Holiday Tour: Halloween

Outside Entry Way

Living Room

True Story:
I bought this candy for the pumpkin carving party. It's gourment toffee flavored candy corn with chocolate covered candy corn. It's very sweet. After the party I forgot we had it (we don't spend a lot of time in the living room). Spencer comes up to me a few days ago and asked if he could have some candy. I told him we didn't have any. He said, "yes, we do." I asked where. He pointed to this candy dish. I told him that he could have a piece. He confessed that, "I just already did." How honest, yet simultaneously deceptive of him.
Inside Entry Way



Basset Hounds

Holiday decorations and Holiday dishes make me very, very happy (remember- I made up a song about holiday dishes, but only Michael is allowed to hear it. I just sang it to him for the 1st time this year. At Target. Next to the HOLIDAY DISHES).

Basset hounds dressed for the holidays make me want to cry with delight.

Dining Room

Megan just gave me this apothecary jar. I am giddy just thinking about all the holiday things I can put in there.

Kitchen/Family Room

Hallway Bathroom

This is Jack. We're not sure if Jack is short for Jackson or Jacqueline. My mom's friend Paula made him/her for Spencer.

Next on the 2010 Holiday Tour: Thanksgiving

I can't wait. I may or may not have plans to buy a turkey platter this year.

Baby-sitter

Megan's nanny had to have surgery at the end of September. She's not allowed to return to work for a whole month. Megan asked if Spencer and I could come over for baby-sitting duty a couple of days. Megan's a good friend. Of course I said yes. I asked if I could bring Ginger too. Megan's a good friend. Of course she said yes.

Just in case there was any confusion about the subject matter, spaghetti is not a good lunch choice when you are feeding a 1 year old and a 3 year old.

The beagle brigade set up shop under the highchair. They thought spaghetti for lunch was a brilliant idea.
Our after lunch activity was a bath.

Hadley tried to stand up in the tub. Spencer said, "no, no Hadley. Sit down." Then he stood up.

The beagles slept.

After I dressed Hadley in what turned out to be pajamas (really? I had no idea), she and Spencer played together.

And then they played separately.

And then I realized that they really could be brother and sister. They're 23 months apart and they have the same hair and cheeks. Different parents, but, whatever.

And the beagles continued their nap time.

We had a snack (organic and non-organic puffs).

And the beagles slept.

At one point Hadley slept (for a long time), Spencer slept (for too short a time) and I may or may not have slept on the couch for like 3 minutes. Then Megan came out of her office (she works from home), then Michael showed up after work, then Scott came home from work. Then we ate a dinner that came 100% from the freezer but that we all agreed was reasonably healthy and qualified us as good parents for feeding it to our children.

We'll be back for more baby-sitting next week. I'm thinking about feeding the kids rice, beets and maple syrup. Tiny, stainy and sticky.

SD- Day 4

Did you know that Sea World has different hours for different times of year? During October, a slow time of year, the park opens at 10 and closes at 6. They actually let us into the park at 9:30 but just into the "general" entrance area. Then we had to wait for 1/2 an hour.

Note Spencer's adorable sweatshirt. There is nothing more appropriate than wearing a beagle to see a bunch of ocean creatures. 1st stop. Beluga whales.

Next- Polar bears. I overheard a woman talking about how she thought it was ridiculous that the Tucson zoo has polar bears. I agree, random woman. I agree.
I'm going to submit this photo to National Geographic and try to pass it off as a picture I took in the Arctic Ocean.

On to penguins. We were there during feeding time. Those are not penguins in clothes.

This walrus man really freaks me out.

Sea lions

Elmo's Flying Fish ride. Michael and Spencer went in the clown fish elmo.

I went in the doggy elmo fish.

On to the sharks. Look at this sumbitch. I'm sorry for my potty mouth. There is no other way of describing this animal.

I mean really. He's pure evil.

FLASHBACK TIME

In 1994 I went to San Diego with Laura and her parents. It was a couple weeks before we started our Sophomore year of High School. Laura took this picture of me on the sky ride. I was 14.

I tried to recreate it at age 31. I'm not aging well.

I lost another 8 months of my life worrying about Spencer falling out of the ride into the ocean and then how I would have to go in after him.

BTW. Spencer changed into a whale shirt after the day warmed up a bit.

Sting rays

Creepy little fellas

Playing at the toddler zone

One more ride on Elmo's Flying Fish right before closing time. We were the luckiest people at the park and got on the PIG ELMO!

Back to the hotel where Spencer played with my hair curlers.

Then into bed.

It was a great day at Sea World. It made me think that maybe, possibly, just perhaps, we could try Disneyland. I'm taking donations of $20-$200 to make that dream come true.