Halloween Part One: Shagfest '09

My girlfriend Tara had an adult Austin Powers themed costume party on October 30th. Wow, does this family know how to throw a party! Every inch of her home was decked out in Austin Powers paraphernalia. Our favorite part was the disco room (they turned the garage into a full sized disco, complete with DJ and disco ball). So much fun! We danced and enjoyed time with friends. Cindy and Stuart (my aunt and uncle) were kind enough to come and watch the kids for us so we could go out. Thank you so much for the wonderful evening.

Precious picture of Carson before we left

Stuart helps his buddy walk
Alex had to dress up to join in on the fun
Shagadelic couple
Grr baby, very grr!
Jaime and Mel-- disco divas
Such fun!

Napa Getaway

Nathan was invited to Oracle's "User Group" conference this year because his client, Gallo Wine, was hosting the event. When we heard about the opportunity, we had a few days to throw things together so we could also try to make this a bit of a getaway. The day before we left, there was a family emergency and Nathan's mom wasn't able to come and watch the kids. So we had some touch-and-go moments there at the end, but I have to say, my "village" stepped up and said they would make sure the kids were taken care of. THANK YOU to my mom and dad, Cindy & Stuart and Kati Castellanos for making this trip a reality. You will never know how much it meant to me. I needed this so badly. I thank you, thank you, thank you!

Literally every moment was perfect. It was just one of those easy, laid back, fun, no stress, smooth sailing kind of trips. It was heaven.

A few highlights:

• We flew into San Francisco and drove to the pier. We were able to see Alcatraz, the Sea Lions at Pier 39 and make the scenic drive from San Fran through Sonoma into Napa. We ate clam chowder in bread bowls outside and walked up and down the pier. It was a picture perfect day.
  
• I had the opportunity to meet all of Nathan's clients. It was such a honor to be his date. He was
  a hot commodity ;) So proud of you!
  
• Nathan surprised me with a facial at the spa and it was so wonderful. I packed a bag and spent time in the sauna, steam room and even laid out by the pool to read. It was a rough day!
  
• We were upgraded to the "Honeymoon House" at the Silverado Resort. It was just unreal. We had our own balcony that opened to the golf course, a fire place, full kitchen, plasma TVs, etc. Um, thanks for the upgrade :)
  
• While Nathan worked on Tuesday, I drove all way through Mt. St. Helena, and up to Calistoga to the Petrified Forest. I've always wanted to see the Redwoods! It was such an adventurous day. I just took off and the day unfolded as I stopped here and there to snap pictures, shop and dine. I had a fun date with God in the mountains :)
  
• We both had a wonderful time away from everything. Although we didn't get much time together, the moments we shared were awesome. We didn't take anything for granted.

Here are some pics -- enjoy! I hope we come back again soon.

On our balcony before dinner

Resort snapshot

Nathan in our rental car-- headed to the pier

That is Alcatraz from a distance

Pier 39

Sea Lions!

Mel with shark

Driving on the Golden Gate Bridge

Love this pic

Golden Gate tunnel

On our way to Sonoma

Sonoma & Napa

Scenic views

Love these with my camera in the shot

On the gondola ride at Sterling Vineyards

Trying to capture the moment on the gondola ride :)

Amazing views

Sterling Vineyards

On the way to Mt. St. Helena

Amazing trees in Calistoga

Grapes in the fall

I didn't eat them, promise!

On the way out of Sterling

Over 250 year old tree in the Petrified Forest

Can we go back already? Pleeeease?!

We've got a walker -- 13 months old

Carson is officially walking! Here's a quick video showcasing his latest trick. This video was taken Friday and it's incredible how much better he has become just over the weekend. He started walking just shy of his 14 month birthday. Yay! It's been so fun to watch him crash & burn. He is so proud of himself and so are we.



If you can't view the video, click on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85sjyNNblWI

Best Friends

Lots of posts coming-- check in later this week.

As much as we joke about Carson being the terror of Alex's world, they truly adore each other. I heard both of them talking on the baby monitor, and I came in to check on Carson and found them here:

How precious is this?! I am cherishing these precious moments while I can....I know it won't last forever, but man this is a sweet, sweet moment in time.

Funeral Flushing

We had our first causality this week :( Our black skink, "Ghetti" croaked. I think he got too cold. Whoops. We are headed to Petland to buy a heat lamp so hopefully I can save our Anole. (We caught two lizards in Little Rock this summer). I can't believe they've lived this long.
I actually watched the dude die...he rolled over on his back and that was it. I geared up and tried to use this as a teaching opportunity about death, but Alex wouldn't believe me. She kept saying,"mama, he's just being a silly lizard. He's napping on his back upside down. He's NOT dead. He's napping." I told her we would wait for daddy to come home and he would confirm if the Ghetti was dead or alive (clearly he was dead). Alex had a friend over, Sam, who just lost his puppy, so he was able to help us explain. He told Alex, "dude, that lizard looks really dead. Let's squish him!" Such compassion :)

After a long discussion about death and what happens, we explained that we would have to flush the lizard down the toilet so his soul could go to heaven. She was asking a lot of questions, such as, "So if his soul is in heaven, where is his head? In the potty still?" So funny!

We took it to the can, and each one of us took a turn saying something nice about the lizard. Sam even chimed in with, "you were really an awesome lizard" and Alex said, "you lived a really long time in my lizard cage."

We let Alex do the flushing....and just like that (sigh)....he was gone. Could we be any more dramatic?!

She now understands that Ghetti's soul is in heaven and his body got flushed. RIP, black Ghetti liz-urd. And yes, I am THAT mom that actually took pictures.

Examining the proof

Reminiscing on the good times
Flushing the Ghetti

Bye little fella!

proud

Just wanted to send a shout out to my mom and dad. I am so proud of them. They have really stepped up and they are busting it. They have been an example of hard work, rising above circumstances and doing it all with a joyful spirit. I don't know how...but they are.
Love you guys! And thank you so much for all of the help with the kids. I know your down time is VERY limited and we appreciate it more than you know.

Family Photo Book

Rachel created this awesome scrapbook for our family:
(click on the link)
http://preview.picaboo.com/Webview/CoverPage.aspx?user=000000000002B3EB22&album=00000000000618BFC9

If you need a photographer, I highly recommend Kirkland Professional Studios. Rachel & Ian are incredibly gifted, patient and go above and beyond to give you exactly what you request.