COOKIES!!!

Deric is famous for his trash can cookies. Today he made a bunch of them. While he was out of the kitchen Nelson snuck in to get a cookie for himself. He is actually tall enough that he was able to reach the cooling rack and pull it down with a couple dozen cookies. Deric came into the kitchen to find him shoveling cookies into his mouth..... mmmm chocolate!!! Hi Dad... want a cookie!

Bike Riding Along The Beach

On Saturday we went to Santa Monica to go bike riding along the beach. It sure is an adventure to load and unload five children and all the gear to go bike riding but it was worth the effort... we had a really great time!

We rode a few miles up the coast, past the pier and had lunch on this bench.

Then we turned around and rode back down the coast to a little park. The kids had fun playing on the playground... As always Nelson loved the swings.

So did the girls. Here is Sammy jumping off, Jess was doing this as well. You can see Sarah waiting as patiently as she can...

And then she got her turn... Carrie mostly played on the slides!

After a long day on bikes in the sun the entire gang relaxed in our big spa bathtub... this was the first time we have filled it up. Needless to say it was a big hit!!

Northern California

Deric occasionally works with his brother in Northern California. These are some pics from his last trip...

Horseshoe Bay

A bridge... he has been inside the supports and had to climb scaffolding to reach the top before it touched the land on either side.

Wine country... you can only slightly tell by the pic but all of the leaves are changing colors!

Napping

Carrie will nap just about anywhere except in her bed. When I found her she was laying with Maggie but as soon as I got the camera Maggie got up.

Hide N Seek

We had a family party for Andrew and it was so much fun. The girls all enjoyed holding the newest cousin Grant....

Carrie was especially taken by him!

After dinner the kids all played Hide n Seek. I looked into the living room to see a child up in the upper windows of our living room... it seems that some dad's were helping with the hiding!!


Hmmm.... the blanket looks suspicious!

Could that be a child?

Yep!!

Later in the kitchen a little girl had some fun with the whipped cream while no one was looking!! Or at least until she got caught!

Brad

Our friend Brad came to visit from Louisanna. We had a yummy crab boil while he was here. The kids really enjoyed their "Uncle Brad"

The Loot!!

The girls used pillow cases for trick or treating... here they are going through the bags
Carrie enjoying some tv with all her candy

Nelson must be the 5th, what mom gives their 10 month old a lolly pop!! But boy did he enjoy it!!

Trick or Treat

This was the first time trick or treating with these cousins!!
Everybody is ready to go!

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

November 1st was a good day to run. Five years after our car accident- it feels good to be this alive. I am not a natural runner, nor do I really like running. But setting my mind to this goal and actually finishing felt really good. Running a half marathon was hard but I loved the rush of being out there with thousands of people running together. It was a very over cast day but the ocean was beautiful... at one point during the race I could even see dolphins swimming along the coast!

This link is a picture just before I crossed the finish line!

http://www.photocrazy.com/perl/additem.pl?pid=1692124&ev=821&sd=2008-11-01&st=09:40:48&lfn=&d=f&bibno=&nts=0302


Deric barley made it to the race... he arrived just a few minutes before I finished. He forgot the camera but was able to get a few seconds of video...the finish line! (I am the one in the blue shirt!)

Happy Halloween!

The Crew!And here he is Nelson the Tiger!

Our Rock Star Jessica

Our Princess Sarah
Carrie our little flower fairy

And Sammy our Beautiful Butterfly

Peek A Boo