When You Wish Upon A Star...

Last Thursday Susan, Mom, and I left today and entered the worlds of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy! You guessed it... Disneyland! The Happiest Place on Earth! We spent three glorious days basking in the glow of Disney Magic. My camera pooped out on me during day two, so the photos you see below are only the first installment of the series. Once I can procure the remaining photos from Susan I will share those too. More to come...






























Top 5 Disneyland Experiences:
1. Susan and I went on Splash Mountain but didn't want to get wet. We borrowed a poncho from mom and when we got to the top of chickapin hill (right before the big plunge) I yanked it over my head and Susan took it from me and pulled it over her too as she snuggled up behind me. We were saved from the water, but in the souvenir photo at the end of the ride, our log showed four smiling people in the front and two yellow bumps at the back. We were the yellow bumps.
2. Mom got very wet sitting on the left side of the Pirates of the Carribean boat the first time we went... that is not in my top five. The top five is when we went the second time and i was on the left and I almost crawled into her lap as we went over the hill to try and keep from getting wet.
3. FANTASMIC! Twice! It is a great show... I still get a little misty eyed when the characters all come out on the Mark Twain riverboat at the end.
4. Soarin' Over California was the first ride we went on. It is the best way to start off at Disneyland... once we even got to sit front and center.
5. I beat mom and Susan on the Toy Story Mania carnival games and won a Pooh treat!

More top five and photos will follow...

The First Snow!

Party at the Compound!

This year Curt and Megan threw yet another successful Halloween extravaganza titled Halloween Monster Mash at their house. There were art contests, carnival games, a cake walk, dancing, and an impromptu pinball competition. Although there were official winners of the judged dance contests, Megan, Emily, and Alison won the unofficial award for best endurance. The following are some fun photos of the festivities.

Halloween Traditions

Saturday was the annual pumpkin carving party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Everyone carved pumpkins that Dad grew from seedlings in his own garden. Dad and Daniel had to fill in as pinch pumpkin carvers when Vance and Miles gave up after gutting their pumpkins. Mom made taco soup for dinner and then we decorated home made sugar cookies. Vance and Miles had fun creating belly buttons on their ghosts with squeezable gel frosting decor and Curt and Paul had a headstone decorating contest. All in all, it was a fun night for everyone.
P.S. The unauthorized photo of Susan is evidence that she left her sick bed to make an appearance at the party and the publishers would like to add the disclaimer that she doesn't usually venture out in public like that.

Toast Some Seedlings

Nothing kicks off the Halloween holiday like selecting the perfect pumpkin to hack into and subsequently set on fire outside your front door. If you were Martha Stewart you could even string the pumpkin innards around a wire form to create a sort of wreath for your door as an example to future pumpkins who dare tresspass on your property. Not having Martha's dark creativity, I usually just throw the slimey stuff away. Boring right? Well, not this year! Although I won't go so far as to create a pumpkin seedling shrine, I am planning on trying to toast the little buggers in the oven. I have read that they are very tasty and nutritious to boot. In case you care to try it out too, I have included 2 methods I got online:

Regular Toasted Seeds
Rinse seeds under cold water and pick out pulp. Place seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted (about 25 min) stirring after 10 min. Store in airtight container.

Sweet Toasted Seeds
1 C. Raw pumpkin seeds rinsed and dried
6 Tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Spread seeds in single layer on baking sheet coated with non stick spray. Bake at 250 degrees F for 45 min, stirring occasionally. In large bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp of the sugar, salt, and spice. Set aside. Heat the oil in large skillet. Add the pumpkin seeds and sprinkle remaining 4 Tbsp sugar over them. Stir with wooden spoon until sugar melts. Pour seeds into the bowl with the spiced sugar and stir until coated. Cool. Store in airtight container.

Well, good luck everyone and pumpkins beware!

31 Days of Halloween

On October 1 Paul and I came home to find that some Halloween Elves (not to be confused with the Christmas Variety), likely named Curt and Meg, had left the us quite a surprise. We opened the envelope marked "Day 1" and now have a cute Halloween banner hanging over the fireplace. We're excited to see what comes during the rest of the month! Happy Halloween Everyone.




This is a halloween garland Megan and I made. Paul wanted to model it, but I thought it looked better on the banister.

The Great Wall

To be added to such notable structures as the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids at Giza we submit for your vote the "Wall of Vance and Miles." They built it all by themselves (practically) and it towers over the landscape at an impressive three feet high (at least). It looks like we have some future engineers on our hands.