Halloween 2011

Halloween was absolutely perfect this year. We converted our office into the costume changing room for the whole month of October and when the actual Halloween day came, it didn't disappoint. I was able to be a part of the school festivities by watching the costume parade and painting faces in Alex's class party.

After it got dark, we went trick or treating with a group of neighbors. Jacob sat in the stroller for more than half of it and we all enjoyed seeing our neighbors out and about.

Growing up in Portland we had to plan our costumes and decorations around the cold and rain. It is great to be here where it doesn't matter what you put outside for decorations because it doesn't rain all month. And you can dress up as anything because you don't even need a jacket on halloween night. Beautiful.

Aaron with his class at the costume parade

Alex's class picture

Original art the boys made to decorate for Halloween

Our neighbor's yard "Pirates of the Caribbean"

Our Trick or Treating friends

Hiking in Uvas Canyon

Chris took the boys hiking in Uvas Canyon which is a state park close to Santa Cruz. They had a great afternoon. I know this because of these pictures they took and also because they came home sweaty, smelling like boy scouts.

California Academy of Science

The boys and I took a day trip to San Francisco to meet up with our Michigan friends the Hogans. It was a great day and the CA academy of science did not disappoint.

Can you tell these two became friends?

San Fran Day Trip

We took our first day trip to San Francisco and it was a success. We went to the SF Fine arts fair at Fort Mason, the Exploratorium, the Marina Yacht Harbor, a great restaurant called Capurro's, and finished the day riding scooters at walk in front of the Maritime Museum.

The weather was a little chilly/windy to play in the water. Of course Aaron did it anyway. Since it was only an hour drive, we saw a lot and the boys loved riding their way around the major landmarks. I think we will definitely scoot our way through vacations in the future.

Lego Land Discovery Center Chicago

The boys and I spent the weekend in Chicago while Chris was in New Orleans on business. We had a great time at Lego Land. It was a pretty cool place. They call this location a discovery center because it was more condensed and only had two rides. The boys love it. They got to build models, race the cars they built, watch a 3D movie, played on a playground, rode rides, built with huge legos, and bought some new sets at the end. Good day.

The boys had fun at the huge playground in the Woodfield Mall

We went to the Rainforest Cafe in Chicago. Wow. I was so impressed and I am still amazed at everything they had to see there. We even saw a diver in these tanks cleaning the sculpture. The food was average, but the ambiance was unbeatable.