A California wedding

So the reason for this trip to California was to attend a wedding of one of our good college buddies.  At one point during our college career, both E and I shared an apartment with him.  When he asked E to be a groomsmen in his wedding, we said we wouldn't miss it for the world!  So here is the groom and his groomsmen, all looking quite handsome, I might add!

Yes, they're doing the secret service joke that all men must make while wearing tuxes.  Ummm, boys, the orange flowers sort of give you away!

The wedding was in a winery on an absolutely beautiful California fall day.  The bride chose the flower and dress colors just perfectly to match the grapevines.  It was beautiful.

The groom and I at the reception.

E and the groom at the reception.  

I have always thought they were buddies due to their equal vertically challengedness... maybe E was in the wedding just so the groom wouldn't look so short!  Ha!  I remember one time on a college ski trip I was on a ski lift with another friend and we looked down to see two rather short men skiing through some fresh snow, completely off the trail.  We knew it had to be the two of them, because there could be no two other men that short and that crazy to ski through snow that deep!  (OK, I skiied occasionally during college - but don't get any ideas... I'm not especially fond of the snow, and it would take a lot to get me to a ski resort these days!)

E and I at the reception.  Look no children!  Grandma and Grandpa B had them for the weekend, and it was so relaxing.  Thanks F & R!

E and the other groomsmen helped decorate the car, just as all groomsmen should!

E and I with the happy couple at brunch the next day.  Thanks for including us guys, we had a great time.  We're so happy for you!

Ye Olde Pumpkin Patch

So apparently these pumpkin patches are only around for us Americans... and probably not "Ye Olde", but hey, who am I to not take advantage of a fun family outing, even if it's not truly British!  

Anyway, those of you who know me know I love Halloween, and love, love pumpkins.  When I was a kid we would carve like 10 pumpkins every year.  My mom would buy her first pumpkin of the year on October 1, and I think she would get one every time she went to the store until Halloween.  I'm just trying to follow her lead.  So last weekend off we went, to pick out our all important first pumpkins of the year!

So many pumpkins, so little time!

Little e picked out this tiny little pumpkin.  I'll let you know how carving that one goes!

Then he had to put it into this huge wheelbarrow and push it around.  Hey, it has wheels, it must be a toy, right?

N picked out this tall and skinny one, good eye buddy!

Check back for pictures of the pumpkins carved at the end of the month!

Happy Birthday Little e!

We just had a small birthday dinner for e at home, but we did give him his favorite meal... pizza, or "dida" as he would say it.  Still eating it upside down and from the side, he has to have his own style!

Just cupcakes for now.  In a couple of weeks we're having a family party for him in California, and I'll bake him his real cake then... but I wanted him to have a little celebration now!  I don't think he knows what to make of the candles and the singing... 

But he felt much better after eating the cupcake.  (Or maybe he was just happy mom and dad stopped singing... either way, we got a big smile!)

Then it was time to open a couple of quick presents.  N picked out this little helicopter for him.  A completely selfless gift, I'm sure!  Ha!

Then the gift from E and I, a new Little Einsteins DVD (their favorite thing to watch).  OK, so my gift might have not been completely selfless either.  Hey, it's a long flight to California, and we will need as much entertainment as possible!

Anyway, happy birthday little guy, we love you!  And stay tuned for the Elmo cake in a couple of weeks!

Music to my eyes...

My piano made it safe and sound all the way around the world, and the boys are being so good with it.  I caught them looking super cute one day and had to snap this photo.  This is the piano I learned how to play on (sort of... don't ask me to play now), and the one I hope the boys learn on as well.  Piano lessons, here we come... well, maybe in a year or so!

Mmm, mmm good!

Yesterday marked the first time I let little e participate in any kitchen activity. We made Halloween cookies, and I let both of them lick the beaters. He didn't know what to do at first, but after watching big brother, e got the hang of it! Later we cut them into pumpkins and airplanes (of course) and then sprinkled them. Let me tell you, we had some of the most sprinkley airplane cookies you've ever seen!

Then a little later I caught e stealing food from the table. No not cookies, but corn! I left the table to answer the phone and came back to find e helping himself to some more corn, right out of the dish! 

