Halloween Horror on Saratoga Street

This past Halloween, we had a Doctor in the House. Dr. Aaron Keener that is. Our little man loves playing doctor, so being one for Halloween was very fun for him. Jen and I were going to be John and Kate, but the Kate wigs were all sold out. So I settled for being a biker dude. Thanks Uncle Dennis for the Harley t-shirt.

We live in the best neighborhood for holidays. There are a lot of kids so everyone really gets into it and Halloween is no exception. Houses get decorated inside and out. Candy is given out by the truck load and everyone parties in their driveways.

This year we had a ghoulish group of friends over for our monster bash. Mom made some awesome homemade chili and two really good cheese balls. GG made the cornbread and some cookies. Jen made her blood curdling sangria. Chant and Casey brought over spiked Sweet Tea. And how could we forget the mini cupcakes that Lori brought. I loved the vanilla, and so did everyone else. That was the one flavor that was gone by the end of the night. Jen's favorite was the red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

This year the Mom's and Grandma's took the boys out trick or treating. Aaron and Riley really got into it. They would go up to houses all by theirselves and knock. They were pros by the end of the night and could gather candy with the best of the big kids. Aaron's favorite was a house in the neighborhood that was actually making fresh popcorn. The adult favorite was a house serving Lemon Drops for adults. The ladies had a great time trick or treating with the little ones, buy had to call for a Diet Pepsi delivery in the middle of their trip. All of that walking wasn't easy and it was warm for being the end of October.

The boys wanted to stay up all night playing, thanks to the candy high. We gave out over 10 bags of candy from our house that night and even had to steal a bit from the little ones bags to get through all of the kids out hunting for candy.

We want to thank everyone who came to our party. It was special with you all there and we look forward to celebrating with you all again next year.

Now on to Thanksgiving!

Beautiful Sunrise on Saratoga Street

This morning when I walked out the front door of our home, I was presented with the most amazing sunrise. It was the perfect start to the day! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

The colors were amazing and honestly the pictures don't do it justice, but I had to capture it. Hope that you have a Great Halloween weekend and be safe.

Halloween Fun

This year Aaron is really getting into Halloween, at least he keeps talking about it.

Shopping for a costume was tough. He kept saying that he wanted to be "Lion King, rooarrrr!" Then when we went to try on costumes, he kept saying that they were, "too big mama". We finally found something and Aunt Wendy is sewing together the final piece, but it is under strict wraps until Friday's Trick or Trunk event with the Schows.

Today's story is all about an email I received yesterday telling me to call home. I get them frequently during the week, so I didn't think anything of it. When I called, Jen told me that Aaron had been into stuff while she was in the back of the house. Oh no! She had checked on him several times and each time he had been laying on the couch watching cartoons. So she decided to do some work in the bedroom. After all he was behaving.

Boy did he have her number. While she was occupied, Aaron had pulled the pumpkin off of the dining room table, all by himself. He had grabbed a butter knife from the silverware drawer and he was carving the pumpkin. More like stabbing it Jen said. There were stab marks all over the top of the pumpkin. He had been watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and wanted to carve a pumpkin like Lucy had.

Now they were going to have to carve the pumpkin before I got home. I'll admit that I was "jelly faced", our family saying for being jealous, that Jen was going to do this without me. However, I am happy to report that both Mommy and Son made it through and had a great time! Jen took Aaron outside to carve the pumpkin. He helped to scoop out the pumpkin guts and directed Jen on where he wanted her to cut the pumpkin. He loved it! Jen said that they had a great bonding experience and had a wonderful time doing this.

And are the results wonderful? I thought so too! I think the look on the pumpkin's face must have been what Aaron experienced when his Mommy caught him cutting the pumpkin up.

Do you have any great pumpkin carving or kids at Halloween stories? Please share in the comments.

Free Books for Kindle - October 26

Just when you thought that there couldn't be any more free books for the Kindle, think again. There are so many out there it's easy to lose count. Here are this week's picks for free books for the Amazon Kindle.

• When Night Falls by Margaret Daley - currently at the top of the Kindle Best Seller's List
• Giving Chase by Lauren Dane - A romance to heat up the chilly fall nights
• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin - A true classic with insights into one our nation's fathers
• Unbreakable by Sydney Somers - Police officer by day vigilante by night in the hunt for Shadow Demons
• Paradox I by Rosemary Laurey - Fantasy reading anyone

Did you know that you can even get blogs sent to your Kindle? They have everything from Boing Boing to the Huffington Post.

It's the Great Pumpkin Patch, Aaron

This past couple of weeks when driving around Yorba Linda, we'd keep passing a pumpkin patch. Aaron would say, "Ride Fire Engine," every time we would pass it and we were so blind to just the pumpkin patch aspect that we didn't see the big fire engine air slide right in front of the pumpkin patch. This picture even makes it look like there may be a fire in the background.

Now that Jen's parents were back from their cruise through the Panama Canal, we wanted to take Aaron to the pumpkin patch with them. They were so excited that we had waited for them, they even had a surprise for us. They had gone out and bought matching Halloween shirts for Aaron and them to wear that night. They were all so cute. Don't you think? I was a little envious that I hadn't thought about that.

So last Friday night, we headed there. They had so much for the kids to do from small obstacle courses and jump houses for toddlers to huge 3 story slides for bigger kids. They even had a petting zoo and pony rides.

Aaron had a great time riding the ponies, but he would liked to get off the beaten circle and headed out for wilder pastures. Know what I mean?


He got to pet and feed some kids. No not little kids, baby goats!

