Halloween '09

This year Evelyn wanted to be pumpkin so in our efforts to find a pumpkin costume we found this little number.  She was a Pumpkin Princess!

And Preston's had a huge obsession with Dinosaur Train so he went as a pteranodon.    

We went to our ward Trunk or Treat and over to Tim & Brenda for some candy and company!

Andy and I even dressed up.  Once again Andy's costume was far superior to mine.  I wanted to go dressed as our kids but we just couldn't get the costumes right so as a last ditch effort I wore some old pajamas and Andy wore his pirate costume.

I NOW know what I want to be when I grow up!

OK... just the first few seconds are in Hungarian... enjoy the rest!

Zombie High~ The Premier!

This past summer the Arts Council and Joey Travolta's inclusion films put together a workshop for aspiring film makers with disabilities.  The students got to go through the entire process of making a film from concept to completion and the result of their efforts was a 30 minute short film entitled "Zombie High".  Andy's company, Higher Definition Media, was able to help in the production of "Zombie High" by providing audio recording and editing for the film.

"Zombie High" premier on October 22nd at the Bakersfield Fox Theater and Andy and I got to go!  It was really fun!  I've decided going to premiers is one of my new favorite things to do.  Everything was great.  First of all I got to meet Joey Travolta!  It's not everyday you get to meet someone famous.  Before they previewed the film they showed clips of the filmakers in action, kind of a behind the scenes, and interviews with each of the workshop students.  It was fun to watch, it's obvious they all had a great time making the movie and I'm sure they learned a lot in the process.

After the introductions and behind the scenes were done they played the movie and I was really impressed.  I thought everyone did a great job and I really enjoyed the movie!  It was an entertaining mix of zombie flick meets the 80's movie "The Breakfast Club".  And as far as I know was done with all local talent.  It was also mentioned they were discussing doing a feature film and shooting it right here in Bakersfield which was really exciting.  It was a super fun night hanging out with Andy and getting to support such a great cause! 

Day of Play~ Behind the Scenes

Andy didn't want to include himself in the video so I took the liberty of taking his picture while he wasn't looking.  He was actually talking on the phone and shooting at the same time.

The Good Old Kern County Fair

Recently, I took the kids to the fair!  I don't know what it is about this place (it's definitely NOT the smell) but it's something I look forward to every year.  And it's even more fun now that I have the incentive of taking the kids.  We went to the morning "school days" thing where admission is free from 9:00- noon.  We got to experience a whole bunch of new and excited things.

The kids watched their first magic show.

We stopped for a quick photo shoot while we waited around for the pig race to start (which never did).

We got to see the camels.

And pet a goat.

Evelyn was ready to take this little guy home.

We got to pet a baby calf.

And you just can't take pictures at the fair without getting one of these shots.

A little calf had just been born.

They had an animal exhibit with birds, lizards, tarantulas, scorpions and snakes.  Evelyn and I were standing next to one of the workers who was putting the giant snake back.  All the other surrounding kids were being squeamish and wouldn't touch it but Evelyn jumped in and with no hesitation at all started petting the snakes tail.  I was so proud.

Our cat Frankie

We recently lost our cat Frankie.  She was a great cat!  I really should have been nicer to her.  She was a stray.  When we moved in she started hanging out around the house and sleeping on the porch or under the rosebush.  The kids really bonded with her and for the most part she was good with them.  She knew her limits and when the kids annoyed her she just walked away and under the fence where she usually sat and watched them play.  I never had to worry about her. She was a lone wolf and came and went as she pleased.  She never expected things but she always showed so much gratitude for the things I did do for her.  She was a great little mouse catcher. She was also a big fan of bunnies and squirrels although I really don't miss finding them on my front yard. Another thing I'll always miss is how she always greeted me when I came home.  She'd usually be on the lawn in front of my inlaws home. As soon as she spotted us she would run to the back and always be at our front porch when we got out of the car.  The last thing, I always knew she would be there when I got home and at night I knew she would always be there. Just something about her consistency was calming to me and I will always miss her for that.  She really was the ideal cat.  We haven't told the kids yet. We're hoping they just forget which is sort of sad.  I don't want them to feel sad but at the same time I don't want them to completely forget her. That's really the biggest part of why I'm writing this so in a few years they can look at her pictures and remember how great she was.  I know she's being taken care of now though so it's not all sad. She probably somebodies indoor cat now being fed fancy cat food and getting pet all the time up in heaven.