HALLOWEEN NIGHT 2010

This morning started off really quiet at our house. Mimi watched her Saturday morning cartoon shows, Dad at the computer and I was still asleep. Starting to get a bit of RA and so my hands have been giving me a bit of trouble lately especially with this cold weather. Because of the discomfort I wake up at night sometimes 4 or 5 times. Then there is the insomnia to contend with. I tell ya....it's crappy to get old. Oh well so much for my woes.....

Next thing I knew it was time to go and have a early lunch and dad has been dying to try out the Five Guys burger joint at The Landing. So off we went. It was still good. After lunch we headed over to the Renton Uwajimaya for some groceries. I just figured that since we were down there I might as well go shopping and save myself a trip.

Arrived at grandma and grandpa's at around 1 in the afternoon. While dad was watching the Seahawk game with grandpa, I went swimming in the indoor swimming pool with Mimi. We swam for a good hour and a half. I was pooped !!! Mimi has sooooo much energy ! She did really tire herself out though ! She was so tired that she actually took a short nap before dinner.

I was not expecting it but grandma had already made arrangements for us to have dinner with them. We got home just in time for Mimi to change into warmer clothes and got out trick or treating with dad and friends. I stayed home to pass out the candy and of course take pictures of all of our friends as they came to the door.

Xander is in Batman suit and lil sis Rianna is a lady bug. Micah and Corey are in the Whoville costumes. Alex and Nate are pictured with Mimi. By this time she was done getting candy and decided that she wanted to pass them out instead. Next comes Chase and big brother Noah in some kind of Star War costume. It is nice to have friends in the neighborhood especially when you need a potty break which is what happened tonight at our house. Then comes Zoe, Braden (Mario costume), Allyah and dad Mike with the mask that actually drips fake blood. Next there is Janet and her kiddos, Erin, Patrick (Lightening McQueen car) and Liam. Finally the last picture is of Mimi and Halliwell.

Mimi out grew her Power Ranger costume so this year she wanted to be a cat and so she is. The nice thing about this costume is that it did not cost much and she can play with it allllllll year long.

JUNK MAIL

Yesterday morning Mimi was going thru our junk mail.

Mimi: Junk mail, junk mail, junk mail, junk mail, WHOA! Let me see that again ! (it was an ad for
Toys 'R' Us)
Mimi: Mom ! This is what I have been dying for all my life (pointing to a scooter) ! And this one too! Mom ! I just now found what I can give you for Mother's Day! Also there is something here for Father's Day too !

Me: Great! I always wanted something from Toys 'R' Us. I think the girl may have some ulterior motives ya think?

FORECLOSURES

It is on the rise up here in Washington.

This past summer our neighbors received a letter from the bank that the house they are renting is going into foreclosure. They could not believe their eyes nor ears. They had just put their house up for sale in Spokane and it was still in lieu. Patrick spoke with the owner of their now house and was told that he is in some kind of house payment plan with B of A and for them not to worry about it.

Well...... get this. BofA is bad news already and smelled of something fishy when Cory made mention of it. Badda Bing Badda Boom !!! Pat and Cory got word the other day that their house is going on the auction block come the 19th of next month.

They have nowhere to go now. Talked it over with dad a little and said that it would be nice if we could buy it and lease it out. But that is where it stands now.

PIONEER FARMS

Of all things to forget .......my camera and phone! Went as a chaparone for Mimi's class today when all of the second graders went to Pioneer Farms. For about a month now they have been studying, reading about the pioneer and early American Indian lifestyles. So today we went to see what it was like around 100 years ago.

This place is located in Eatonville about a one hour bus ride from our school/home. The kids had loads of fun. I knew this place would be like the pioneer days but no one said that it was going to be the EXACTLY like the pioneer days right down to the OUTHOUSES ! There was absolutely no functioning plumbing anywhere! YIKES!

It is now our rainny season so everywhere was muddy, hence the newly purchased snow boots for Mimi. The way I see it, why buy rainboots when snowboots work just as well and they keep your feet warm. Fortunately while we were at the farm the rain had stopped but then started again as soon as we got home. Someone up there is watching out for us.

