Happy Halloween!!
Here's our dalmation getting ready!!
Here's our princess getting ready!!

"We're finally ready to go to the Harvest Party!!"
Even Rosy couldn't escape getting a costume.
Poor Josh. . . pray for him. . . he got the flu bug. Mama's staying with him.

Music at Noon.

I have decided to take advantage of the great opportunity at Biola. I started taking my kids to music at noon. Last week, we enjoyed Beethoven played by a faculty trio of cello, violin and piano. The pianist was amazing. He is going to have his own concert in a couple weeks, which I'll definitely attend. What's great is that it is only a half hour, so the girls can sit through it. Also I meet a friend, so we take turns watching the boys, who are a little too wiggly.

It's super for home schooling!

Ten Years!! Ten Years!! Where does the time go??? It has been ten years since I graduated from Biola. We attended the reunion. It was a lot of fun seeing old friends. Everyone has kids. We had a lovely dinner on Friday night. Then we had a free brunch as a family in the Caf on Sat. morning, before heading out to the beach. I just have to say only in So. Cal. can you have beautiful 80 degree, no wind weather at the beach at the end of Oct. I enjoyed most seeing my fellow math majors.
Biola continues to expand and change. It really has changed so much in a relatively short period of time, with the newest addition being Horton. A 4 story looming brick building now replaces the former Horton Hall.

Happy Halloween!!!!!
We had some happy and spooky carving to create some Halloween atmosphere!!
In September we were at Laguna and some kids were very creative with the sand, so our girls remembered that and when we went to the beach on Sat., they had their own fun making a pumpkin.

More wildlife is invading our neighborhood especially as there is more development.

Fortunately they stay on the other side of our backyard fence.

Speaking of wildlife. . . On my weekly runs through the trails, I have seen lots of cottontails, one skunk, one opossum, lots of lizards, and the hoot of one owl at dusk. You just wouldn't guess all the wildlife that occurs in and around suburbia.

Fortunately, we have a dog and not cats, because they are known to be lunch for the coyotes like the pics above. We know personally of several people who have lost their cats and even small dogs (Pomeranian) to coyotes. Rosy has her speed going for her. Plus she's a scaredy cat and runs and barks into her cage inside our house. We haven't seen the coyotes jump the fence--it would be close to a 20' drop, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't try if it got hungry enough.

We finally repainted our bedroom. I say we, but really it was my hubby that did all the work.
Okay, I did pick out the colors from the 2 he had narrowed down.
It is hard to see from the picture, but the majority of the room is Sage tint (a pastel sage) and the cove and window area is an off white. Look where it meets the door to see some of the contrast.
Some of you might remember this was where the doorway into what is now the girl's room. Hubby did all the dry wall and plaster and my dad helped smooth it out, when he came to visit. Overall, we are pleased.

We were the three musketeers this past Sunday at 6 am. We are looking ready for a good run!!
Of course, we have to make sure we're ready--us and 10,000 others. . .
Like I said, there were somewhere around 10,000 runners for the Long Beach half-marathon and marathon.
This looked so wonderful after running 13.1 miles!
Along the way there were bands, people cheering on the runners, water, powerade, and GU--which is easily digested carbs to keep you going for the last 3 miles. It was fun to see the elite runners for the marathon who were finishing the marathon, while we were still trying to finish the half! We all received a medal for our participation and goodies to get our body recovered.

I am fully recovered and felt reasonably ready for the challenge.

I might even do it again. . .

Krista had a great idea of making sugar cookies, so with the help of Betty (Crocker) and Pillbury, we were able to roll out, frost and sprinkle some cookies. Josh did great on the sprinkling. I know (Mom) it's not quite the same as making them from scratch, but as a homeschool mom it works. It's amazing how the store products have improved so much over the years. They almost taste homemade. . . almost.

The Knabe Katch, named after the 4th Supervisor, Don Knabe, the man who also sponsored the whole event, occurred this past Saturday. This was the first year that we attended the event, but I foresee this to be an annual event. Their Daddy got Alisa and Krista up at the crack of dawn so they could be over at the pond by 7am. They went fishing, catching (and releasing) 3 fish. They also enjoyed a pancake breakfast, free t-shirt, free face painting and free crafts. They also had a health fair at the same time. They really enjoyed it.

And what pray tell did Josh and I do?? We went on a nice long run. I'm training for the Long Beach Half marathon. I pushed the stroller, so that should count for extra kudos. I felt fine, except my poor neck. Josh was a good sport, too. He is a nonstop talker, telling me all about the birds and trees and leaves and dogs and cats, etc.

It was a good Saturday morning!!