Umm, buddy, the serving spoon might be a little big for your mouth. Well, our table manners might not be perfect, but at least he's eating his veggies!

Totally Tubular Wednesday

Well, it finally happened.  Little e got tubes in his ears yesterday.  Those of you have lived near us for any period of time know that this little guy has been on antibiotics for a very large percentage of his life dealing with ear infections.  After two ENTs, it finally was time to get the tubes in.  Last Tuesday we met the ENT here, and we all agreed the pattern of ear infections might be changing.  He had no hearing loss, and was infection clear for the moment.  We left the appointment saying that we would wait for the moment, but if he got one more infection in the near future, we would put the tubes in.  About 36 hours later he woke up screaming and telling me his ear hurt... again.  We were in the pediatrician's office the next day, and by 9 am Friday morning we had an appointment for the surgery.  

He was a trooper, and did so well.  This picture was taken after the surgery and right before we were headed home.  He was ready for those Os after no breakfast!  

Today he is back to normal, and clearly feels great.  He is happier today than I've seen him in a while.  I think he's thinking, "ah, this feels much better!"

We put Grandma to work!

Well, we have had lots of excitement around here... and amazingly enough, it's really starting to look like home.  E's mom came out for a couple of weeks to help us unpack all the boxes that have been sitting in storage for the last year and a half.  Let's just say, there were many things in those boxes that I completely forgot I owned.  It was like Christmas!  The get-rid-of pile takes up about half of the garage right now.  Can anyone say yard sale?

Within 48 hours of her arrival, the moving truck showed up with crates full of stuff.  To my great surprise, we actually got most of the stuff we wanted out of storage, and not too much we didn't want.  We also had very, very little damage.  Amazing considering it was packed in Alaska a year and a half ago, sat in storage until June, were it was sorted into what we wanted here and what was going back into storage, then re-crated, shipped from AK to Seattle, put on a train (we think) across the US, and then shipped across the Atlantic.  I wonder if household goods can get frequent traveler miles?

After a big day of unpacking we headed out for some pizza.  How come I can't get a picture that good of them, and they cheese away for Grandma... and the pizza I suppose!

Grandma B was great about walking N to school in the morning, and taking little e too.  This gave me about an hour every morning to get some boxes opened.  She also took them on trips to the local park.  Here are the two budding basketball players.  Watch out Uncle T!

Occasionally we needed to get out of the chaos that was our house.  So we took Grandma to my favorite picnic spot and had some fun on the playground too!

Yup, that's N, just walking on a 1000 year old pile of rocks... with a 700 year old cathedral in the back ground.  So cool!

One day E and his mom went to see a famous cathedral near-by.  Without the boys they were able to take a tour of the inside and up into the tower!  It's amazing what you can do without two toddlers around!

Here's Grandma peeking out of a window...

... and E peeking into another one.  While on the roof.  Again, no toddlers, remember?

But eventually I put my foot down and said I needed some time out of the house too, so we got a sitter and headed to London for the day.  Our first stop was Buckingham Palace where we took a tour of the state rooms.  Amazingly ornate.  And lots of artwork.  I wasn't expecting that.  The highlight of the trip was seeing the dining room all set up for a state banquet.  I don't think I've ever seen so much china, silver, and crystal in my life.  There were like five glasses for each person, and like nine pieces of silverware.  I was feeling for the royal dishwashers!  Here is E and his mom outside the front of the palace before the tour. 

And all three of us outside the back after the tour.  As you can see the weather was perfect!  The queen has lovely gardens!  

I really wanted to get to Harrods, and I knew E's mom would want to go too.  So we dragged him through with us.  The food halls are absolutely amazing.  Seriously, we would lose my dad in there for days!  We made it out with some chocolate, a new bag for me, and some sushi for dinner.  Not bad!
Here is E humoring me and letting me take a picture of him in the amazingly ornate stairway inside, but what he's really thinking is, "get me out of this giant department store!"

Anyway, despite all our distractions, we did manage to get the house put together.  The downstairs only needs a couple of window treatments, and the upstairs needs a few pictures hung... but finally, I can say we are through the move.  Yippie!  Thanks for all your help, R!