The kids got a real kick out of riding in a buck board wagon pulled by Jack the working horse. This is kind of a neat place. Everything was hands on. Mimi favorite part was going into the barn and jumping on the haystack. This farm was complete with horse, chickens, pig, sheep, honking geese and ducks. The other thing the kids got a kick out of was milking the cow. Even I had fun doing that but oh the smell of that place. WHEW!!!!

This picture is off of their website. Because it is Fall now, the coloring up here is so much prettier with the brown, red, yellow and gold.

WHO'S WHO ?????

LET GO FLY A KITE

Today we had a little reprieve in the rainny weather. It was sooooo nice all day. Cloudy but the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds.

Today was quite busy with the exterminator coming. Instead of rats, we now have moles. Those pesky little varmits!!! Then after the esterminator left, it was time for me to head over to the school to volunteer for the health week. It was my job to check the eyes of these little kiddos.

On the way home I noticed that the wind was starting to kick up. So after school we grabbed the first friend we saw which was Halli and headed over to the school. Of course Cal saw where the girls were going and wanted to tag along which is what he did.

WHATEVER OTHER KIDS HAVE, BLAKE HAS TO HAVE

That has always been the case with Blake. But then he is no different than the other kids. If Mimi has something that he doesn't have, he needs to get it and it has to be bigger and better. That was the same with my brother Jim. Jim would always say "Of course!" So of course when Blake saw Mimi's boots this morning, he told his mom that he needed some too.

We are now in the season of La Nina. So yesterday I went out and purchased Mimi a pair of snow boots. My thinking is why should I buy rain boots when snow boots works even better than the rain boots? Plus they keep her feet warm on these cold, cold mornings and we all know that there will be the ski lessons this winter along with the tubing up at Snoqualmie. Lots of fun in the snow for the kiddos.

Going out today and see if I can get some regular boots for Mimi along with fleece pj's and a humidifier for her room. I figured it out the reason why she sometimes gets the bug during the winter and not any other time of the year. The weather gets freezing cold so all of the doors and windows are closed 99% of the time. The thermostat is set at 70 both day and night. It goes off and on autmatically so therefore it is not on constantly. Mimi is a mouth breather at night so she sometimes wakes up with a frog in her throat. That is the reason why she somtimes gets sick and that is the reason for the humidifier. Last couple of years I bought the cheap brand and each time they broke down. Not this year though.

LA NINA

So happy that I got out into the backyard when I did. I thought to myself..... either clean up the backyard of all the dead plants when it is freeze your ass off cold and dry in the Fall or cut back the dead plants when the weather is still freeze your nunnies off cold and wet in the Spring. I chose to do it in the Fall.

Our nice weather is gone till next year. The weatherman says that starting yesterday, it was the first day of La Nina and I so do believe him. It was really windy and cold and rainy. Mimi says that it was so cold and rainy that the kids had to stay inside all day. Unlike California, the kids up here will play in the rain if it is not too bad. They do have the choice also to stay inside. But yesterday they all had to stay inside.

La Nina also left a whole bunch of tree branches in our backyard. We have beautiful trees but oh you should see all of the pine needles that fell off.

Weatherman says that we got 2 feet of snow up in the passes of Snoqualmie, Crystal and more than 2 feet of snow up at Stevens Pass.

This is why I am starting to stock up on our winter provisions. Not sure how much snow we will get down here in the lowlands. If it is anything like a couple of years ago, I want to be ready.

PUMPKIN CARVING

Tonight after dinner, Mimi could not wait to start carving her pumpkin. She was so excited about it that I did not even have to ask her to clear the table. It was done in a flash. Will post the picture at a later date as they did not get to finigh it tonight. Bedtime, tomorrow's school you know. I guess they should have started a little earlier. Oh well, que sera sera.

MY FIRST HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PIE

Moms up here do a lot of baking in the cold weather. While watching the Seahawks game, I was reading fb on my iphone and saw my friend Suzan who lives in Bishop, California talk about the pumpkin spice coffee that Starbucks serves. It sounded so yummy. She also talked about baking a pumpkin pie to go with the coffee. So I had to just make the pie. I had pumpkin on the brain. Besides, that is all what Micah would talk about the other day when the kids were outside playing.

