BOO! Trick or Treat!

Hello blogging buddies! Have you missed me? The past 2 weeks have been CRAZY and I'm afraid its only going to get crazier as the holidays approach. We have been busy with school, homework, house cleaning (we are having a yard sale tomorrow) and a little flu bug came though the house too (of which Ashley will proudly tell you, "I didn't catch the fever!") So I have LOTS to post about- so keep checking back! Here goes...

We went to Disney's CA Adventure Trick or Treat Party last night (Thursday). We had a big group- 11 people. And as always- had a blast! We went to this last year and you really can't describe the experience unless you go- but let's just say it is SOOOOO worth it! It requires a special admission ticket and the park is only open to those with these tickets. The rides and attractions are open and as you enter the gates you are all handed a trick or treat bag as there are trick or treat stations throughout the park (at which they dump handfuls of candy into your bag)! There are also healthy choices- like sliced apples, raisins and carrots. Anyone going can dress in costume (and boy did we see some interesting costumes!) Look at this group below!Mike, Michelle, Chris and Rick wearing the hats Mike and Michelle sent us from Japan.

The girls were excited to get to wear their costumes too- I was totally willing to let go this year and let them choose their costumes (sigh...) Imagine my delight when they went with a THEME!!!!

May I present to you: Peter Pan (Ashley), Tinkerbell (Emily) and Princess Tigerlily (Madeline)
All from the first Peter Pan movie- yes- most people thought Maddie was Pocahontas- but they must call Tigerlily the "forgotten princess" for a reason right? The costume was more exciting than Wendy's nightgown.

Our traditional picture in front of the "O" of California outside CA Adventure

Emily was so proud of her wings- she could even make them flap and spent a lot of time whacking us (and anyone else that dared to come close) with them!

Our first stop was the Monser's Inc. ride...

Then we went out to one of the "Bat-lot Bash" which is a big dance party with characters and a DJ- here Titi's teaching Maddie the macarena (she later told me she likes hip hop better! LOL)

Looking for more Trick or Treat stationsWe found these army guys outside of the new Toy Story ride- Emily called them the green men- she didn't like them and ran away. Uncle Mike sure did enjoy posing with them!
A pause to check out the loot and raid the candy bags!Emily took a brief nap while in line for the Toy Story ride...As did Ashley...But not our Maddie girl (though her eyes were showing she was beyond tired!)It's a little dark- but here are Uncle Mike and Maddie on the Toy Story ride- what a great ride! It just opened in June- we all loved it!Walking out of the park- daddy had a little too much fun with Emily's wings- Yes- we have more hats! The girls love wearing them! the 3 eyed martian from toy story hat even comes with hands- but we left those at home :)So all in all it was a great night! We can't wait for next year! Halloween has officially started here- pumpkin patch pictures coming in the next post and we have a Halloween party this weekend. Let the holiday marathon begin (and hopefully the sickies end!)

Healthy Air Walk 2008

If you saw my post about our recent trip to Disneyland, you also saw that we had to make a pit stop at First Aid to give Ashley a breathing treatment. Ashley and Madeline have asthma. Asthma runs in our families- both sides. I think we are lucky in that the girls asthma at this point is aggravated by illness and not activity! It is very rare that we have breathing issues from over-activity, however when a cold hits our house- we go on red alert! (Our other issue is air quality and with the current fires in Southern CA- we are on alert as well!)
We have had to make a few trips to the ER with asthma related issues. Since the last visit (March 2007) we have seen an allergist, had the girls tested, and have a medical plan of attack in place with the onset of a cold. (Emily at this point has no signs of asthma or allergies).

My sister and dad also have asthma- both have theirs controlled by medication and education. I remember very well though the trips my mom would make with Sara to the ER with her asthma (of which she says if she'd had a nebulizer at home like we do- many of those trips could have been avoided!). I also remember too vividly the morning my dad was taken by ambulance because of a severe asthma attack. We were moments from losing him and I'm so grateful for the medical team that helped save him. My dad was told he could never have an attack like that again- it was scary and life changing.

My sister, dad and I are proudly walking in the Orange County Healthy Air Walk on October 19th. This originated as the Asthma walk, but the organizers have branched out and are tackling the larger issue of healthy air and lung diseases to bring in more sponsors and awareness. Healthy air is important to everyone, not just those that suffer from asthma!

Did you know that Californians breathe some of the unhealthiest air in the nation and that air pollution can cause or worsen lung disease? I am getting involved with the American Lung Association because I am committed to improving air quality and to getting us closer to a world free from lung diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

My family has been touched by all of these diseases- I've lost ALL my grandparents to some form of lung disease.

Healthy Air Walks bring together people who want to fight lung disease by cleaning the air we breathe. Every step we take now toward improving air quality gets us closer to a world free from lung diseases.

