Happy Halloween!!!

We had a WONDERFUL Halloween last night. The girls were incredible - they very quickly got up the nerve to knock on doors and ask for candy. The best part was how polite they were - saying Trick or Treat then saying Thank You, and Happy Halloween.  They made this mom proud!

Showing off wings!

Josie was SUPER excited about Aunt Becky's pumpkin costume!

She told her it was THE BEST pumpkin costume! <3 p="">

Peeking outside for trick or treaters

We had a fun time dressing up. A few months back the girls decided they wanted to be a bat and a ghost. They also decided that mommy was going to be a skeleton, and daddy would be a ghost, and that Aunt Becky had to be a pumpkin (lol). It was actually fun complying with these parameters. I made the girls' costumes from Hobby Lobby purchases and base monochromatic clothing from Carters, and my own from pieced together items and duct tape, and helped Becky conceptualize her pumpkin and put it together! 

The girls on their 3rd or 4th house!

What happens when you put out a pumpkin then don't answer the door - 

Very confused toddlers!

On Sunday we went to a friend's backyard costume party!

The kids all dressed up! 

It was a perfect night after a very sad, stressful, and busy month. While we were able to make some good memories with Boo Bash and Halloween, we sadly lost my uncle this month to Pulmonary Fibrosis on October 5th. Uncle Michel will be missed by many and I am so glad we got to see him last year during our trip to Ottawa, and he was able to meet Alex and Josie. I found out about it while I was on a business trip in Texas and was in non stop meetings with clients, having to be "on" while worried for my family and everyone back home.

I have been teaching a lot this month, I have my last class next week (I only teach in the fall semester). This year we took our classes to a new level and re-wrote all of the curriculum, which has been a huge undertaking. I am happy with the results and the students seem to LOVE the classes, but having a full time + job AND a night job can feel like burning the candle at both ends. And not to forget my third job as property manager of our condo - OF COURSE on my way home from class one night I got a text from our tenant that the hot water was out. Five days and estimates (ranging from a few hundred bucks to five figures) from SIX plumbers later we were able to get their hot water repaired.  Jamey got to witness me lose my patience with the plumbing company we originally hired and fire them when they tried to increase their estimate. I was *done*!! The icing on the cake was waking up Sunday morning with a flat tire. Thank goodness we know the BEST tire shop in the world and had that all fixed very quickly!

It is unbelievable that the Holiday Season is now upon us - things will only get busier and busier with Christmas shopping and preparing for Holiday travel, Holiday events, Thanksgiving, then a few little munchkins turning 3 in TWO months. It doesn't seem possible! 

Boo Bash and Big Girl Beds

A repeat from facebook, but seriously with so much going on, its all I can do to do a quickie update!

Burbank Adult School puts on this little Halloween Carnival every year and its awesome. 

There are games for the kids to play, and if they complete all of the activities, they get to pick a prize!

There is a bake sale, and a taco cart, music, costume contest, a magic show and a costume parade!

We had a good time last year, but an even better time this year now

 that the girls are so much more interactive. 

My favorite picture - her prize for 

finishing all of the games!

After the Boo Bash, I converted the girls' cribs into beds!

Having figured out how to escape the cribs recently, and a few near misses with injuries as a result, it was time. The girls are still overly excited about their big girl beds (and the freedom to get out and play) and it is making bed time a bit harder, but I know once the novelty wears off, things will be smooth again. And I can't complain too much, by 9:30 pm Saturday and Sunday both were sound asleep in their own beds :D

  

 

And of course nothing ever just goes according to plan - it turned out the slats for the new beds were too long for the converted bed frames. So off we went to Home Depot to get them trimmed. The girls had a blast running around and throwing things we absolutely didn't need onto our cart, seeing rows of appliances, pretending window displays were elevators, and laughing hysterically at the toilet bowls on display. And of course riding around on the cart. 

And one last bonus picture - 

Its raining in Los Angeles! And also Josie just had a major growth spurt, 

she just does not look like a toddler anymore lately. 

Montreal Part II

If I am being honest, the second half of our Montreal trip is kind of a blur. We got together with grandma Rachelle, Steve, Stephanie, and Dave, and went out for delicious pizza in Old Montreal, in an amazing outdoor stone road setting that reminded me so much of Prague. It was deliciously warm out, the kind of August weather where the day's warmth doesn't disappear with the sun. I wish I had more pictures but this is it. 

Alex doing her "cheese" face

Josie eating noonoos.

And pizza. 

The next day was Stephanie's bachelorette party. The girls were up early that morning and knowing I would be leaving James with them during nap, I let him have the morning free, and took them out to the square across the street from the hotel and let them run around. They loved it. We then found an adorable coffee place and had muffins, chocolate milk, and coffee. I seriously miss the Montreal coffee, it was all delicious. 

The square was part of the reason I chose this hotel!

It was great having somewhere I could walk to with the girls that 

was semi enclosed for them to run around in!

Her "Mischief" look

At 2 pm. Stephanie, Becky, Heather and I made our way to Bota Bota - a spa on a boat, for some pampering. The most fun thing about this boat spa, other than it being on a boat, were the "water pools" - some super cold, some warm, and others hot. You are encouraged to dip between the pools, which I will admit is invigorating. After witnessing some much older women dip into the freezing pool, Becky and I did the same, then dunked back into the warm pool and felt our whole bodies tingle. 

This spa is great - rose and champagne cocktails.

A "fake" selfie so I could get a picture of the pools.

The boat from land.

We met up with a bunch of Stephanie's friends and Dave's family at the hotel, then headed out to part 1 of our night out - a cooking class! We followed that up with some karaoke, and I made my way back to the hotel. 

The lady of honor - the GORGEOUS bride!

Chef Gabby explaining everything to us. Sort of.

Heather's perfect appetizer execution.

Getting dirty!

For many of us not knowing each other, we all worked 

really well together, and seamlessly stepped into a rhythm. 

Nothing was awkward and everything flowed so well!

My new BFF Val.

Enjoying our delicious appetizers!

Our creations

Serenading the bride with some Katy Perry

We had to check out the next morning, which was quite the task - I had to pack us all up, run and get our rental car, and fit everyone and everything into it, then make our way out to Bromont without the use of a GPS system (I had pre-printed directions, having learned my lesson during our Ottawa visit last year).  All of this after a fun party night was not fun. I may have announced my plan to never drink again (spoiler alert: I had wine later that evening).  

We rewarded ourselves for making it to Bromont by stopping and eating some A&W burgers. MMM!!!  We finally made it to the wedding location, got to do some exploring, said hello to all of the family and friends making their way in, and relax.  The whole weekend was such a whirlwind, and went by so fast! I really wish I could have made time slow down just a tad. 

A&W

Bromont

Not sure what this was about - was the country too quiet? ;)

We left Bromont Sunday evening and headed to an airport hotel for the evening. I was glad Stephanie, Grandma Rachelle and Steve were able to hang out with us and have dinner before we left, it was nice to do a little debriefing on the weekend and say some long goodbyes. 

Aunti Steffi reading to our sleepy girls

Alexandra decided to chair a family meeting.

Many important agenda items were discussed.