I asked the kids to rest before trick or treating. Connor went to his bed, Megan went to mine. While I was changing loads in the laundry room, Megan got Connor from his bed and brought him to my bed to read him stories. I found them like this:



Even with all the bickering, they really do love each other and enjoy each other.

Last night we met up with Grandma for Trunk-or-Treat.

Megan decided a long time ago that she would be Tiny the Pteranadon from Dinosaur Train. Her best bud from the neighborhood decided to be Buddy, so they have planned for months to be "the pair".

Tiny


Connor just doesn't get the whole costume thing, and he really didn't want to wear anything. I've tried several costumes on him, each ending with a huge fit. We borrowed a costume for him and tested it for a few days. He relented.

The Dragon


A tender moment


And a not so tender moment/reality


Neutrality


I just loved this picture of Connor talking to my mom about candy.


Megan and her pal Ellie wanted to go trunk-or-treating "alone". They're 4. I agreed, to a certain point, and just followed behind. I kept getting dirty looks from them because I was "bothering" them. :) Already????

Well, like every other paparazzi mom, I dreamed of awesome pumpkin patch pictures this year. My kids had other plans. The timing was off, the lighting was off, the bus load of kids didn't help, the kids were pissy, ETC. Nothing about the trip to the pumpkin patch was right. They didn't even like being there, which I probably didn't have to tell you that...the pictures say it all.

Please don't ride the pumpkin...


Please sit still, or smile, or look at me? Or even just look like you want to be there?


Please no superhero faces?




How tall are we?




This is all I got...


But mostly they looked like this:

The kids' school held a fall festival a few weeks ago. Grandpa, Uncle Dan, Jayden, and Karah all came with us.

Megan the scarecrow


Connor having a serious conversation with a goat at the petting zoo.


Megan and the very patient goat.


Snackin'. Blue snocone + white shirt = you know what.


Grandpa said Connor couldn't eat 1/2 that burger. Connor showed him!


Megan spent a few tickets to lock Grandpa up in "jail". She was excited to serve his warrant...


But once he was in there, she wanted him out right away.


Megan was a tad bored on the horse...


Connor loved it.


Special thanks to Grandpa who worked my shift at the food booth so I could spend time with the kids.

On Sunday, we really just sat around and enjoyed each other's company. We did a lot of lazy stuff, which was great. I don't have many pictures of this day at all. I wonder what I was thinking.

Uncle Jeff, Megan, Jud, and Daddy got out the origami kit. It was a hoot. Megan got frustrated with it - quickly - and Uncle Jeff tried to help her be patient.


Monday, we had to go home. I made a few sales calls in the morning, and then we went to downtown Seattle for authentic dim sum. Now that was delicious.

We slightly lost track of time and had to RUSH to the airport. This is how I normally look anyway on a trip, but this is how I looked most of the way to the airport.


And I managed to finally get a shot of the Space Needle.


And the cutest little boy in the backseat.


Both kids were great travelers. We can't wait to see Amaya again when, according to Megan, "she does more stuff." :)

Saturday, it was pretty rainy (go figure) so we started the day off with a trip to the Childrens Museum. The kids, even Amaya, really enjoyed the exhibits. It was much different than our museum at home, so that was a nice change.

"Driving" the metro bus (and Uncle Jeff trying to stop the bus?)


Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jeff put on a show for us in the theater. Megan LOVED it.


Connor and Uncle Jeff making music.


WET!


Making a clay pot with Uncle Jeff


Daddy and Connor working on pottery.


After the museum, we decided to do some Seattle sight-seeing.

This is how Connor saw most of Seattle.


Megan got special 1-on-1 time with Aunt Lisa on Friday, and got special time with Uncle Jeff off-and-on on Saturday. Any chance she got to break away from us, she took it. They had just looked at the boats and were deciding what to do next.


Oh yes, we went to the market. We ate donuts (YUM-O!), shopped, bought flowers and produce, and watched the fish guys.






We had SO much fun, and we were SO worn out.

Yeah, 3 WEEKS ago, we went to Seattle to meet our new cousin Baby Amaya. She is just as beautiful and sweet as she looked on Skype, but felt so much more real. :) We had such a wonderful visit. We really went with ONE goal in mind: meet Baby Amaya. It wasn't about Seattle sightseeing, it was about Amaya - oh, and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lisa, too. Scheduling around 2 kids and a newborn was a tad tedious, but we were able to squeeze several things into 3 1/2 days.

Day 1:
We went to the park with Aunt Lisa and Amaya. They have this ginormous park across the street from their house. Aunt Lisa said, "It's just across the street..." which is entirely true, but in Megan/Connor speak, that means like 3 feet across the street. It was a long walk, and Megan started complaining like 10 minutes into it. Which explains quite a bit in the next few pics.

Feeding the ducks. These lucky ducks got raisin bread!


Daddy and Connor looking at the lake. Connor kept asking to swim.


Daddy picking apples from the wild apple tree.


Megan learned to climb a tree.


Megan and I hiked up a hill.


Aunt Lisa and Amaya enjoying each other and watching the other kids.


We "finalllllly" made it to the playground area.


But Megan was so tired from the walk that she took a little rest.


After the walk to the park, Megan and Aunt Lisa had a girl chat while Megan showed off her "chop stick skills". (She's been practicing for months and couldn't wait to show her.)


Aunt Lisa and all the kids.


Me with Amaya and Connor.


That night we met Uncle Jeff after work in downtown Seattle. We did a little shopping and ate some delicious pizza.

To end the evening, Megan, Connor, Daddy, and Uncle Jeff went swimming! Yes, it was 51 degrees outside, and they all went swimming. It was a heated pool, but still, it was COLD. They lasted about 15 minutes - maybe.





End of day 1.