Jack-O-Lantern

This year Tutu and Papa got to join in the fun of carving the Halloween pumpkins. I don't know who enjoyed it more, Tutu and Papa who probably haven't carved a pumpkin in a while or Dan and I who got to sit back and watch the slimy mess from a distance. Actually, with Tutu directing, the boys and surrounding environment stayed impressively clean. Tutu is the queen of clean!

I would have to say Papa probably enjoyed the whole process the most. He meticulously cut and carved those two pumpkins into masterpieces.

The boys enjoyed digging into the mushy insides and cleaning out all the seeds and pulp. Even Daniel who tends to shy away from slimy, messy things dove right in. We let Daniel draw a face for his pumpkin, but he drew a complicated Halloween scene instead of eyes, a nose and a mouth. Papa and I looked at each other not quite knowing what to say. How do you tell a five year old there is no way you are going to try and carve his pumpkin masterpiece? Tutu came to the rescue showing Daniel some faces he could choose from a magazine. He seemed content enough with that idea and picked a face. Sammy picked a cat face.

After the pumpkins were finished being transformed into Halloween jack-o-lanterns we brought them outside and lit them up. So cute!

Can't wait for Halloween!

Happy 4th Birthday, Sammy!

A look at birthdays past...

Welcome to the World!

1st Birthday!

2nd Brithday!

3rd Birthday!

4th Birthday!

Almost 4!

Tomorrow is Sammy's 4th birthday! I can't believe it. I mean 4 years old! My youngest! When did that happen? It seems like overnight. Strange that 4 years ago there were also devastating fires burning in San Diego. Boy has my life changed in these last four years, in just the last year too. My sweet, sweet, chunka, chunka baby is a big boy.

We celebrated Sammy's birthday on Friday. We have the tradition of having our family and our old neighbors, Bela and Maracela who are like family, over for birthdays. Sammy's birthday has always had a Halloween theme, which makes things very easy, lots of balloons, candles and yummy cake. This year was fun because Daniel and Sammy could help decorate for the party and even helped make a pin the eyes on the pumpkin game. We had pizza and cake, friends and family. Just perfect! Sammy was tickled opening all his presents, one of the few times out of the year that he gets new toys.

Tomorrow we will have pumpkin pie to celebrate his special day. Yummy! It is funny looking back over the last four years because although Sammy has grown and changed so much he is still so much like the baby and toddler he was. He is still so smiley and happy. That kid sure knows how to have a good time! He is curious and never afraid to try something new. Sammy rarely complains or whines and always seems to enjoy whatever he is doing. He is still so silly and people always tell me that they love to just watch Sammy. And he still knows how to melt my heart in a heartbeat.

Sammy may be turning four, but he is still my sweet snuggle buggle and he still lets my hug and kiss his sweet, soft cheeks. Happy Birthday, Sammy! You are such a big boy!

The End is in Sight

Well, it appears the end is finally in sight. The fires are still raging, but the firefighters are finally getting a handle on them and are putting projections on when they will be fully contained. Evacuations are slowing down, and people are being let back into their houses. This week has been such an emotional roller coaster for the city of San Diego. I am thankful that this time the fires were far from our home and sad for those who have lost so much. But in every tragedy there is triumph and the city of San Diego has definitely triumphed. The way the city has pulled together and taken care of friends, family and even strangers has been absolutely astounding. Evacuation centers had to ask people to stop bring food and supplies because they were becoming overwhelmed with the amount of donations being dropped off. The radio and Internet were filled with people asking how they could help. Simply amazing.


School was canceled all week and we have been trying to stay indoors, so the boys and I are going a bit stir crazy. I have been trying to keep them from destroying the house and each other will trying to maintain my sanity. All and all the boys are doing well with everything. They know there are big fires in San Diego and that Daniel's teacher and a classmate were evacuated, but I have reassured them that our house is safe. Sammy got a little teary eyed thinking about the animals that might get stuck in the fire, but that was about it.


