Pumpkin Carving 2011

I LOVE FALL! And carving pumpkins is just one of many reasons. Last night the kiddos and I tackled some big pumpkins. Daddy added the finishing finesse needed on the angry bird but that about wiped him out as he is recovering from back surgery. Anika was amazing; she cleaned pumpkins out, poked in the design, AND carved the ghost all by herself this year. Andrew tried to be brave about the pumpkin "guts", but he gave up pretty quickly. He poked the angry bird design by himself though. Kat issued a lot of commands and poked the ghost template for awhile, but she was more interested in getting them lit! We are so happy with the final results:-)

Anika carves all by herself.

BOO!

A ghost, an angry bird, and a funny face:

Red Ribbon Week 2011

Oh, what fun! A whole week to play dress-up in anticipation of Trunk or Treat on the 31st! This week was "Red Ribbon Week" at school - a drug awareness program.

Day One: "Kickin' Out Drugs" (Western Theme)

Day Two: "Stay Healthy, don't do drugs" (Doctor or injuried patient):

Day Three was RED day for which I don't have a picture.

Day Four: "Be Smart, don't start" (Nerd day):

We ended the week with P/T conferences and a day off! Yee-haw!

PS I was just re-reading a few posts and I have to apologize for the plethora of spelling errors in the last few posts. I will do my best to improve!

Monterey Bay Get-away

The kiddos had a Mon. off of school so we decided to have a "last hurrah" before Lloyd's surgery. So we headed off to the coast! A quick trip through San Fran helped ease my concerns about finding the hospital, and then we took Hwy 1 south, noshed on some "Pizza My Heart" pies, and found ourselves a hotel in Monterey. Day Two was a wonderful day at the aquarium, a ride in a surrey cycle (Drew refuses to let me call it a bicycle, since it has more than two wheels), a stop at Dennis the Menace park, and dinner at El Torito on the bay. AMAZING!

Just entering a hotel room is vacation for the kiddos! We always start an aquarium visit at the sea otters.

A highlight for me on this trip was the amount of wildlife we saw just standing on the deck of the aquarium. This sea lion was lounging around right below us, even though I'd just spent 20 min. squinting through a scope trying to catch sight of his brethen out in the bay.

Drew mans the binoculars while Dad scans the bay.

Hanging at the aquarium.

Our (Lloyd & my) absolute favorite exhibit is the "Open Sea" tank - Pacific Sunfish, hammerhead & white sharks, schools of sardines, Mahi Mahi (dolphinfish), bluefin tuna and more glide around in a soothing, dimly-lit display. We actually made it just in time for feeding, which was an educational and thrilling experience.

After a few hours at the aquarium, we were ready to enjoy the beautiful day outside. We rented this surrey and had a great time cruising by the bay.

Taking a break:

Dipping our toes in the bay:

Sandy toes:

At this point, Lloyd and I were so glad that the rental agent encouraged us to go with the smaller surrey - since the kids feet probably wouldn't have reach the pedals we would have had an additional 250 lbs. to carry with the bigger one. This one was enough:-)

We stopped to grab a shot of this sea otter frolicking in the bay. Not a great shot but we saw some amazing moments with this creatures out in the wild. Who needs an aquarium admission;-):

After our ride, we let the kids expend some energy at the Dennis the Menace park, while Lloyd napped in the shade.

Last Soccer Game

Drew's last soccer game of the season was on Sat. Unfortunately, Drew spent the night before with the stomach flu so I wasn't planning on going; however, he was not to be denied. So, we brought him to his last game.

Coach Laura and Coach Aaron were SO excellent: Drew's good friend, Jack, shows how we don't keep soccer in the 5 yr old league (yeah, right!):

This unusual sight shows that Drew still isn't feeling his best:

Drew makes a save:

Ready for the ball:

Drew mixing it up:

Family Fun @ Funworks

I love FALL! When the air starts to cool, leaves start to fall, and many traditions come around again. Family Fun @ Funworks is one of our fall favorites. Every October, the gracious people at Funworks invites pastors and their families to enjoy a day of free fun. We couple this tradition with the VanderMeulen family. It was a delightful afternoon/evening of go-karts, bumper cars, playplace, and PIZZA. What more could a family ask for?

Anika and Ella wait (patiently?) for a turn on the go-karts:

Kat experienced her first round of go-klarts this year as she finally met the height requirement. We took it easy but she enjoyed it:

Bumper Cars:

Drew was convinced that Dave would know how to juggle the balls from the ball pit. . . Dave did not disappoint;-)

Anika was even getting the hang of it:

A trip to Round Table pizza finished off the fun!