I must say that it is pretty easy to make and it tastes really good too.

ANOTHER COPPERTONE MOMENT

Nice weather is gone and the Fall storm is here. Had a power outage early this morning. They are expecting another storm tonight and into tomorrow morning. The weatherman says we are to get 35 ft waves all along the Washington and Oregon coast.

Therefore it was just that kind of a day. A pj day, all day for Mimi. Of course she had to run around in her Halloween costume. The more she wore it, the more ole' Butch would try to yank the tail off. Now and then you would hear Butch! Stop it!!!

CHINESE PLAYGROUP

Rhonda: Where's Mimi and Elsie ?
Me: Well.....Elsie's driving a car and Mimi's got a shotgun.
Rhonda: Oh No!!! It's Thelma and Louise!!!

We just howled with laughter cause that's exactly how Mimi and Elsie are. That is no lie. Of course when it's with Blake, we call them Bonnie and Clyde. Of course Mimi had put her shotgun away when this picture was taken.

Not many families showed up. Just 4 in all. It was our family, Rhonda's, Simona's and Kris. Greg was the only guy there. Poor fella. None the less we all had a good time as always.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE.

Today was Nicole's birthday party at the fairly new Bounce It Up place out in Black Diamond. Nicole is a girl who lives just kitty corner from us. Although we have lived here for 3 years already, we are now just getting to know Nicole and her family. They don't come outside as much as we do. However I am now getting to know Rosie (the mom) a litttle better as we see each other every morning when taking the kids to school.

Mimi did not know most of the kids however her usual group of cronies were there. In the picture Mimi was duking it out with Rachel (shown seated next to Erin). Rachel has the pink shirt and Mimi is wearing the pink pants.

Later on Blake came up to me and said that Mimi was ignoring him and not being very nice to him. I called her over and asked her what was going on. "I don't want to talk about it" she said. I then peppered her with a bunch of questions...."was he mean to you? did he say something to hurt your feelings?" The list went on and on. Every answer was "No". Then she said that she kept falling down on the bouncy matteress and that made her mad. So I explained that it was ok to get mad but that she should not take it out on anybody especially her friends. She and Blake soon kissed and made up so to speak.

When we got home was when I got the whole skinny on the situation. Mimi and Blake had been duking it out in the ring and according to Mimi, Blake knocked her down 20 times. Well.....hello, Blake is twice as tall as she is so of course that will happen. Dad says that knowing Blake, he most likely was gloating about it too.

All in all the kids had a great time and so did the parents. Then it was time to go home for about one hour till we headed out to Auburn for the monthly Chinese playgroup.

IT'S CIRCUS TIME!!!

COW TIPPING

Since Mimi is on the gymnastic team, she gets to do "circus" activities. Her gym also has students learning circus stunts and since Mimi is on the team, she gets to do these kind of activites for free of charge. So.....for the past couple of weeks we have been coming here every Friday night. Elsie likes doing it too. Plus it gets her out of the house and she gets to have some fun.

While waiting for Mimi, I got a chance to talk with Rhonda and another mom by the name of Kim. We started off talking about some of the new developments that will be going up here in Maple Valley in the next 10-15 years or so.

One new developement is that there is a new Fred Meyers that will be built right across the Safeway near our home. This has quite a few of the moms up in arms. They all say that we do not want or need another Freddie's when we can drive 6 miles down the road to Covington.

A few years back when we first moved up here there was a huge article in the local paper stating that many of the residents do not want big box stores moving in. Fred Meyers found a loop hole. There is a small section of land across from the Maple Valley Safeway market that is actually the city of Kent and that is where Freddies is going up. So legally they are not in Maple Valley.

What the families really want up here is a movie theater or something for the teenagers to do in order to stay out of trouble.

So when Rhonda asked Kim what the teens do in Enumclaw which is a farming community, Kim answered that when the kids get bored they go "cow tipping". Enumclaw is located just a few miles south of the Black Diamond Bakery. Lots of dairy farms out there.