He played in a toddler bounce house, but all he wanted to do was play with a giraffe and bonk other kids with it. So, he graduated to a larger bounce house and played so hard. The bounce house had an obstacle course in it that led to a slide. He must have gone down the slide 20 times. He was playing so hard that we just let him keep going.

Finally I was able to get a good shot of him going down the slide. The first couple of times he stuck to the side of the slide to help slow down his descent. By the end of the night, there was no holding Aaron back.

While the pumpkin patch in Yorba Linda had been great fun. The cost for pumpkins was a bit much at $15 for just an average sized pumpkin. So we headed over to our local Albertson's to pick up a pumpkin to carve.

Aaronisms - "Turn off the moon Mommy"

"Turn off the moon Mommy"

This has got to be one of my favorite things I have heard Aaron say lately.

Last Friday, we were driving to Jen's parents' home for dinner before going out to the pumpkin patch for some Halloween fun. The sun is really bright at eye level around 5:30 pm this time of year. We made a left hand turn into blinding sunlight when Aaron made this comment.

Jen and I both laughed!

Daddy's Wisdom Wednesday - Don't Break Things

This last week you tested your Mommy and I.

It's not the tantrums. Those are easy to deal with and just a part of being a little boy who can't quite express himself.

It's not the way you run around the house at bed time wanting to be chased and then playing in your bed for 30 minutes afterwards. You have more energy that any 2 year old I have ever met.

This last week, it was all about you throwing things, not just your toys mind you. You decided to throw one of your Mama's Uncle Sam collectibles right off the table. What's more, that wasn't the first one you have broke. Unfortunately, as many people have since told us it probably won't be the last.In a funny twist to the story you told Mommy that, "You buy her new one." Then you had Mommy call me at work and told Daddy, "To buy Mommy new one." I have tried. This Uncle Sam appears to truly be a collectible.So here is your advice for the week

Hold on. Don't throw that.
Stop and I will play with you
You don't have to taunt.

Disneyland Treats

Image by Mastery of Maps via Flickr

This past two weeks, we have been to Disneyland four times. Aaron is really growing to love it and we keep expanding the rides that he wants to go on. More about that in another post.

This post is about some tasty treats we have found at Disneyland the last few times we have been there. You've got to try them if you visit.

• Dole whip at the Tiki Room - OMG - this light whipped frozen concoction is so tasty. It's easy to get brain freeze when you eat it because it is so good.
• Corn dogs at the Little Red Wagon on Main Street - I am not generally a big corn dog fan, I'll have one at the fair because that's the thing to do. Now, I go looking for the shiny red truck at the end of Main Street on the left every time we go to the park. Aaron and Jen love these too.
• Cherry Coke at Refreshment Corner on Main Street - Actually, make that a Diet Cherry Coke for us. The syrup has got to be sugar free, right?

What is your favorite treat when you go to Disneyland?

Free Books for Kindle - October 19

Image via CrunchBase

You've heard me talk about how much I love my Kindle from Amazon, you know the electronic book. Well, I decided to start sharing with you all of the free Kindle books that I find on Amazon each week. Many of these are even on the Kindle Bestsellers list.

Here are my highlights for this week:

• 72 Hours by Shannon Stacey - (romance) the life of an agent in a rogue organization is never safe.
• The Christmas Bus by Melody Carlson - (Christmas) This Christmas Valley holiday doesn't go as planned
• The Templar Legacy by Steve Barry - (suspense) Knights of the Templar a la Da Vinci Code
• The Keeper by Sarah Langan - (horror) Bedford, Maine becomes a bloody mess once the paper mill shuts down. Halloween Pick!
• The Demon Awakens by R. A. Salvatore - (fantasy) Orphans use magical gemstones to save Corona. I highly recommend anything by Salvatore if you are a fan of fantasy!

Most of these free books for the Kindle received 4 stars or better in ratings on Amazon. Besides in these financial times who can walk away from free books. You may even discover a new favorite author.

Let me know if you read any of these books or if you have other books that you have downloaded for your Kindle that you think others should know about.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol the first e-book to outsell its hardcover counterpart? (crunchgear.com)
• Free for Kindle: Richelle Mead's "Thorn Queen" (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)
• Amazon: We Won't Remotely Delete Books Again (mashable.com)
• Amazon prepping for paid ads on Kindle? (dailyfinance.com)
• Amazon Kindle To Go International (ubergizmo.com)

Daddy's Wisdom Wednesday - Keep the Poop Picked Up

Today's wisdom isn't so much how to live your life as much as it is telling you about your favorite welcome home message to me this last 6 months. You have grown so quickly. Mom and I are constantly amazed at the words you learn, use and understand.

There is one word that I could have waited a bit longer for you to learn and that word is. . .

poop

You know that stuff in your diaper that you love to look at for some strange reason that I can't wait for you to share or in the case what the dogs leave in the backyard. It's hard to remember any night in the past 6 months where I haven't walked in and the first words out of your mouth were, "Poop Dad" or "Pick up poop". Not "Hi Dad" or "I Love You Dad". Now, I try to keep up with the dogs, but sometimes life get's in the way of picking up the poop and other times Ringo just has it in for me. It's that weight management food we feed him. He's just trying to get back at me.

Some nights I walk in and just laugh because I wonder what the obsession is with these brown logs baking on the grass in the backyard. Other nights, I just wanted to hear "Hi Dada" and get a hug before being told about the poop in the backyard and being pushed outside to pick it all up. Still other nights, it's the frustrated, all be it funny, stories from Mama of your playing in the poop in the backyard. After all, you are only trying to help out. You are such a good helper boy.

So here's this Wednesday's Wisdom to you

Keep the poop picked up
To stop brown spots on your lawn
And poop shouts at home

I love you Aar Bear and wonder what the next welcome home phrase will be.