Top 10 Ways to Support Healthy Air
1. Support that American Lung Association by participating in the Healthy Air Walk
2. Join the American Lung Association Action Network to influence your elected officials to enact policies that support healthy air
3. Use less energy by insulating your home, choosing energy efficient appliances, switching to compact flourescent bulbs, and using a power strip for electronic devices
4. Avoid wood burning, especially on bad air nights
5. Switch to cleaner-fueled vehicles, like natural gas and hybrid electric-gasoline
6. Maintain your vehicle properly and keep your tires inflated
7. Don't top off the tank when refueling and fill up the gas tank after dark when the sun won't turn the gasoline vapors into ozone, a contributor to global warming and lung health problems
8. Take public transportation, carpool, ride a bicycle or walk
9. Use hand-powered or electric lawn care equipment rather than gas-powered versions
10. Wash your clothes with cold water

For more information about ways you can help, visit
http://www.lungusa.org/

Finally, if you would like to make a donation to the walk- please follow THIS LINK or click on the Healthy Air Walk logo to be taken to my personal page. Your donation is tax deductable and will go towards helping to make our world a better place!

If anything else- your thoughts for us on Sunday are greatly appreciated! Thank you so much to all who have donated already!

Tinkerbell

My mom, Aunt Chelle and I took the girls to Hollywood last week to the El Capitan theater. The theater is run by Disney and shows Disney movies for short runs. This was a first for the girls and we got to see the new Tinkerbell movie that is coming out on DVD on the big screen!

So you can BARELY see the white letters on the hillside that are the Hollywood sign.
It ended up being 100 degrees out that day- phew- it was HOT! We had lunch at Johnny Rockets at the Hollywood and Highland mall across the street (next to the Kodak theater that is home to the Oscars)- apparently I am a regular at Johnny's :)

We walked around a bit to kill some time. The El Capitan theater is across the street in the picture below...We went to check out Mann's Chinese Theater with all the hand and footprints. We didn't stay long because it was in the direct sun and let's just say the Holly"weird" were out in full force! The girls haven't learned the art of having a "filter" so we were able to dodge a few bullets and had to answer a few too (like why the Elmo character had such a funny voice- not at all like Elmo's).

The theater also has a small soda fountain shop with this Mickey out front...
The theater was blissfully air conditioned and we settled into our seats and enjoyed the pre- movie entertainment of the organ and Tinkerbell even came out and did a dance (to which Ashley told Grammie- "I thought Tinkerbell was small! That's not Tink!") Maddie was a bit overstimulated by the whole event and ended up making several potty runs. She got scared at one point too which was another trip out, but from what I saw of the movie- its really cute!

We hadn't been to the movies in a theater in over a year (Ratatouille)- what a huge difference! (But isn't that what I always say?)

FFF #24 Summer Memories

Sarah's Favorite Foto Friday theme this week is "summer memories". It's hard to believe that we are already into Fall when the weather this week took us into temperatures of 90+degrees! If the girls didn't have colds right now the pool would have been in the front yard for sure!

We were busy little bees this summer- but if I had to sum up our summer in one word- it would be "gagoon". As we were leaving school yesterday Ashley asked me, "When is the next gagoon day mommy?" Sadly I had to answer- "June". The gagoon is only open Memorial Day to Labor Day. I know this is typical of many east coast areas- but for us here- that's a tad odd, especially with our WARM weather in September and even October. June and July are usually pretty chilly actually when it comes to beach weather- it just starts to warm up and the gagoon closes.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the gagoon this summer (I've tried to use a few NEW pictures for this post!): But we did more than the beach this summer! We spent the 4th of July with Mike and Michelle in their new home and everyone stayed awake for fireworks this year!We also went to a few museums!I just love this picture- this is what it was like in the butterfly exhibit- emily was not happy at this point- there were bugs, they were flying- it wasn't pretty! LOL The Noah's Ark exhibit at the Skirball made for happier campers We also made ice cream (after about 5 minutes of rolling the ball around- Rick and I ended up doing the rest of the work)Rick and I had our 10 Year Anniversary and got out for a quiet dinnerI had a dream come true in more than one way- a second washer and dryer, a clean garage, and 3 little helpers to help with the laundry!

The girls grew up so fast this summer- Ashley made me this beautiful play dough cake- she was so proud of herself!
We went to a fishing picnic with grandpaWe ventured into our backyard... the loss of Max has opened up this area to the girls as well as to other creatures, it didn't take long for the squirrels to find the fruit trees or the hummingbirds to find our new feeder...You can see it sitting on the feeder - hanging out with the girlsThe end of summer brought about first haircuts and the first day of school.

Sarah asked us to choose one picture that is our favorite of the summer- you know I can't do that- :) Here are 2 of my favorites, both taken by Michelle... the first, to me, shows how we spent our summer- exploring. We did so much and packed a lot in.
And here are my girls and me. This picture (while not the best of us) sums up our summer- we were TOGETHER!Being a teacher, I love that I get to spend this time with my children. Now that they are in school- I really get how important the time I spent with them this summer was. They really did grow so much in just a couple months and I got to see it!

To see more FFF Summer Memories- visit Sarah's Blog! Have a great weekend!!!