We have also been very lucky because the air quality has not been too bad. Because the fires are to the North and South of us and the wind is blowing West we are not getting a lot of smoke over us. The mornings seem to be the worst, but by nighttime the smell is barely noticeable and we have been able to get out and take the boys around the neighborhood to stretch their legs. During the Cedar fire we had ash constantly falling from the sky and air quality was so bad you didn't want to have to go outside at all. Of course the Cedar fire came within less than five miles of our house, so we were affected much more.


Despite all the chaos, Tutu and Papa are still coming down to help us celebrate Sammy's 4th birthday! Hopefully I-5 will not get shut down again. I am looking forward to getting back to life as usual. Thanks for all the prayers and keep praying for the city and people of San Diego.

Spooky

It is getting a bit spooky around here and it doesn't have anything to do with being so close to Halloween. The media does love to over-dramaticize everything, but is easier to do that when things just look eerie out. The sky is dark, the sun has a halo around it, and there is that distinctive smell in the air. Whenever we would move back to San Diego from where ever growing up, the first brush fire would bring back the memories of that distinctive smell. Kind of like a barbeque, but not quite. In fact, walking around the neighborhood last night with the boys looking at Halloween decorations we smelled barbeque, but I think that it really was just some chicken on the grill.

The fires are bringing back strong memories of four years ago, just days before Sammy was born. Memories like standing outside our front door talking with our neighbor. Looking across the valley to see firetrucks up on the next ridge. Trying to figure out if we were supposed to evacuate. Poor Suzy wondering if we would be able to get to the hospital for our scheduled c-section. Fires getting so close to work that a couple of guys going to grab all of our computers. Fires jumping the 52 Freeway and getting way too close to our favorite Japanese restaurant, Niban.

Now it seems like things are about the same. Fires surrounding San Diego city proper. Evacuations from places that I have been riding my bike through. My co-worker has gone home this morning because the fires are just across a freeway from his house. This morning Suzy and I kept hearing barking, but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from. When I walked outside to catch a ride to work (can't walk, air is too nasty out) I talked with my neighbor and she told me her house is full, some friends were evacuated late last night, and she now has two dogs, three cats and a bird, in addition to the three cats she already has. A crowded house. Well, that at least explains the strange barking.

The reassuring thing to us is that we live in an area that people are being evacuated to, not from. But please keep the people who have been evacuated and all of the emergency personnel in your prayers. Talk about hell on earth for those people.

The Power of Prayer

One of the things that we are going over in our Sunday School class on parenting is praying with, and praying for, your kids. Praying for Sammy and Daniel is no problem for me, mainly because I need all the help I can get trying to figure out how to do this whole 'father' thing. Praying with the boys has always been more of an issue. They tend to get a bit distracted. When they say grace for a meal inevitably the other one is starting in on dinner early, or playing with his fork, or leaning back in his chair, or... well, you get the picture. Then when we say our prayers at night Daniel generally is pretty good, sits their quietly, but Sammy is a squirmer. Here, there, everywhere. I have tried having him lie down, sit in my lap, kneel at the side of the bed, nothing much works. So, the other night Suzy and I decided to try and split them up for night time prayers, and I don't know how it worked for her, but Daniel and I did great. Typically I ask the boys what they would like to pray for, and I just go from there. That night after I was winding down Daniel actually jumped in and added some good stuff on his own. It was surprising, and actually very heartening, to know that he is starting to understand about praying and talking to God.

This morning on a bit of a whim as I was about to leave I called Sammy over to me and we sat by Daniel and prayed for his day at school (today is a day Sammy stays home with Suzy). We prayed that he would have a good day, that he would have fun with his friends, learn a lot, respect his teacher, and Sammy was jumping in on the prayer with me. There is hope. If God can get a not quite yet four year old Sammy to pray with me for his brother then there must be hope.

