Going on a BEAR HUNT

Great Hallow Lake

Ethan looking at a birds nest.

Throwing rocks in a pond is a must for Aidan and Ethan near any body of water. I packed an extra outfit each for this very purpose. However we had a misap of another kind when Aidan's aim went haywire. He threw a rock square on the side of Kyle head. The funny part is that Aidan was trying to throw straight. Kyle was squatting behind him on the left side digging up a rock with Ethan.

"Oh so sorry Dad."

On this day Ethan discovered the flow of the river. Kyle taught him to drop sticks and leaves on one side of the bridge and run across the way to see them float through.

Happily filling his pockets with acorn.

Picking up treasures to take home. And to think none of the acorns went through the wash. That was a proud moment when I remembered to empty their pockets at the door when we came home.

Going on a bear hunt.

Kyle found a different way to use Ethan's vest.

AWE...BEAR!!!!

" Got em A" Ethan yells to A for Aidan.

We scared the bear off.

Pretty.

Aidan ran ahead of us on the trail. I found him sitting here waiting for the rest of the family to catch up.

Tran instincts: fish when near water.

Aidan being chased up a tree by Ethan and his stick.

Halloween Art

BOO!
Creepy crawlers, Aidan has a great song about these.

One day our four year old came home and told us about nocturnal animals during dinner. Then he breaks into song about a wise old owl.

The tree trunk sticking out from the page is totally awesome!

A mosaic bat by Aidan.

Halloween behind the scenes

What didn't we do before we went trick or treating? First a healthy dinner was shared with our "guest of fun" Uncle Thao.

Ealier in the day, we went for a little bike ride and stumbled upon a scenic bridge where many stunts were made on the bike and scooter.

Look whose winning!

Aidan's helmet and Ethan's soft smile makes for a great family photo. Thanks Lovies!

We played then we worked.

Sometimes to work means to play.

How to make a fire 101.

This is Uncle Thao's way of collecting kindling.

I wonder if Ethan thought the leaves make the ground softer or if I caught him in the middle of creating a leaf angel.

Trick or treating this year came most natural for Ethan. Not only did he get to dress up as himself but he also found all the choice of candy to be delightful! We have a plan to only visit home on ethe block that we know. This is usually more than enough candy for Aidan and Ethan. This year Ethan decided that while the parents are chatting up a storm he would take full advatage to keep taking from the basket until it was time to leave.

And just one more for the road ...

The man behind the iron gate - Thao Tran

Spiderman in action. Hot huh?

Scared yah didn't he?

HALLOWEEN

Kyle the kids and I hollowed these pumkins out. It was alot of work. My brother carved both of them free hand. Awesome eyes Thao!

Ethan and the pumpkin have a stare off.

Bitting is our name, getting messy is our game!

This shot was inspired by the bombs Ethan has been blowing out of his noise.
Behind every set of trick or treaters are a couple of loving parents. It all started here with a serious businessman Papa and a Spider Mama.(Kyle likes to look extra serious at 7am)

Ethan refused an adorable tiger costume and went as a totally cute two year old...basically himself. How clever of him.

And we all know who this is. By default Aidan got to be spider man for Halloween. his original costume to be a Nascar race driver fell through when he out grew it because I bought it two months ago. Thank you Luca for this last minute laoner! Check out the muscles of my little spiderman.

Trick or Treat!

Spiderman and our friend PJ the Transformer.

All fun things must come to a hault when little legs get tired of walking.

A photo op with Uncle Thao. This year's Halloween pictures were made possible and easy with his help trick or treating.

Tuckered out, we came home to pass out candy. Aidan made a tally sheet to keep a total of how many trick or treaters we had. Our coal bucket was almost emtpy by the end of the night. We had nearly forty costumes at the door.

Yale Univeristy

This is my brother Thao. He's a self taught, fisherman, artist, politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. To me he's an awesome uncle and a load of laughs. During his visit to our home we visited Yale University Law school. Yes, Thao Tran aspires to be a lawyer also.

Hale Yale what a pretty campus! Reminds me of home - Zurich.

Unfortunately inside the building visits are only allowed on the weekends. A security guard came out to inform us that pictures are not allowed of the Law School building period. Thao traveled all the way across the country for this Forest Gump pictorial, this picture is of him and his next journey in life as a student again. I bet the Skull and Bones society had us on watch.

Is this ridiculous? The side walks were lit up with stars.

All the details. Yale's academic curriculum was modeled after Cambridge and Oxford. I think so was the architecture.

What would this building be without moss to give it character? You got it. Pretty!

Yale the week of finals.

This is one of the nicest college campus courtyards I have EVER seem. The benches scream "read on me".

All the walking made us hungry. We went to a favorite dive that Kyle and I love. The York Noodle House. I love everything Asian about this place. The big TV in the background, the worker behind making drinks with a dirty apron on, and the assortment of hot sauces that came when I asked for pepper flakes. We ate Pho with a Thai twist. Lemongrass in Pho made my taste buds sing for more. YUM!

I love this shot all over the world.

Heels on a rainy day to go sight seeing. Tired but happy feet.

A made bed is a happy mom

On Saturday Aidan came running into the kitchen blurting out something so fast I had to ask for him to repeat the statement.

Too excited to speak he said, "come on, come on, I have something to show you!"

The dish towel and I ran down the hall as Aidan welcomed us into his room with open arms "Tahdah, I made my bed!"

Confused I asked "oh Aidan, that is a nice job, did dad ask you to do that?"

"No, I watched you make your bed and I want to do the same." Aidan said.


Lesson of the week: Lead, lead, lead and one day the example will follow.