Here they are on Halloween. I think it's pretty obvious what they each are. I was happy to have a break from the princess theme this year. The traditional Halloween costume was a good break. We took them to under 20 houses and they were in bed by 8:30 pm. I'm sure this is the last year we'll be able to pull that one over on them. The treats they were most excited about - chips. Who knew.

Here's Cala. Our most serious Halloweener.

Our cool cat - CC. Who's been sick all week but pulled it together for the occasion.

And Connor. It was touch and go weather or not his costume would fit. The girls both wore this when they were babies. Keep in mind Cala was 9 months old - CC 1 year old. He's 5 months in a week. It was a size 18 months. Seriously - no candy for him.

Okay - the full body shot is more flattering.

Award winning pumpkin

Tonight Darren and the kids tackled the task of carving our pumpkin. I am impressed. Darren opted for a carving theme this year and free handed a cat. I knew something was up when they started asking for pipe cleaners. End result - pretty good. Major points for creativity and way to go Cala and CC for getting your hands right into it. They did a great job of cleaning out the pumpkin. The girls were very excited about pumpkin carving and harrassed me for days to do it. We made the misteak of doing it too early last year and it went rotten. Hopefully holding off a few days will work this year. Happy Halloween.

Cool CC

I'm pretty sure my almost 4 year-old is just too cool for me. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday today and when she didn't answer I asked again. She said, "Mom you have to be patient, I'm just thinking." Oh, sorry. She also spent the better part of the day wishing she was a baby because "Babies are important and they need lost of tension." (attention) Oh, sorry again. We also made a paper chain today to count down the 10 days until her birthday. If you look at the paper chain tonight, there's actually only 7 days until her birthday. We're working on that concept. And I'll continue to wait until she has thought of something I can give her for her birthday. It's okay, I'm patient.

CC is also quite the cool kid at school. Her teacher says she has lots of friends. I'm not surprised, we've had 9 year-olds give us their phone numbers so CC can play with them. Everytime we go to McDonals, we make a new friend. Anyway, we were walking to the car after school today and this little girl was following us - yelling something. Finally I clued in she was talking to us... er, I mean CC. She just wanted to say good-bye officially. Chelsea looked at her and said a very unemotional good-bye. Apparently, friends grow on trees for some of us.

Chart Topper

This is what a baby in the 98th percentile looks like in the buff. There are a couple of extra requirements that go along with a baby of this size. First, hygene. He needs a bath every day - but that bath must include a thorough cleaning in between all the rolls. There are a lot of them and you really have to scrub. Second, eating. He does not like to miss a meal, get a meal late, or get short changed a few ounces. Finally, clothing. Not only do clothes have to be in the 12 month size, they cannot be a slender cut... baggy cut works best - they slide up the thighs a bit easier. Socks cannot have an elastic top and shirts have to be cut wide in the arms - if they taper in, it will cut of circulation. Another item to note. I went to buy Connor a bumbo chair and he didn't fit in it. His legs were too fat and it was cutting off the circulation - he looked very uncomfortable. He's a good baby and a lot of fun! Fat and fun. He's 18 lbs and 27" long.

Back to the Blog

Okay... a little break never hurt anyone right. Here's a brief update of what I've been doing to keep me away from updating the blob. Laundry, dishes, more laundry, cleaning, driving to preschool, writing a chruch talk, putting on a baby shower, more laundry, cooking, and cleaning, volunteering at Cala's school, swimming lessons (not me but the kids) gymtastics, more laundry and cleaning. There, all caught up. I'll be posting on the kids as soon as they do something truly blog worthy.

Quebec Trip (Ka-beck not Qu-wa-bec.)

In Quebec City- a view from the wall - looking at the Chateau Frontonac












In the Quebec countryside - sooo beautiful.













I can't believe we did this... more or less - admit that we did this.. but we rode in a carriage through Old Montreal. Say cheese.










In Old Montreal - dating from 1600 - 1900

Travel Log

We are now on day #4 of our trip to Montreal and Quebec City. We've spent the last few days romping around Montreal. We've been shopping, site-seeing, shopping, eating out and just simply enjoying being together. All this couple time together is really great. It makes you remember that oh ya, I really like this person and more than anyone, I want to see and do new things with this person. Of course we're married and I love my husband but, this trip has reminded me that Darren and I are good friends. Just simply having fun being, seeing and doing together has been such bliss. Mostly because, we are alone. No kids - not even our infant - my sweet Connor - fat boy. (how did I leave?) We've said over and over, not having the entourage has made this trip. Not that we haven't missed them - but, we wouldn't have been able to have this kind of vacation with them. Enough sap. (ironic because we're in Quebec - the sap/maple syrup capitol of the world.)

This place is truly amazing. Montreal is a world class city and is now on my list of world class shopping cities. Seriously, we westerners don't really get it sometimes... and this place is up there with New York. Old Montreal is more like Paris than some parts of Paris. It helps having a husband who speaks French. I just pretend I know what they're saying and chime in on the merci and bonjour part. Montreal is amazingly bilingual. I stand out a bit - being blonde so they must see my ignorance with the language comming. Every other person you walk by is speaking French or English. Sometimes they switch mid sentence just to mix it up I suppose. The food is unbelievable and dining is an art. We took 3 hours to eat dinner last night. Really soaking it all in.

Today we spent most of the day in the car - meandering through the countryside on our way to Quebec City. We're traveled throught the Northern tip of the Appalacian Mountain range. It was so quaint and picturesque, it didn't feel real. (For you Americans we're above, New York, New Hampshire and Vermont.) We arrived in Quebec City tonight and walked a bit through the old town. QC is the oldest fortified city in North America. English isn't as common here - so it was a quiet night for me. I keep telling Darren I feel like we're in Euroupe. The lifestyle, articture, ambiance is either very French or very British. Tomorrow we'll spend most of the day in QC and then spend another night here before we make our way back to Montreal. Today was a calmer day for us. We've walked 10-12 miles a day since we got here... just trying to see it all. But today, we (okay, mostly me) really started to miss the kids. I just want to hug, kiss, hold, tickle, smell and make them laugh... then I could continue on the trip. Not possible I know. But now that we're half way through, I thinking about them more and miss them more. I'll be ready to see them - but we'll be busy the rest of the trip and we plan to keep on enjoing our alone time. (Thank goodness for trustworthy grandparents who are willing to step in and be the parents for a while. And for good friends who agree to take on an infant who still gets up at night!)Anyway, pictures to follow.