We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours...We wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

May the FORCE be with you

I hope you all had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN, I know that we did!  

Halloween is one of my all-time favorite holidays and it has been ever since I was a little girl.  Every Halloween I am flooded with  memories of my mom taking my sisters, my cousins, and I trick-or-treating for hours and HOURS.  We would do a lap around our neighborhood and then she would drive us over to my Grandma and Grandpa Martinez's neighborhood, drop us off at the very top of the street and meet us down at the bottom of the street where my grandparents lived.  We had the biggest pumpkin candy buckets that I have ever seen in my life (thus far) and they would be filled to the brim by the time we got home.  My sister and I would dump out all our candy, count each and every piece, and then trade each other for the candy that the other person had that the other didn't.  Those are some of the best memories from my childhood.  I can only hope that I can instill that same love for Halloween in my own children.  I must say, I'm not off to a bad start considering the night we had last night with Owen...

Brian and I took Owen out on his first Trick-or-Treating venture...

It was HILARIOUS!  We figured that Owen would maybe make it around the block...oh  no...Owen had plans of his own.  We (by "we" I mean "me") got tuckered out long before Owen did!  He LOVED IT!  We pushed him around in his little umbrella stroller in between each house and by the time we got to the edge of each driveway, the child basically jumped out of the seat and made his way up the driveway and then up to the door.  He loved putting his hand in the candy bowls, picking out his own piece of candy, and then placing it in his pumpkin basket, sometimes he would take a couple pieces from the bowls.  It was just too cute!

By the last block or two, Owen was knocking on the doors all by himself!  He would look up at me to make sure I rang the doorbells :)  Now if only we could have gotten the words "Trick-or-Treat" to come out of that adorable little mouth of his...

Owen couldn't take his eyes off the pumpkins in the corner of the porch.  He was obsessed with pumpkins this Halloween.

Daddy helping him pick out his candy from the treat bowl.

Making his way down one of the MANY driveways with Mommy.

We started carrying him up to the doors by the end of the night...those little legs of his could only take so much walkin'

"I got my treat, Daddy.  Let's roll."

Owen was able to have more Halloween Fun before Halloween even arrived.  Not sure if everyone knows this, but Owen had to spend some time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) when he was born.  Every year the hospital's NICU throws a little reunion of sorts for past patients to come and celebrate their graduation from NICU.  This year they held a NICU Fall Fest and all the children got to come in costume, take pictures, make pumpkins, fish for treats, and put together a photo album of pictures from when they were in the NICU and pictures of what they look like now.  We had a lot of fun and it was especially nice for us to see some of the nurses that helped us get through that really tough time. 

"May the force be with you..."

Mommy and Owen decorating a pumpkin at Fall Fest

Owen was so proud of the finished product, he had to show Daddy

Even Yoda need to break for snacks.  Yoda chowing on some grapes.

Our finished product...Frankenpumpkin

We had to carry him out of the place to get him to leave

Owen also got to dress up for at school at Evergreen Montessori's Fall Fest.  Talk about a fun night!  Owen's teacher, Miss Sally, could not stop laughing when she saw Owen in costume.  How could you not, he was just too darn cute!  Owen invited his Aunt Meghan and his cousin Ian to help us partake in the festivities.  We got to make Oreo Cookie spiders (which was a little difficult considering Owen wanted to eat the cookie before we could get the legs on him), we made goblin hands out of rubber gloves and popcorn, played toilet paper bowling, and got lots of treats from all his teachers.  It was really fun to see Owen interact with his teachers and he especially enjoyed showing me all the new things he gets to do in his classroom.

Owen getting treats from Miss Jessica

Putting pumpkins in the witch's cauldron

Owen showing Mommy where he eats his snacks at school.  Snack time just so happens to be Owen's favorite part of day! (Imagine that)

Owen wasn't the only one that got to dress up this Halloween season...

After much begging and pleading, I was FINALLY able to get Brian to wear a costume for a Halloween party we were invited to this year.  This was kind of a big deal.  Let me put this into perspective for you...I have only seen my husband dress up ONCE in the fourteen years that I have know him...ONCE!

I was finally able to get Brian to EMBRACE THE FORCE...

Do I really need to tell you who we are?!?!

Michael Jackson from Thriller, Lady Gaga, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader

Notice the Darth Vader mask is already off...

Better late than never...Best of SUMMER Pics

We're already well into FALL and here I am posting pictures from our AWESOME SUMMER...well...that's what happens when you have a high-schooler, a junior high-schooler, and a toddler running around.  Things get so busy around this house, and before we know it, summer is over and I'm hanging up the Halloween decorations (yay! by the way).  Speaking of Halloween, don't forget to vote on the latest poll!

Ok, ok...back to the task at hand:

I present to you our Best of...SUMMER EDITION

We were finally able to get Owen to enjoy being in the water.  He turned into a little fish this summer thanks to our friends, Niki and Christian, for buying a house with a pool :)

We spent the 4th of July in Sun Valley this year. This is Andrew and Owen smiling for the camera before we played in the bamboo huts in Downtown Ketchum.

Harrison and Owen in front of the bamboo huts.  Would you look at those smiles?!?!

We went a "leisurely" 16 mi. bike ride :)

Brian riding with the baby trailer

The Sucher Clan with our "Kiwi" relatives from New Zealand.  We had such a fun weekend with Aunt Patty and cousin Hayward.

Owen got to tag along with Mommy to Sunny San-dy Ah-go.  Doesn't He make the cutest beach bunny ever?!

Owen and I enjoying our BEACH DAY in Del Mar

Mommy, Daddy, and Owen enjoying one of the many backyard pool party at the Barwick Homestead

This one is a little fuzzy, but Brian and I love the face that Owen is making.  Needless to say,  he started to walk this summer (at approximately 13 months)

Another one we captured of Owen in his first few days of being a WALKER.  He kept his arms up for the longest time, it was so cute to watch him toddle around the house :)

Harrison is now a CERTIFIED LIFEGUARD!  He took his certification in Ketchum, ID this summer and this is him at his celebratory dinner.  We are SO SO proud of him.  I think he even lined up a job for himself next summer at the YMCA in Sun Valley!

And this cool dude on the golf course is Andrew...at the Sun Valley Golf Club that is

Harrison with Grammy and Papa celebrating his Lifeguard Certification

Another shot of Owen playing in the pool (thank goodness he likes the water now)

One of Owen's many road trips.  This kid ROCKS on long drives as long as we have BINKS, WOOBIE, and a good book

Andrew and I about to take a 12 mi bike ride with Owen in tow.  

Waiting for someone to take him somewhere...

The scenery on our 16 miler was so GORGEOUS

Owen's Aunt Wendy let us have their old bike trailer!  Owen loves to go on bike rides.

About to go on his first airplane ride.  He was a CHAMP on the way there...on the way back...NOT SO MUCH

Kiss-y face...muah! Another one from the beach

Daddy and Owen in the pool

Owen walking in to his room all by himself

Owen started "school" in the middle of August.  I was a nervous wreck on the first day...but Owen...he walked up to Miss Sally and gave her a big hug..."NO BIG DEAL, MOM, I GOT THIS"

Owen packing his toothbrush up in his back pack before we go to school.  He looks like such a big boy in this picture.

oh, and he had to pack his little shark water strainer thing behind him...hahaha!

Owen and Andrew watching the Wagon Days Parade in Ketchum, ID

Dancin' with Daddy at Rotary Park.  This kid LOVES to dance!

I just love his face as he watches the band and dances with Daddy

Swimming with his cousins, Caden and Colby, and Uncle Jonny

Grabbing a quick snack before heading back to the cabin