Of course being the city gal that I am, I asked "What is cow tipping?" Kim says that cows sleep standing up and the kids will go in an give the cows a push and they tip over. I cracked up laughing. It just seem so funny to me at the time. Maybe it's because I am just plain exhausted.

When I mentioned this to dad, he says "I'll bet that's where they got the idea for Disney's movie "Cars" Yeah, don't you remember? That's what Mater does in the Cars movie!" You're right dad!

FOOD DRIVE

Between now and next month is the time to get ready for the winter months up here in Maple Valley. It's funny how it can be snowing up here sometimes and sunny down by the airport. Oh well, none the less it is time to winterize everything here. That means all of the patio furniture gets stored or put away, plant the Hyacinths, Daffodils and Tulips. All of which was done yesterday. Also I straightened out the pantry and the shelves in the garage in order to get them stocked with soups and such for the winter.

There was quite a bit of food that I was getting ready to take down to the food bank but when Mimi came home all excited the other day and told me about the food drive that the school is having, I thought that we would take the food to school instead. She said that they are trying to beat out Ms. Haas class which is next door. So when Mimi walked in with her wagon full of goodies, you should have seen all of the kids faces light up. It was like Christmas in Mimi's class. Mimi was sooooooo excited about counting the items she brought and tallying the score. She brought a total of 40 items which brought the count up to 137, then someone else would bring stuff then more kids brought their canned goods. I lost count after 140. I'll have to ask her the complete count when she gets home from school this afternoon. Pictured with her here is Rachel.

FIVE GUYS

FINALLY !!!!!!! I finally found a burger joint that makes me feel
sooooooo happy!

Was out in Renton at our local Target shopping for birthday presents
and Mimi's (ski) winter clothing. Getting prepped for the snow season
ya know.

When the shopping was done, it was past lunch time and I was famished.
Made a call to Bryce to find out of the name of the place where he
told me one could get good burgers here at The Landing. He was soooo
right.

You not not only get one 100% all
beef patty but two! Butch also got a treat. It was way better than
Dick's, Wally's and right up there with In 'n' Out. The French fries
are better than In 'n' Out because the potatoes are fresh from our
local farms.

Now it is time to head for home.

ADOPTION UPDATE

Had another homestudy update. Our 3rd one so far for this next little chilli pepper. There went another $600.00 out to the universe. I think that I may have mentioned before that we are keeping our options open for a boy or girl.

Good news via e-mail today. Group 122 will be leaving on November 5th and recieve their bundles of joy on November 8th. We are slowly inching along as we are group 123.

BEAUTIFUL MT. RAINIER AND A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

FUN AFTERNOON AT MARIS FARMS

When I checked the weather forecast, it said that today will pretty much be the last good weekend weather we will have till sometime next year. It's all downhill after this. We are to have some nice days during the week though. The weather forecast also says that we are to be getting snow this year since it is the year for La Nina. Therefore I figured today would be the day to go pumpkin hunting.

Dad had some business to take care of this morning so we did not leave till way after lunch. Mimi saw Halliwell playing in her backyard so we thought that maybe she would like to join us and she did. The girls had loads and loads of fun. The admission was only $5.00 per person but it was the food, drink and pumpkins is where they hit your wallet.

We no sooner got there, Mimi and Halliwell were in the barn where they have instead of a pile of hay like at Remlinger Farms, they have corn kernels. The kids love playing in there. The girls were making corn angels, burying themselves in it, so on and so forth. When they were done and came out of the barn, who should we see? Zoe and her family. They had been there alllllll day! Shelley looked so worn out. Poor thing. Then there was the cow train, bouncy house. wall climbing, pony rides, long mine shaft slide, another bouncy matteress, hay rides, just plain running in the field. So many things for them to do.

Of course we cannot go to the farm without eating fresh roasted corn on the cob, homemade lemonade and funnel cake. Of course there is the picking out the pumpkin. Sad part is.......we had a really bad, Bad, BAD summer. Hardly any at all. So therefore the crops were not good this year. It just did not get hot enough for any length of time. The majority of the pumpkins are still green. Janet says that Fred Meyers is selling pumpkins at 18cts a lbs. We bought just one pumpkin for Mimi to make her happy. May go to Freddies next week.

