Thanksgiving at the Beach

We had such a great time on our Thanksgiving at the Beach vacation! We are so grateful to MomEast and Pedo (MomEast's beloved -- "Pedo" is his own, special grandpa nickname) for providing this wonderful event for all of us as a family -- which they do each and every Thanksgiving. :-) We love you!

And, we are loving the pictures and posts from everyone as they are being added to their blogs/websites. Thank you!

Now that things have settled down a bit (just a bit...), here's another installment of the fun and frivolity had during that week. There will most likely be at least a few posts dedicated to this -- both because it was an AWESOME time and because I have lots of pictures and stories (or at least "snippets") that I want to share. So, indulge me and enjoy...or ignore me and come back later. Your choice. :-)

There have been others posted on the family blogs/sites but here's our "take" on the weird iron monstrosity that was in the water on the beach near 'our' house (where we stayed for the week):

Pedo mentioned that these holes mean that a crab has been there:

In Utah, that would mean a gopher, 'potgut' (I don't know the real name of these rodents), chipmunk, or more unpleasant rodent (rat, probably) had been there.

What we learned when we got there:

D'oh! Well, at least we discovered where we COULD go 'coinshooting' (using the metal detector) -- it was about a 35-40 minute drive to the north. We had a blast!

Some of my other favorite beach pictures:

Pelicans:

Cool, twisted tree in the "inbetween" area:

I love these little birds (the tiny ones, not the seagulls):

Can anybody tell me what causes all those little holes in the shells?

This isn't anyone I know...but I thought it was so cool what these kids were doing! There were three or four kids jumping but this was the only good picture I got of it. :-) So fun:

Scenery that just CAN'T be seen anywhere in Utah (or nearby):

Amazing!

Flying kites (again, nobody we knew...but the kites were nifty!):

The house we stayed in (if you look close, you can see the Zombie in the shadows on the right):

Me (Zombette) at 'our' house for the week (Thanks MomEast and Pedo!):

How we knew we had found the right place when we arrived:

Wii Time (Little DC, MickeySouth, and MovieDude):

Ariel and Cinderella open their musical cards from Nana and Pedo:

What excellent memories we made that week. Thanks to everyone who came for putting up with my 'camera-happy' ways and for making it such a wonderful time. We love you!

More to come! Love Y'all!

Halloween Goings On...

First of all -- a Greeting from the Graveyard -- starring the Ladybug:

Do you all remember this cartoon?



Well, hang on to that memory for a little bit...

I also promise that, at the end of this post, I'll include a picture of ME in my Halloween finery.

So, on Halloween evening, as soon as Uncle Zombie got home from work, he and I headed out to "that place with tulips" (where Harley Mama and the babies live *grin*) to share some ghoulish fun and goodies for All Hallow's Eve.

One of the traditions in "tulip land", which still has all the small-town charm I remember from 30 years ago (in the town I grew up in -- which was not "tulip land"), is that all the businesses along Main Street welcome little (and not so little) goblins to show off their Halloween best and pick up a few goodies along the way. I knew this, because Harley Mama told me, but I'd never seen it in person before this. I'll tell you what -- I've never seen anything like it. Not even "back in the day". There were SO MANY people there! It was AMAZING!

Here are some random shots I took up and down Main Street:

Harley Mama was helping out (more on this a little later) at her workplace, which happens to have a storefront on Main Street. They also have a really, really big 'picture window' with an inside platform for their displays. Keep that in mind, too. Many of her co-workers were there and most of them, including HM, had their kids with them. So, they all took turns "minding the store" while each took their kidlings up and down the street themselves. After HM took her kids, Ladybug stood at the door (as a fully-decked out Vampire Cheerleader) handing out candy on behalf of Mama's company, seen here:

and Butterfly Baby just wandered around the lobby area, occasionally going outside to get in on the 'action':

and here's what they were handing out candy from:



(Harley Mama works for a medical equipment supply company *grin*)

After that was done, We all went back to Harley Mama's house and BB took a bath while Uncle Zombie and I took the Ladybug out to do some 'regular' trick-or-treating. Here's a look at some of THAT fun:

After we were done (when the Ladybug was tired) we went back and 'chilled' at the "tulip homestead" while taking turns trying to get a very wired Butterfly Baby to nod off to dreamland. The winner of the "Put BB to Sleep Prize" goes to none other than...UNCLE ZOMBIE! (Of course...)

Okay, you've waited for it.

I know you all (all two of you) are breathless with anticipation.

Here it comes...

Ready?

Oh...and do you remember the cartoon at the beginning?

Here she is in all her Halloween "Glory"

Presenting...... HARLEY MAMA!

...and "Rusty"

Tee hee hee!

Good likeness, no?

And, yes, in case you haven't seen her in a while, she did add some 'extra' padding -- she's not really that... ahem... 'blessed'. LOL!

And, lest you think I forgot -- here I am, all decked out in my costume and ready to GO!
Happy Halloween...

...until next year!

Happy Halloweeeeeeen!

Happy

Halloweeeeeeeeeen!

Halloween 'Sneak Peek'

Hi again! Last night Harley Mama, Ladybug and Butterfly Baby came over to our house (Zombie Manor? LOL) for a visit. We girls took a trip to a local party store to see what we could come up with for Halloween costumes. When we got home, the Zombie had done the dishes (thanks, honey!) which is my job -- what a sweetheart!

Although the 'official' version will be much spookier, here's a sneak peek at some of the frivolity to come.

Butterfly Baby as "Frankenstein's CUTE Monster":

Ladybug as "Vampire Cheerleader":

And, of course, Harley Mama as her silly self. No costume required.

This is just a sneak preview, so there will be a little face painting with both girls (or all three...or all four...) and for the Vampire Cheerleader, there will be [fake] blood...lots of blood! Eeeeew!

Aaaah, what would the world be like without kidlings? Not good...not good at all.

One more thing. Harley Mama has a GREAT idea for her own costume. But, I won't give it away ahead of time. I can't wait to see how she, er...'pulls it off' myself. :-0 You'll just have to wait for the "big reveal". They say a picture is worth 1,000 words... ;-)

Love you all! :-) TTFN!