Gobble Gobble-Part 3: Tio Brandon's Many Faces

On Saturday morning, the family headed out to the California Train Museum in Sacramento for a special train ride with Santa(will blog about that later). Tio Brandon came with us. This is what Tio B looked like as the trip began....

And this is what he looked like after it ended:

Below are all the "in-between" facial expressions which I will label appropriately for your/my enjoyment. Let's begin...

Pensive Tio:


Smiling Tio:


Sleepy Tio:


Bored Tio:


People-Watcher Tio:


Facebook Profile Picture Tio:


Get-Me-Outta-Here Tio:


Reindeer Forehead Tio:


Identation on Forehead Tio (click on the picture for full effect):


Disgusted Tio:


Six hours and one seriously bad lunch later, this is what he looked like:



We love you, Tio B. Thanks for coming with us :)

Gobble Gobble-Part 2: Cabin Fever and the City of Sharks

Since we were all trapped in the house on Thanksgiving, the crew had a serious case of cabin fever. In addition, Sam was talking and running around so much that all of the adults in the room were getting fiesty. So we headed out to the City of Sharks (aka: Tiburon). There we had some hot chocolate, took a stroll along the boardwalk, and chased one another to burn off some energy.

Here is the princess herself, laughing away the day as she nibbles on her ritz cracker:

Uncle Wes kindly gave Sam a "lift":

The "Cool Cats" strolling on the boardwalk....

Sam lead us over to a bridge that ended with this rock...We have no idea what its significance is but, apparently, Sam is one good rock-climber. He conquered that thing in no time....

Tha Happy Couple (very happy to be out of the house):

Upon returning home, Isabella nestled herself into Uncle Wes' arm and made herself comfortable. She lives a good life indeed.

Gobble Gobble-Part 1: The Feast

Brad and I hosted Thanksgiving at our place this year and we had some great company. Tio Brandon flew down from Seattle and Uncle Wes drove over from Modesto. We ate a lot....too much, actually, but it was worth it. As usual, Sam helped me out in the kitchen. First, he stole some "croutons" from the stuffing mix:

He then added some celery and onions to the pot and was no longer allowed to steal any "croutons":

While I stuffed the bird, some serious laughter ensued. Sam decided to assume the voice of the turkey as I "stuffed" him and Brad sewed him up. Here's the one-sided voice-over from the turkey:

Sam as "The Turkey": Oh, why are you putting stuffing in my butt? That hurts.
Me: Sam, honestly, dude.
Sam as "The Turkey": I have stuffing in my butt...Oh, no, I mean my head...It's in my head! Get it out of there!
Me: Sam!!!!!!!!!!
Sam as "The Turkey": Aaahhhhhhhhhh! Stuffing in my head! (Brad begins sewing) Ouch, that hurts. You're pinching me. That's hurting me. OWWWWW! You are not a nice person for pinching me like that.

We laughed until Brad was done sewing but Sam had plenty more to say. I'm guessing he's going to start talking about farting any day now....


After his voice-over role was over, Sam contributed this wonderful centerpiece:

Soon after, Tio Brandon and Uncle Wes arrived. Sam was beyond happy. Izzy B also received lots of love from each of them:


The [hungry] Boys

Jenga! Jenga!

Sam's latest obsession is the game Jenga. He thoroughly enjoys pulling out the most precarious pieces in hopes of either
(a)watching it completely collapse or
(b)perform some sort of miracle
Below is an example of a miracle play...He picked the side piece from the very bottom and, miraculously, the thing didn't fall apart.

Surprisingly, it didn't fall for a long time. Here are a few of Sam's "concentration" shots. He likes to let Brad and I know that he is "concentrating" on his next move. He's so funny.

Roaming Buffalo Serves Up Stone Soup

At school on Friday, Sam, also known as Roaming Buffalo to his fellow natives in the classroom, cooked up some delicious soup. Every year, his school hosts a Stone Soup Luncheon. The kids sign up to bring an ingredient of their choice. They get to chop it up, mix it with other veggies, and serve the parents. In addition, they learn about native americans and get to pick a name for themselves. Sam selected "Roaming Buffalo." We found it very appropriate and his teacher told me the second I arrived to pick him up. She thought it was hilarious as well.

Here is Roaming Buffalo with his best pal, Ben (whose native name I do not know)...We also call them the Dynamic-Up-to-No-Good-Duo:

Here's Kim and Isabella, deep in conversation:

These are the wonderful ladies who deal with Sam's relentless questions...(L-R) Rosemary, Lisa, Mei, amd Lorena:

Sam loves Alexandra...she's hilarious:

Check out that placemat...we love our boy so much

The Soup


Roaming Buffalo with his official native headdress:

A family photo attempt....

On our way back home form the luncheon, there was a heavy storm and a serious accident. Sam held his hand out so Isabella would, as he stated, "Not be scared, Mami, because I'm her big brother and I'm supposed to protect her."

Uhhh, Houston: We Have a Crawler

Izzy B crawled for the first time today. Sam spotted her going from the baskets that carry books over towards the bathroom. He was screaming with excitement. Below is how we enticed her to do it again...Sorry about the poor quality :(

Simon Says

Here is some cute video of Abuelita and Isabella...I can't tell if Isabella is copying Abuelita or if Abuelita is copying Isabella. Either way, it's cute to hear Abuelita's excitement each time Izzy would clap and shake her head "no."

Halloween Bonanza -Part 4: The Trick-O-Treating Video

Below is some video of Sam's excitement with trick-or-treating...sorry about the "shakiness" of the video...

Halloween Bonanza - Part 3: Pre-party Antics

Our good friends, the Feehans, invited us over to their place in Kentfield for a Halloween pre-party. We really enjoyed ourselves and had a great time trick or treating with the kids in the neighborhood. It's normally a quiet place but Halloween is a special event and the neighborhood comes out in force. By "force" I mean candy, costumes, shaving cream, alcohol, food, and overall up-to-no-good antics. It's awesome.

Despite my multiple attempts to get pictures of our kids smiling in their costumes, this is all they had to offer me:

Oh, and this is Sam's "mean" pirate face:

Below is the cutest picture of the evening....


Once the paparazzi photo shoot was over, we headed over to the Feehan's. There, Isabella got the party going in the right direction:



Although we had chili and muffins for dinner, we had a witch for dessert. She was tasty.


Here is Pirate Captain Samuel and his favorite gal pal, Minnie Mouse:




Ever the persistent mother, I tried (in vain) to get a cute shot of them and, alas, I had the same poor result as previously noted above:



The Crew: Pumpkin Rex, Dora the Explorer, Minnie Mouse, Pirate Captain Samuel, Isabella and her poodle skirt, and Ellie the pumpkin:

In an effort to demonstrate to the chidren how they would feel if they ate too much candy, we used this pumpkin as an example and visual reminder (for those visual learners in the group).