Alleyah was really working her mom to let her and her dad Mike go into the Haunted Forrest. Zoe, Mimi and Braden wanted to go to. Halliwell had her doubts. Mike said that they made it so scary that last night 30 people had to be pulled out of there because it was so scary.

What is the Haunted Forrest you ask? It is a corn maze that is opened at night and according to Mike they have chain saws going without the blades and people in there to scare other people. Needless to say, we did not take Mimi nor Halliwell. Mike nixed it for Zoe and Braden, however he and Alleyah will be going which made the girl sooooooo excited.

FLAMING GEISER

I love our Fall weather. The air is clean and crisp. Yesterday we all had a full day. It started off with breakfast then Todd came to the house to work on the hole in our guest bathroom at the same time I was off to the nail salon then Walmart to get some household items. During this time Blake was over at the house playing with Mimi while dad was outside doing some yard work. There is never any rest for the wicked around our house.

By the time I made it home with lunch in tow, Mike our homestudy guy just arrived to do our second homestudy for chili pepper #2. We talked for a while. Looked at all of our options. We told him that Mimi really wants a boy but at the same time I think I can safely say that dad and I have our heart set on a girl. So as of now, we are keeping our options open. Hey, let's face it, we are ready for a boy or girl. More boy than girl though.

By the time all was said and done, I still had a couple of hours till I was to meet with some of the gals down in Kent, so we thought it would be a great idea to take Mimi and Butch out since the weather is gorgeous. That we did. Took them to Flaming Geiser State Park about 20 minutes from our home. I was kind of hoping that it would not be too late for the salmon run but sadly it was. Oh well, there is always next year.

The little flame you see in the picture IS Flaming Geiser itself.

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY

Last Tuesday was my volunteer day at school and if only the parents
knew the things their kids talk about. They tell me EVERYTHING!

Because it was such a nice day we headed over to the park after school.

MORE BIG NEWS ON THE HOMEFRONT

The biggest news of all last week was that Halliwell learned to ride her bike without any help or trainning wheels. I am pretty sure it was due to peer pressure.

Several weeks ago was when Micah, Bailey and Mimi all learned to ride their bikes without any trainning wheels. Halliwell did great!!!

BIG NEWS

http://www.kirotv.com/news/25323239/detail.html

Found this news out last night. It is all the buzz around our neighborhood and small town of Maple Valley. Rhett and his family lives just down the street from us. On Blake's street to be exact. For good or bad we did not know the family personally as their kids are older than Mimi. It was still surprising just the same. Dad says "and here we thought we moved into a quiet little neighborhood. IMHO crime happens everywhere.

LUNCH AT JAK'S

Sure enough my camera was here where I left it. Since we are here and
it is lunchtime and the food is delicious......we stayed and shared a
steak sandwich. So sorry dad, we are having fun without you today.

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY/FAMILY DAY

Today started off as usual. Dad left for work at 7. I woke up at around 7:30 and so did Mimi. Then while I was getting ready for the day, Mimi did her usual playing in her room or as I call it "goofing off" as she was supposed to be getting ready for school. Then she tries to pull the wool over my eyes by putting on a short sleeve t-shirt along with pants and says she is ready dressed. Oh so NOT! It is cold and damp in the morning nowadays. And she is sniffling but I think it is the allergies. Claritin seems to be working on that one.

On the other hand she sometimes cannot help but wear summer shirts as they have yet to put out the winter clothing. Those darn stores! However I recieved an ad today that starting tommorrow Kohl's is having a 50-55% sale and it looks like there are some long sleeved shirts on sale. Will have to check them out.

Then while everyone was gone and it has not started to rain yet I thought that I would get out back and prune my garden for the winter months. That means pulling out the weeds, cutting back on all of the perrineals. The backyard is looking quite bare compared to this past summer. It is supposed to start rainning tommorrow. All the clouds are coming up from Southern California. You guys are supposed to bring the sunshine, not the rain! Then by next week it should taper off. Then I will get out in the garden again and plant my bulbs for the Spring. Going to plant more Daffodils, Hyacinths and Tulips. Those are my favs.