So let us know if we can pray for anything for you all, I don't know what God's answer to the prayer will be, but me and the boys, we can surely ask!

Pumpkin Time

I can't believe it is already that time of year! You know, when time seems to go into warp drive. Sammy's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year and finally Daniel's birthday. It is like a whirlwind of excitement and activity. The first trip to the Pumpkin Patch always seems like the launching pad to me.

I have been to quite a few pumpkins patches since having my first child. All have been very fun, but I think this one, Victoria's Gardens, has been one of the best. You never quite know what to expect when going to a new pumpkin patch. Will it smell of cow manure the whole time? Will there be a good selection of pumpkins? Will there be a hay maze or petting zoo? The pumpkin patch the Kindergarten class went to today had it all. We took train and hay rides, jumped in jumpy tents, slid down giant slides, ran through a corn maze, took a pony ride and pet and fed the animals. The kids had so much fun it was fun just watching them.

At the end the kids all got to pick out a pumpkin. The only requirement was that the pumpkin be about the same size as your head. Lucky for Daniel he inherited his father's very large noggin.

I am so glad I got to participate in this fun event with Daniel's class, but I am wiped. I don't know about Daniel, but I think it will be an early bedtime for me. And I get to do it all over again on Monday with Sammy's preschool class.

So now there are pumpkins on the porch. There is no denying that the holiday season is upon us. Let the good times roll!

El Caballo!

So... we are driving up the coast of Baja California. We spent Friday night in Ensenada, and we were supposed to catch a shuttle up to Rosarito in the morning on Saturday for the start of the ride. The shuttle wasn't where we thought it should be, so after parking our car (Bob's Volvo, which we weren't absolutely sure we would ever see again), we had to ride our bikes around downtown Ensenada looking for the shuttles. After a few miles and much consternation we stumbled onto the secret shuttle spot, loaded up our bikes and headed north. The shuttle was packed full of twenty five people who all seemed the same, but all were very different. The riders were nothing if not eclectic, young (saw a kid who was probably about six on the back of a tandem with his father), old, skinny, fat, gringos, Mexicans, you name it, we saw it. The conversations on the shuttle ranged from political debates to training rituals (it was a long ride).

So... we are driving up the coast of Baja California. We come around the bend and up ahead I see a cloud of smoke and hear some squealing brakes! The big truck in front of us just slammed on his brakes and swerved around something in the road! Our driver, a young person who didn't speak much English, starts muttering under his breath, clearly rattled, trying to figure out what is going on. Then, through the smoke emerges... a horse? In the road? Just running around in the slow lane. No rider, just the horse. Please keep in mind that the road that we are on is analogous to the I5 here on the West Coast, or the 95 in the East. It is the major North-South freeway in Baja California, and there is a horse jogging? cantering? in the slow lane. Our poor driver slowed quickly, very quickly, and started honking his horn. The horse didn't really care. Along it went, with enough of a weave to its journey that going around wasn't really an option. After what seemed like a mile, but was more like a hundred yards, the horse veered off the side of the road and headed inland. The driver just muttered some more and then sped right up as if nothing happened. Ah, the resiliency of youth.

It was quite an interesting start to our day.

Made It

We made it. No accidents (for us at least) and no injuries (to us at least). It took us just under three and a quarter hours (the exact time is hard to say since the start is a bit nebulous). Our ride was pretty hard, but fun. Riding up to Rosarito in the shuttle the morning of the race is a bit daunting. You are in the shuttle for over an hour, seeing parts of the course, seeing the hills you will be climbing, all the while thinking, 'I have to ride all this way on my BIKE!' But once you get going it went much quicker than I thought. Actually the first twenty miles really flew by.

More stories to come, but I wanted to publicly thank and congratulate Bob, he did really well on the ride, and was a lot of fun to be with in Ensenada. When we got to the finish line we were looking around, but didn't see anyone older than him. It was very impressive. Nice job, Bob. Way to go.