trick-or-treat!

After our first pumpkin liquified on the kitchen table 3 days before Halloween (we didn't even have a chance to carve it!), we tried again with this one. Emily was very excited to be able to use her butter knives. The ice cream scoop is now her favorite utensil.
Our little helper!

Of course we had to stop by Great-Grandma's to trick-or-treat and show off Emily's costume. Grandma found those awesome pumpkin lanterns to help the kids see while trick-or-treating in the dark, and made a cute bag for Emily's treats!

We hung out with friends at their annual Halloween bash.

Trick-or-treating en masse is the way to go!

Noah the frog decided to take a rest, so Princess Emily plopped down next to him :) The loot!

All the kids decorated glasses for the 3-D movie being projected on a sheet in the backyard.

And a party just isn't a party without a piñata! Although hanging a witch from a tree and beating it with a stick was a little "Salem witch trials"...

The kiddos lined up (according to height) to take a whack

Emily got four good hits in

Daddy was proud and helped her gather up some goodies.

Too much fun!

Happy Halloween!

fairy princess

We had a blast at our church Halloween carnival! Emily actually wanted to put on her costume this year (last year she was scared of the fuzzy leopard print Pebbles outfit I sewed her...)

She was really loving the whole fairy princess idea, and would wave her wand carefully at me when casting a spell. Oh, and insisted that she could fly, so Daddy helped her with that by lifting her up and flying her around- so cute! She was fascinated by the bats on Chris's headband, and called them crows. That made me laugh hysterically. I think Emily is the funniest kid ever, and yes I am completely biased.

Emily won her first round in the cake walk... and picked out that. That chocolate cake. Evil child, she knows chocolate cake is my weakness. Mmmm, hot dog! She prefers hers bunless.

She was wary of the games at first, but when she warmed up to them she couldn't be stopped!

And gave us a beautiful smile for the Halloween picture booth! You can tell she feels like a princess who just filled her bag with goodies from the prize table :) Now if only she'll smile like that for our Christmas card picture...

happy saturday!

While checking out some art and photo supplies downtown, we came across a farmer's market in Little Italy- fun discovery! This varigated rose caught my eye... Emily insisted on wearing her straw hat on our outing, and got several "oh how cute!" comments as a result.

Jason picked out some fresh bread to take home

These funny little vegetables aren't tomatoes, they're eggplants!

I love checking out the modern buildings downtown and fantasizing about living there.

As we passed this sign, the elderly woman sitting on her porch told us how cute Emily looked, and then let us know that it is her in the picture on the banner! She seemed quite proud of it :)

Tossing pennies in the fountain

Jason took us to the best plane watching spot, which Emily decided was too loud.

weekend getaway

Last weekend we hung out with our friends Megan and Dirk at their timeshare in Oceanside. Here's the view from their hotel room overlooking the pier. We had lots of fun playing with their kids and then stayed up really late talking and planning road trips (Jason's current obsession. He asks to go on a road trip at least twice a week).
I can't believe I didn't take a group picture, but here's some fun ones waiting for our food at Johnny Mañana's.

Emily is learning how to wink ever since Elmo did a segment about winking on Sesame Street.

She also LOVES playing hide-and-seek. Her favorite hiding place is in my closet. THE BEST QUESADILLA I'VE EVER TASTED!

This guacamole quesadilla redefined Mexican food for me. It was quite a sensory experience.

Before we headed home we took Emily for a walk down the pier.

I was so proud that she kept her hat on! Halfway through our walk we spotted two teenage girls who had jumped off the pier and were swimming to shore. Where the police were waiting.

There were tons of people fishing off the edges of the pier. Emily even tried to pick up some freshly-caught fish that were flopping around on deck.

It was the perfect weekend away!

oktoberfest!

Kay and I share the same birthday, so we went out to celebrate at our local Oktoberfest! Jason and Matt were all about the bratwurst, but Kay and I were saving room for dessert...
And who does dessert better than Claim Jumper? My favorite part of Oktoberfest was running into practically everyone we know in east county, discovering a new fabulous art gallery, and the craft booths- where I found part of Emily's Halloween costume! And of course, the fact that it was cool enough to almost need a jacket!

fun with emily

Emily and Jason made me a yummy omelet for my birthday breakfast, and then baked my birthday cake... Emily was loving the chocolate batter! Emily climbed out of bed and decided it was time for a photo shoot... so we had some early morning camera fun. Okay, you can see how short her bangs got trimmed, but that's because she jerked while I was cutting! And they really are even, I swear!
How did she manage one of those annoying myspace expressions?!

Love this one!

She has mastered the intense "CHEESE!!!" expression. Yeah, the one that let's mom know there's no chance of getting a normal smile out of her. Our new favorite activity- painting with watercolors!

My goofy girl! We have so much fun :)