Halloween @ Gamma Phi

My college sorority has a great annual Halloween event where the alumni and their kids come back to trick-or-treat at each door within the house. This event is sort of a double-edged sword though. It's so fun to take the kids and I know they love it. I always think how fun it will be to see old college friends and catch up. However, everyone is chasing all these toddlers around so nobody gets to say much more than "Hi" and "Which kid(s) are yours?"

This was good practice for the real deal. Ragen figured out he basically had to yell "trick-or-treat" because the plastic mask covers his face. Maggie wouldn't say trick-or-treat but she said "thank you" (really more like "day doo") and picked up the concept quite quickly. Who wouldn't when you're raking in all that candy?! She was quite a hit being at the UW dressed up as a Husky cheerleader.

I remember this activity being sort of fun as a freshman and sort of a drag as a sophomore. But, now that I'm the one taking my kids back, I am so grateful to the girls for making such a special night for our kids.

Annual picture in front of the door

Annual picture at front door with Madison Tucker after annual dinner at Pallino

A handful of the kids who would stay still - Robbie Lentz, Callie Lentz, Maggie, Andy Graebner, Zach Fosseen, Annie Headrick, Jake Headrick, Sam Headrick, Max Giles, Cody Fosseen, JP Headrick, Ragen, Madison, Ellie Heldridge

Maggie is a huge trick-or-treating fan!

The 2 Husky cheerleaders - Maggie and Miller Fosseen

(who is just as sad about the football season as the rest of us!)

Spider web cookies

I stumbled upon this little Halloween treat on a blog awhile ago and have been so excited to try them when the time rolled around. Well, they didn't turn out as cute as the originals but going forward they'll get better.

Yesterday we got "Boo-ed" so today I had to put together some little treat plates for a couple of neighbors and I decided to use these spider web cookies. The originals called for black webs with orange spiders but I already had black spiders so I tried orange webs. I think black would have looked better. I also need to work on the timing of glazing the cookies & doing the spirals - that glaze dries so darned fast!

A yummy treat, no matter how they look!

Backyardigans

Earlier in the week I happened to see a sign at Nordstrom that the Backyardigans were making an appearance at the Bellevue Square Nordstrom on Friday. We'd decided to skip the show when it was at the Paramount Theater but the kids love Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua, Austin & Tasha so I figured this was a great opportunity for seeing them up close & personal. We got to the mall with about 15 minutes before the start time which was a good idea because soon after, the line was almost to the other end of the store. At the last minute Ragen decided he wasn't too keen on the interaction but surprisingly Maggie was all for meeting Pablo and friends!

Kicking off the Halloween season

We went to our first Halloween party yesterday and it's always a great one! The Newcomers had their annual party which is pretty impressive considering Julie is probably going to have her baby on Friday. She always has amazing art projects, never complains that her carpets get destroyed, yummy festive snacks and perfect weather. The kids talked about it all day and loved that it was "good practice" for their costumes.

Apparently Maggie didn't cheer loud enough when the Huskies played OSU

Maggie, Ragen, Colton Schneider & Clint Fiala

A flashback - Ragen & Clint with their daddies at just 5 months old

South 47

My mom & I took the kids to the pumpkin patch at South 47 Farm today. It's the same one we've been to every year since Ragen was born. The kids loved picking beans, seeing the animals, taking the tractor ride and of course, finding the perfect pumpkin. Ragen had his heart set on getting 10 pumpkins but I drew the line at 4. We're definitely ready for Halloween now!

It's finally open!

For those of you mommies in the Bellevue area, you've probably been waiting like I have for Kids Cove at Bellevue Square to open. My kids would ask everytime we were at the mall when they could play on the boat again. It's finally open! I took Maggie there yesterday and she was seriously like a pinball inside a machine - running back and forth as fast as she could. It's a great area and us moms love the coffee bar right there. Ragen is really excited to go check it out later this week.

Vegas baby!

At an auction last spring, I won a trip to Vegas so this past weekend we redeemed this fabulous prize. We'd been talking about going to Vegas with Alex & Courtney Tucker for years so since they were at the auction when we won this trip, we decided then & there that we'd all go together. We spent 3 days at the Mirage and enjoyed plenty of sun & pool time, some awesome meals (BLT Burger, Sushi Roku, some yummy french bistro place, oh and Alex's fave - CPK!). We also saw the show "O" which was spectacular - I'm in awe of these talented people! Unfortunately, Jeremy & I left a decent amount of money in Vegas but the Tuckers were pretty big winners so that was exciting. We will definitely be going back to Vegas sooner than later since the last time I was there was with Court for her bachelorette party 5 years ago. Thank you Tuckers for a fun, fun weekend. Annual trip for sure!

Can't check in yet? Grab a beer at 9am...it's Vegas!

Poor Jeremy & Alex were both trying to numb the pain of the stock market decline

At the Revolution bar

Forum Shops

These 2 were seriously out of control checking the markets on their blackberrys (can you tell they both work in finance?). They were making bets on whether it'd close up on Friday (it didn't!)

At the "O" Theater

Vacation from the vacation

The kids and I flew down to visit my parents in Palm Desert for about a week and we just got home. I swear, I need a vacation from the vacation. Mimi & Bumpa were extremely helpful and I couln't have done it without them but I truly don't think I tell my husband nearly enough how much I appreciate him and his help! To be the only parent 24/7 (and out of our own comfort zone) was a real challenge. The 105 degree heat didn't help either but luckily it cooled off a bit so we could spend more time outside.

This trip was a pretty mellow one - lots of pool time, a few trips to the squirty park, some great meals, our first visit to the Children's Museum and of course some shopping. Another highlight was a visit from Uncle Mark. Both kids adore him and you can tell how much he loves spending time with them. We got great news while we were all together - Mark got a fantastic job at Warner Bros. We're so proud of him!

The day we left Ragen said "Mommy, I have a hard choice to make. I really don't want to leave Palm Desert but I also really miss my school friends." So cute! We love going to PD and look forward to another trip in the spring...with daddy!