Well I can't just let a tarantula hijack my blog!

Sorry sorry, it's just that ever since I put up that picture and video of the tarantula, it's like I can't even see the blog without shrinking away from it. So the fix? Update, right? Yeah, easier said than done for some reason.

Anyway, I've decided to let the pictures do the talking on this blog post...they can tell it way better than I can anyway.

So first, (actually this happened before the spider incident) we were able to take a couple of days to visit our friends the Robers who recently moved to the Sacramento area. Briggs was being baptized and it seemed like the perfect excuse to visit. The kids had fun catching up. It's funny....it seems the longer they are gone, the more we feel the loss...maybe it's just finally really sinking in, but we dearly miss our friends. (come back, come back!)







And then next it was Halloween....in all it's week-long glory...I mean come on! I think there were four separate events that required costumes this year. At some point I just got so tired of it all, I just let the kids fend for themselves. I don't think they did too badly...

Jack warmed up to the idea of costumes by sleeping through the trunk or treat:



Charlie showed his basketball skills at one event:



And Maggie and Ellie enjoyed being goddesses for an evening:



The actual night of Halloween brought us Obi-Wan-Kenobi, a Lego Brick, another Greek Goddess and her counter-part, and a delightful two year old monkey....who finally got into the Halloween act:



And then of course, we had a very special day to celebrate the following day...can you believe this little boy is five?





He had a great day at Chuck-E-Cheese with his buddies:



And I'm still holding out hope for these two someday...aren't they both just beautiful? Sigh:





And lest anyone forget we do indeed have six children...here's the visible proof that Joe still exists...at least on paper. This boy is breaking us in easy to the world of Junior High. He is truly a pleasure to have around, and is obviously thriving in the Junior High environment.


So there you have it, we are here, we are alive, and we are pushing forward, and even taking pictures from time to time. We are gearing up for two more birthdays this month and then a Christmas Holiday in Oregon. We'll talk soon!