Trick or Treat!

Anna and Sam were excited to go trick-or-treating this year. In the past they were content with the activities at the Harvest Festival, then passing out candy to the kids who came by the house. This year, we purchased costumes early in the month, Anna chose a "punk pixie" (a glittery fairy) and Sam picked Boba Fett from Star Wars. They dressed up more than a few times in their costumes before the big day, and their anticipation just grew until the end of the month. On Halloween, Anna's friend Sabrina came along, and Yumi and I couldn't help but get dressed up as well. (Yumi scared more than a few passer-bys, and not just the children.)

Even though the kids just went trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood for a couple of blocks, they received lots of treats including a light saber for Sam and a bright sparkly bracelet for Anna. We are trying to limit Anna and Sam's candy intake to two small pieces a day. It reminds me of when we were younger and my mom would keep our pumpkin baskets on a top shelf. She would let us have one or two pieces a day, and the Halloween candy would last almost all year!

Family Pumpkins

Can you guess whose is whose? Happy Halloween!

Tanaka Farms 2011

We went on our annual trip to Tanaka Farms this past Sunday. For the first time, we went through the corn maze, which was a lot of fun after realizing there are few, if any, wrong turns. (I get a little fearful of being left behind in mazes such as this.) We each picked out a pumpkin, I think this was the first time I chose one. Not surprisingly, everyone else used their time efficiently while it took me the longest.

Irvine Regional Park

We spent a fun afternoon at Irvine Park. We went to the Orange County Zoo located within the park and had a close encounter with a big brown bear. We also rented a canopy bike. Despite what the photos show, Steve and Anna did all the pedaling while I sat between them, and Sam sat in the front. We ended the day with some frozen treats. Fun times!

Sam and Mom

At South Coast Plaza in front of the Hello Kitty can display...


And snuggling with his favorite blue blanket. :)

Room 9

This was my last day teaching this group of kids. I am going to miss them.

Mowing the Lawn

We have an old-fashioned lawn mower, no gasoline, no electricity, runs on pure human strength. Steve made it look so fun that the kids wanted to try it out too.