fairly big deals to us so we like to do something a little special for them. But N’s gift really blew me away this year: it was so creative and thoughtful. Only someone who knows me as well as he does could have put it together which makes it mean so much to me.

Poor E, though. He really liked the keychains and had a hard time understanding that all these brightly-colored toys weren’t for him. He kept swiping one and trying to run off with it, probably intending to throw it in the toilet (as is his wont). Luckily, all of the keychains were saved from such a fate.

After opening all of the boxes I’m just a few pieces away from having a full collection (Musk Melon and Burnt Toast, you’re on notice: you shall be mine!)

I ended up a few duplicates and so I think I’ll have a small giveaway later this week to share the Yummy Breakfast love. So be sure to check back for it!

J’s Birthday Bash

My nephew J turned seven last week and so E and I went to his birthday party.

The birthday boy and his cake.

The gift-opening frenzy.

The birthday boy’s brother, A. (I have no idea where he learned to make that face, but the little ham did it every time I snapped a picture of him.)

The party was held at one of those inflatable toy places. After a little while E got pretty freaked out by all the kids shrieking and running around and by the huge bouncy castles and slides. And surprisingly, me taking him down the down the big 25-foot tall slide did nothing to improve the situation. (Yeah, I know. But I thought E might like it; after all, he loves the slide on our swing set…yep, I think this little escapade just sealed my nomination for Mother of the Year.)

“The horror, the horror (of the bouncy slide)!”

But E quickly cheered up when we went into the party room to have cake and open presents. Mostly because I got him a balloon to carry around. E LOVES balloons.

Relaxing in the birthday boy’s special chair while the other kids ate pizza.

The balloons contined to be a big hit once we were home and also throughout dinner.