War-Eld & Cruise Directing!

I hope everyone's October is going as well as...

Wait. What?

It's November? Mid-November?!

Ahhh, jeez. Well, not sure where all of October went, but the flashbacks (and the pictures -- see below) seem like we had a lot going on.

Some of the highlights were:

+We had a fantastic time at the St. Justin Sock Hop (it was a muggy night, we were in a school gym, and I was dancing = Lisa looked at me and all she could say was, "You look like you just came out of the shower and if you didn't, you need to.")

+Attending Light the Night, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at Avaya stadium, which included some amazing face painting, a really inspirational message, great friends, and a dozen kiddos rocking out way past their bed times.

+The Santa Clara Fire Department open house, where we got to sit in the fire trucks, spray the big hose, and get our own hats. Oh, I mean, the kids got to do all those things. Right. The kids.

+Nana & Papa's first annual Halloween Party -- which was perfect to host at the Lake Castle (along with their even more perfect costumes). The industrial smoke machine may have been a little over the top (since it couldn't be activated for more than 5 minutes without causing the smoke alarms to blaze). Though the food, company, and full-sized skeleton were right on!

+And, of course, Halloween itself and all the festivities that go with it. E was a firefighter this year (after all, we already had the fireman hat) -- along with a whole crew of boys in his class. Their parade and songs were so. dang. cute. Halloween night - I'm still unsure whether the kids liked the Trick-or-Treating more or answering the door for the kids visiting our house. J in particular liked to hold the bowl and say, "You can pick two pieces."

Speaking of our little cruise director J, she's so sweet and can be such a handful. Recently, Nana & I took the kids to the indoor splash garden in Morgan Hill (think of a park play structure in 1.5 feet of water). J loved it, though she definitely enjoyed directing us as much as the playtime. "First, Nana will go on the slide and then I will and then E. And, Daddy, you stay here until next time and then you will go and I will go together and..." She's so sweet and loving (unless you're doing something contrary to her plan).  Have I mentioned how much trouble we're in? I know because Lisa and I are both Project Managers and having two in the household is plenty -- adding in a third, especially with the sensibilities of a small child -- *shivers*

J is also really into her dolls, Mariana in particular (from Aunt Dasha). Mariana goes everywhere with us, often having to have her own seat at dinner, and J tucks her in before her own bedtime. J also got really into watching the election between "Donald and Harry [Hillary]" and wanted "Harry to win because he is a Duh-url [girl]." And that's as political as I'm going to get.

We had a lot of fun following the World Series, even without the Giants in it. E adopted the Cubbies as his team-of-choice and rooted them on. 

E's creativity and curiosity never cease to amaze me.  Nearly daily, he's coming up with ideas for projects, art, or contraptions he'd like to build. Sometimes his ambitions outreach his and our ability. For instance, he recently decided that we should build a "model war-eld [world]." It didn't have to be a full-sized war-eld, he explained, just as big as, maybe, our house. It did need to have a sky and an airplane big enough for him and J to fit in. Though he understood that we couldn't really make a functioning jet -- just something to pretend with. What would we make this war-eld from? "I dunno, maybe some old stuff in the garage." He finally compromised with constructing a lego city and watching an episode of MODERN MARVELS.

And with that, I'd better start working on the November post, because next thing, you're going to tell me it's January.