Gardening is very carthartic for me. I love it. By the time I was done, I smelled like celery (I have a celery plant growing. It is actually an herb), I was pooped and it time to pick up Mimi from school. Came home, cleanned up and headed for piano lessons. When that was over Mimi and I headed over to Costco for a few grocery items and hopped onto the 18 freeway and met dad at Jak's Grill in Issaquah. It was deeelllliiicious! Heard about that place from Keri.

We have been here 3 years already and slowly but surely we have found some great places to eat dinner. There is Salty's in Alkai Beach, The Melting Pot in Bellevue, 272 "It's Whatcha Want" in Covington, Mizu in Covington and now Jak's Grill. Still have to try out The Swinging Arm in Black Diamond.

The only stinky part about tonight is that I am pretty sure that I have left my camera at the restaurant. Argh!!!!! They open at 4 in the afternoon and I found out that there is a train museum behind the bar and grill. I may leave a little early and take Mimi there to look around.

Although we have the cosmopolitan cities like Seattle, there are quite a number of small towns that still have that small town feel like walking down main street in Disneyland. Issaquah is one of them. It is a very quaint little town. I love it.

BIG WHEEL

Today was again gorgeous outside so after school Mimi and I headed
over to Erin's house. Janet had seen where Mimi is doing pretty good
on her bike so she wanted Erin to practice on her own bike. However it
was a no go. Erin took a spill and she was through. The kids played at
the park till 5 then it was time to head for home. Meanwhile Blake was
put riding his bike. Bothe he and Mimi rode around the block then came
inside. The temperature really dropped low enough for me to turn the
fireplace on tonight. Brrrrrrrr.

ROXY AND BUTCH

Almost every morning after dropping Mimi off at school, I take Butch
for a romp around the school field while the kids are still in class.

Usually it is Reno who hoes with us but this morning it was Roxy.
Butch just loves EVERYBODY! Roxy just reminds me of Clifford the Big
Red Dog. She was more interested in the wrestling than the running. As
for Butch, he loved it!

He came home all muddy, wet and grinning from floppy ear to floppy
ear. Thank goodness tomorrow is his beautification day. Mine was
yesterday and I feel like a new woman.

Almost forgot to mention that besides Mimi's great day at school, when
we got to the gym for gymnastic practice, there was her friend Erin.
It seems ad though Erin is interested in trying a gymnadtic class.

I think that her friends may have an influence on her. Word up is that
Zoe is taking up basketball this winter season and Erin wants to sign
up for it too. Mimi has made mention that she wants to sign up for it
too. Can you imagine that? As petite as she is?

I found out yesterday that my beautician Mai's (My's) baby boy Jordan
who is now 2 months old weighs close to 15 lbs. When we recieved Mimi
in China, she was 19 lbs at 19 months old.

As long as she is healthy and happy that's all I care about.

A VERY GOOD DAY

Today was a very good day for Mimi. She not only 2 out of 2 correct on her math problem solver but she recieved a paw print as well. Students get paw prints when they have earned by doing something good such as paying attention in class, helping others, cleanning up without being told to do so, etc. and etc.

ROLLING IN THE HAY

Although the kids did everything from riding the roller coaster, ponies, barrel twister, ferris wheel, carousel, to the train ride. Then there was the rock climbing. This was and still is Mimi ablsolute favorite..........playing in the hay maze. That girl could stay there for hours on end if we let her.

She has already made mention that she wants to go back there again to get her pumpkins for Halloween.

SIGN LANGUAGE

As you can see, Nathan is hearing impaired so he wears hearing aids. For the most part he and Mimi get along really well. However due to the "langage barrier" Mimi says that playing with him is a bit hard because he cannot speak and she does not know much sign language although she is learning some from Lisa (Nathan's mom). However Nathan can read as we discovered yesterday. So both Mimi and I decided that the next time we get together she will write on her dry eraser board what she wants to say to him. Today dad told me that Nathan's parents are looking into getting him some cochlear implants. I think that would be so cool. This little boy has been through sooooo much in his short life that it is so wonderful to just see him blossom and grow from the first time we met him about 6 months ago.

RIDE'EM COWGIRL!!!