4 costumed kids, 3 different schools, 2 parades to watch and a partridge in a pear tree

im pretty sure children were put on this earth to make us laugh. i gave up my hopes and dreams of themed costumes for the kids and let them pick their own, and boy did it show their personalities. the kids' teachers had different ways to celebrate. so this is just a hodge podge of what they all did. dont ask me how caden got that pumpkin in his backpack but his teacher reported that he worked at it for a while. ray's preschool class took the oh-so-coveted bus over trick or treating at the district office. Brady and Kendra's school had parades. everyone had a great time, you couldn't wipe the smile from Brady's face. we were grateful to have family there, we were a great cheering section. we love this time of year, and there's still so much fun to have.

halloween is for grown-ups too!

these pictures say it all, we love our friends who wanna be silly, chow down and just enjoy this super fun time of year. jared wanted to have photos up of halloweeen pasts so this year was pretty nostalgic for us and our guests. the hubby also requested my trifles, so those along with a cauldron filled with chocolate lava satisfied all sweet teeth and we enjoyed greeting our party people as they arrived. we missed our friends that couldnt make it for varied reasons, but new faces came and added new entertainment. jared and i will always be thrilled to host, this is in fact, one of our favorite nights of the year.

daddy date with child #3

we have been trying to sneak in solo dates with the kids so jared HAD to take brady to the california air show when i heard they were gonna have monster trucks this year. they scoped out all the big planes and then settled in for the big show. brady was well equipped with his headphones, beloved hat, spiderman shades, and backpack of snacks. he loved the planes that shot smoke out, and of course the monster trucks. jared liked the jet dragster--i think thats what they are, anyway that was daddy's fave. when brady arrived after a tiring 4 hours he was all smiles and reported that this was "the best day of my life"!!! so in appreciation he wrote daddy this lovely thank you note--unprompted, cuz he's just that sweet.

i shouldnt share this but i will...

parents of the decade right here baby! just hand us the trophy. here's a caden story for ya, don't freak out, everything is fine, but wow, jared and i are very aware of protecting Hands over us and our family. this picture is two classic caden things: nesting and holding his good behavior treasure from school. last saturday afternoon jared and i were working on house clean up stuff. our latest plague is rats. the double bee swarm hit then a flea infestation and now rats. we were moving furniture around, vacuuming behind things etc. etc. caden was booted off the computer at that point and there was no tv on either. unbeknownst to me he was upset and was kicking the front door. as i was picking up stuff, dropping it here and there i noticed i had made a good lap around the house and i didnt know what caden was doing/playing. NOT GOOD. you have to know what he's doing every minute of the day--literally. i made another loop around the house and backyard calling his name--nothing. i asked the kids to start looking and i told jared, "this is not good, i dont feel good about this". then i heard a car braking on the road behind our back yard. i KNEW right then that caden was walking out on blanco road. he ran away. looking at jared, i reiterated that i didnt feel good about this. jared got in his truck to cruise around our half mile block. the other kids were commanded to stay in the front yard, i started walking the other direction. i was about 4 houses down when a guy in a big escalade said, "are you looking for Aiden???" (close enuff) i said yes, and he told me that he was driving on blanco with his family and his wife said, "that's caden from my school, he's autistic, we HAVE to go get him!!!". so she got out of the car and started walking with him. so i see jared's truck come around, pull over and they have their exchange of gratitude and concern. in the mean time another car pulled up to me, it was a gymnastics mom from about a year ago, and she asked me if that was my son walking around. her and her husband were out and passed by caden but kept driving. the mom said that she knew she knew who that was and she wanted to help. so they looped back around and tried finding him. i explained the save by one of his teachers. THANK YOU WORLD for having decent people who want to help. all caden would say is, "i was lost daddy, mommy how did you feel when i was lost?" he was clearly reciting an episode of the cartoon "Little Bear". we tried to talk to him and warn him of the dangers-- it just doesnt register. he just kept saying lines from the show. believe it or not, jared and i just shrugged our shoulders, shook our heads and giggled. what else can you do? our hearts are filled with gratitude for sure, and we will reconcentrate our efforts with him.

a happily ever after for my homegirl

it's just the best thing ever when one of your friends from high school snags a great guy and makes a gorgeous bride. robin, myself and shannon were lucky enough to watch our little perfect Kehaulani do this. the Loo family has meant a lot to many people in salinas. some of us were able to travel up to oregon to be there with them for kehau's wedding. this branden guy knows he scored big time. he seems wonderful and the californians can tell they will be an extremely happy couple. after settling in the hotel, we went thru a session, grabbed dinner, hot tubbed and got ready for her big day. of course the sealing of their marriage was more than wonderful. i just remember the happy couple smiling thru the whole thing. they made their grand entrance and i was so proud of her awesome shoes. it was definelty a beautiful, fantastic occasion. the reception was at a country club, crazy golfers were playing away even with the downpour. everything looked amazing and was completley organized and well carried out in true kehau fashion. it was definetly a partaaay for us. we were greeted with candy leis and we were able to tear up the dance floor. we reverted to our youth days with our favorite young womens leader, sister loo, and we did our traditional "jump" by KrisKros routine. it was awesome, to say the least. her big brother did a geat job hosting the events and making the formalities of a wedding reception super fun and enjoyable. but the highlight had to be the surprise kehaulani planned for her mom. she wanted to perform a traditional hawaiian hula in honor of her father (papa/bishop loo) who passed away about 3 years ago. it was touching, graceful, flawless, and the most honorable act i've ever seen a daughter do for her father. we all felt overwhelmingly privelaged to witness such a moment and so blessed to know this favorite family of ours. this was for sure a fairy tale wedding, this polnesian princess deserves her happily ever after. aloha!