Kings and Castles

 The La Habra Children's Museum has a new exhibit called Kings and Castles.  We have been there twice in the last 2 weeks and it has been really fun.

 Brad and I did some sword fighting while Lila enjoyed the livestock.

 Sky dressed up and enjoyed being the queen.

 Then we went to the craft room and everyone got to make a clay monster. 

 These pictures are from a week later when we went for the costume parade.  I took a friend's 2 kids along with my 3 and it was a very busy time.  Sky was dressed as Wonder Woman and we made edible caterpillars (seen above).

 Tobin (Batman) and Lila (Cinderella) are above and Carson (Spiderman) and Brad (Batman) are below. 

 We also made lollipop spiders as seen below.  I went straight to BIOLA PE after this and that night was costume night at church so there was even more excitement that day. 

Firehouse Visit

 We got to visit the new firehouse in town!  We learned a lot!  We learned that pumper trucks are called "engines", trucks without water are called "trucks", and trucks with both a bit of water and the tall ladders are called "quints".  Sky learned about how heavy the fire gear is as she tried it on.

 We learned that even though a firefighter may look scary in their gear, we should still go to them in a fire (and not run away or hide).  Brad had to hold my hand during this demo.

 The new firehouse has a pole even though it isn't used (nostalgia I guess).

 Lila had a little chat with the fireman and was very proud of her fire badge.

 Brad had fun looking at all of the valves on the truck and he had a man to man talk with the firefighter.  Sky asked really excellent questions the whole time and kept the firefighters busy explaining everything.  It was a good time had by all!

Little Prince

 Yesterday we went to the Little Prince Cafe with our friends the Denhams.  The Little Prince is running a special where kids get in free between 10-12, M-Th, for the month of October.  We have 7 kids between us so we definitely enjoyed not having to pay the $8 per kid to get in.  The workers watch the kids while the moms can sit and eat a meal and watch the kids on screens above the tables.  The place is so fun and always nice and clean.  The boys enjoyed dressing up as transformers and the face painting was a big hit.  Sky got Hello Kitty as seen below.  Lila got a rainbow on her hand and Brad got Batman on his hand. 

In other news, my van tire had 2 screws stuck in it and Costco patched both spots for free yesterday.  We had bought our tires from Costco and they really stand by them.  We were very thankful to not have to buy a new tire! 

Just Trying to Take a Decent Picture!

 Before Eric, Michelle and Hannah left, we wanted to try to get a picture of the kids on the front steps.  I'm not sure why we even bothered.  Between the dead mums on the steps and the uncooperative children, it was hardly worth the effort.  But here are some of the shots:

 Well, at least they're looking somewhat happy. 

Park Days

 Well, my brother Eric, sister-in-law Michelle and sweet little niece Hannah have gone home to Arkansas.  We had a wonderful 10 days with them and I was sad to see them go.  Among the many things we did, we visited 3 parks while they were here.  Above you can see Brad riding his bike (thanks Memere and Pepere for the bikes last Christmas!).  He loves his bike and wants to ride it everywhere.

 The girls had fun building sand castles and digging in the sand.  Everyone was ready for bath night that night!

 Some of the other things we did while they were here include Downtown Disney (Build a Bear, Ridemakerz, etc.), Saddleback Church (Rick Warren) twice, Irvine Regional Park, Little Prince (a cool play area), Glen Ivy Spa (Michelle and I), the Aquarium of the Pacific, 2 concerts (Burlap to Cashmere and the David Crowder Band), and 3 parks.  My brother and his family actually did even more than that with some friends of theirs in the area, including Disneyland.  So, it was a very full week but so much fun! 

Girlies and Their Pumpkins

 Michelle bought each kid a pumpkin to carve/decorate so, on their last day here, the girls decorated pumpkins (Brad was watching Toy Story 3 and couldn't be bothered). 

 The insides were a bit surprising for Lila and Hannah. 

 Sky is the only one who carved as Hannah and Lila decorated with sharpie markers. 

 Sky insisted on eating some of the insides/seeds even after we told her it was gross.  And she found out that, yup, it's gross.  We did roast the pumpkin seeds and the kids have been enjoying them. 

 At this age, even a pumpkin is an adventure!

Irvine Regional Park

 On Sunday, after attending Saddleback Church, we went to the Irvine Regional Park for a picnic lunch.  We played on the playground, went for a train ride, and also for pony rides. 

 Sky went in the "trot" line for the faster ponies and she loved it.  Her horse was named Bob.

 Lila and Brad went on the smaller, gentler ponies. 

 Uncle Eric and Aunt Michelle treated everyone to Icees which were very refreshing on such a hot day!

 Everyone was thoroughly exhausted after a day of such fun.

Build A Bear

 We exchanged early Christmas presents in the form of building a bear for each girl and a ride makerz car for Brad. 

 Sky chose an orange kitty, Lila chose a bear with hearts and Hannah chose an orange owl. 

 The special heart ceremony for the "bears".