Tim's Birthday Weekend!

We started off celebrating Tim's birthday with dinner at Shogun with my parents. My parents had never been to Shogun and I knew Trent would love it, so it would be a great place to have dinner. We had so much fun at dinner. The chef had Trent laughing so hard with his silly jokes and had him a bit scared with the fire on the grill. The food was good and the company was great.

Tim has his birthday hat on! 

Happy Birthday Tim!

On Sunday evening, Tim's grandparents Henry and Ethel and Scott and Fiona came over to our house and we continued celebrating Tim's birthday with chicken pot pies and razzleberry pie. The highlight of the night was Tim and Trent playing a trick on Great Grandpa Henry.  

Trent could barely get through the trick without laughing.  Thankfully, the trick worked and no water spilled onto Henry's head.

Monday, was Tim's actually birthday and I had Sprinkles cupcakes sent to his office.  Tim and his coworkers enjoyed the sweet treats.

                                               

We had a great weekend celebrating Tim and what a wonderful man he is.  Love you Tim!

Batman with an orange pistol???

Just when I think Trent is growing up too fast and has outgrown his "little kid" toys, he comes into the living room wearing his Batman wings, mask, cape and shooting a pistol.  Thank goodness he hasn't grown up too much.  He is obsessed right now with this orange pistol that he got a Disneyland.  I guess he thought Batman needed a gun.

Love the angry scary face.

Batman to the rescue.

Playing around

It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so Trent and I took advantage of the great weather and walked to the elementary school nearby to play at the playground.  We brought Freddy along for the adventure, which he was excited about.  I was so surprised that no one was at the playground on such a nice day. Trent played on the playground and I played around with my new phone's camera, which takes amazing pictures and videos.

Swinging on the swings.

Mr. Serious

Having fun in the spider web.

Hanging like a monkey.

Playing in the sand.

Freddy

Trent has always been a cautious boy, so he hasn't quite gained the confidence needed to swing across the monkey bars.  He is trying though, which is a step in the right direction.

Trying to swing like a monkey.

Things I am Thankful For...

We have come into the season of Thanksgiving and even though we should recognize what we are thankful for all year long, Thanksgiving is a great time to reaffirm what we give thanks for. A few years back, I read the book The Ultimate Gift by John Stovall, which was a great book and reminded me that I have to recognize each day what I am thankful for.  In the book, the concept of writing down 5 things you are thankful for is a good way to begin your day. I did that for a few months and then one day I missed an entry and then another and before I knew it I had stopped completely...shame on me.  I think that if we remind ourselves daily of what we are thankful for we will have a better outlook on how the day will go.  Of course, sometimes no matter how positive and thankful your day starts, you can still have a bad day and that's ok.  We just have to remind ourselves that tomorrow is a new day and to reflect on the positives and to be thankful for what we have.

Things I am thankful for (in no particular order):

  God...because without him I wouldn't be here.

Tim...his love for me and Trent and that he works so hard to provide a great life for us.

Family...I can't live without any of them.

Trent...without him I wouldn't be whole.

Trent's smile.

Trent's laughter...hearing him laugh makes me happy.

My Mom...seeing her fight cancer gives me hope.

My Dad...he takes good care of my Mom.

My mother in-law...she loves spending time with Trent and she can never give enough.

My father in-law...his ability and love for long hikes, camping trips and bike rides with Tim and Trent.

My friends...they are there for me.

My work...it's flexible so I can be there for Trent.

Modern medicine...it has given us more time with my Mom.

Let's remember each day what we are thankful for!

Darth Vader uses the Force while Trick or Treating

After a lot of going back and forth from picking the Darth Vader costume, to picking Cad Bane or another Star Wars character to wanting to be a Pokemon character and then back to Darth Vader...Trent finally settled on Darth Vader.  I think what sealed the deal with the breathing device that I bought to go along with the costume.  For one reason or other and Tim and I can't pinpoint why Trent has been resistant to being Darth Vader for a few years.  He loves Darth Vader, but for some reason the past two Halloweens chose to be another character. This year he finally picked Darth Vader and he played the part well.

He suited up in his costume on Saturday night and we headed over to our friends annual Halloween Party.

Scary Darth Vader

 Dueling...

 The choke...

 The force...

 Force lightning...

A very Darth Vader stance.

Trent could not wait to get the party.  I don't think he stopped talking during the 15 minute car ride.  He was so excited to see what everyone was dressed up as.

What a pretty and scary gang.

 Darth Vaders

 And a little Vader joins the big Vaders

 Dueling in the backyard

The gang calmed down for a bit and watched Spooky Buddies...Trent loves this movie.  

The two Vaders watching the movie.

You can only imagine the excitement that Trent was trying to contain when he woke up on Monday morning.  He was so excited it was Halloween and that he would be trick or treating in the evening.  I hope he concentrated a bit in school that day.  When he got home it was all about when we were going to go trick or treating and how much candy would he get and be allowed to eat.  To get into the Halloween spirit Trent and I carved two pumpkins, which was a lot of fun.  I don't have much creativity in me, so I don't carve elaborate pumpkins, just trace and carve.

 All done!

 I cheated a bit with the Yoda pumpkin...no carving needed.

Waiting...patiently.

 The time finally came and we all headed out into the neighborhood.

 The two Vaders let Cinderella pass...barely. 

 Trent and Jake making their way to the porch to get candy.

 

 

 A spooky house didn't stop the Vaders from getting candy.

 Trent and Jake on a mission... 

Love the Vader costume.

 Another spooky house. 

 Trent and Jake came home with loads of good candy...Mission accomplished.

I think it is safe to say that Trent really enjoyed being Darth Vader for Halloween.