Wicked Chilly

It was the coldest Halloween ever!! But it was so entertaining! I told Cannon that we must be old because we were really getting a kick out of all the adorable kids in costumes. We dressed Caleb up as a Russian. As luck would have it, the folks who parked next to us at the trunk-or-treat are Russian, (as in, very broken English Russian) and when they got out of the car, they saw Caleb and started laughing. I turned Caleb around so that I could show them "Medvedev" on the back and they laughed even louder! Then they pulled out a camera and took a picture. Caleb insisted on pushing this stroller around for a while...

Here is the Russian family, our new comrades. Ivan and Tatiana are the parents of these 2 beautiful girls. Later on, Ivan told me that Caleb was truly a "scary Russian" because "Medvedev means 'bear' " and he's "very scary"!!


This giraffe had the cutest behind in the world. She was Caleb's height and kept hanging around our car, stealing our candy.

Caleb and Troy; Troy's mom, Ruthie, a new friend of mine.My friends are real witches! Ruthie and Jodi...

Is this the most ADORABLE gnome/elf or what?! We thought that next to Caleb, she was the cutest thing ever! And very original...


It got cold enough that Caleb stayed in the car and played...
Speaking of frigid cold weather, this was last year and look at those toes hanging out! He was sweating in that suit most of the time.
We wished Grammy and Gramps could have been here to parade around with him again. We can't wait to see you! Just a few days! Wahoo!
His first Halloween stash..
His first taste of a Sour Patch Kid! Ha, ha ,ha!



He has perma-rosy cheeks from the cold. They are much brighter and deeper red than the picture reflects (darn flash)!
We only had about 3 trick-or-treaters at the house. Each time they left, Caleb stood on his tiptoes and peered out the window and waved saying "ba-bye, ba-bye". HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Haunting

Grammy sent a very fun Halloween package to Caleb. It had all the right things: a new book about not-so-scary monsters, fruit snacks, and a very cool friendly ghost night light. We used it last night. Thanks Grammy!

This morning breakfast is over and it is time to go buy some red felt. I've got to make a hammer and sickle. I would love to make a mini hockey stick too. It really isn't a stretch to dress Caleb up as a Russian since we are so close to Russia, but it's my perfect solution to keeping him warm while he attends a frigid trunk or treat. Don't ask me why they don't have indoor activities here. I think the high today will be 22 and after the sun goes down, it hits the teens. I'm really wishing we lived in Tempe today...

I may even have time to dig up some Halloweens-past pics from my single days. Me and my friends had some great parties around this time of year...until then, here is a pic I found on the camera that Cannon took the other night. It looks posed, but the camera just snapped at the perfect time. He smiles just like his daddy. And below that, a sneak peek at the Russian-to-be.

We voted...

Yesterday afternoon was a fine day for fulfilling our civic duty! We all went down to City Hall and voted. What used to be pages of filling in black dots in Arizona was 1 page with maybe 10 dots to fill in. You probably don't have to guess why we didn't vote for Ted Stevens...but we did put our support behind a certain American Hero and his running mate, our own Governor! And we got giant stickers, just for voting! (It wouldn't be AK if the stickers weren't huge, like the state itself--everything here is done on a grand scale)! Get out and vote folks! You'll get to wear a sticker too!

Playing the Pi-ana

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLLY!

(Mom, Caleb, Lolly)
Last year we got to celebrate together...we'll just have to postpone our party to Nov 3rd!! We love you, you good Lolly you!!

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures --a new Auntie to Caleb!

Watching Beijing Olympics DVD

He was totally captivated watching the highlights of the Summer Games...that's my boy!


This was his reaction to some of the more intense competitions...

Squirt Bottles and Scary Skulls

This is one of his most favorite things to do. The front of his clothes, his face and hair end up sopping wet. Look at him squint as the water hits his face over and over! Wow!

Caleb is a big helper these days. He was taste testing the dough before we baked the cookies.


Not the most flattering pic, but it captures my delight with these DELICIOUS mints from Chicago! Thanks a bunch Heidi-ho!!
Luke gave Caleb some scary tattoos for Halloween!!

Can you find the Caleb?


Cannon enjoys Tang or Tampico (which I call battery acid) and likes to share "the hard stuff" with the boy. It won't be long before daddy teaches him to drink like a real man from the pitcher...Daddy is in Albuquerque this week and we miss him already.

After shutting himself in the pantry, he successfully pushed hard enough on the door to get out. He was very tickled and proud of himself! He has the cutest smile ever!

Old Video...trying different video post options.

First Snow Suit

Peeking out at the cold world...and peek-a-boo!

Caleb would hold very still, waiting for me to come tickle him while saying "peek-a-boo, peek-a-boo"! He would giggle and laugh hysterically.
He loves watching the world from our windows...

The latest...

It is currently 28 degrees outside and the snow is coming down fast. I had to get a running start, just to make it in the driveway--and it's only been snowing for 20 minutes. It freezes on the road and then just piles on top of itself. I really need to get some snow tires, stat! I just got home from canning with a couple of friends. My friend Ruthie is the real expert and she did a lot of it. I stirred and poured (tons) of sugar into the bubbling pot, scooped the thick goodness into each jar and she carefully sealed each jar of precious jam. It was a lot of fun. Like anything, it was much more enjoyable to do it with friends than try and tackle it alone.

Speaking of friends, my running partner Jess and I trade babysitting while we take turns running when the husbands aren't home. Caleb's new friend Maddy is a girly-girl through and through! Notice her adorable, much loved, rag-tag tu-tu slip!! She's pretty stingy and Caleb is pretty grabby, so they get along well.

I looked out the window and what did I see?..

Snow had fallen on my favorite hors-ee...

There are some years that I recall bundling up under my Halloween costume, when I was a kid in Utah, before we went trick-or-treating. It is clear that Caleb will be bundling up EVERY year when he goes trick-or-treating. Anyone got any great costume ideas?

Buster got a very cool surprise treat from Auntie Lolly the other day! He was so excited. We love that little Halloween book you sent Lolly...we have read it several times a day since we got it. Caleb studies each page and scratches the fuzzy, glittery images intently. Tank you!!

It is so interesting how "checked in" Caleb is to his dad. He is very observant and he wants to copy and help daddy as much as possible. Cannon is likewise very cognizant of his boy's keen need to do what he does...so in this case, he handed Caleb the broken rake, knowing that Caleb would be tickled and hopping happy to have it. They bond in a completely different way and it is very interesting to observe.


The shared a bowl of cold cereal before daddy had to go to the airport. He is in Boise for the week. We miss him already...
I've got some great videos from this weekend but Blogger is buggin' out and I can't post them. Argh!! Are any of you feeling my can't-post-a-video pain?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The good...raking leaves with Buster in the sunshine!

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..more of 'the good'.  Buying "fake" sugar cookies in the tube. There is something very addicting about the smell, the flavor and texture of these cookies.  Don't you think?

...the bad.  I shouldn't be eating them. It is impossible to eat just one.  Caleb kept begging for them and he never got a whole cookie because I would take a bite out of every one that I gave him!

...the ugly.  This cheap bag was so frustrating!  1)It was the size of Caleb and 2)was very flimsy plastic.  I paid $2.29 for 2 of these bags expecting that they were the super big bags you see on people's lawns....I've got some pride and I can't put these stupid bags on our front yard. The neighbors would think we were pansies for sure! Argh!