Halloween pics-

Getting ready to trick or treat- w/o masks

In full form... the ghost, the vampiress and the skeleton zombie.

Taking inventory at the end of the night.

Meeting up with Jennifer and Patrick at Broadway Plaza to start off the trick or treating.

Paris and some classmates on Friday after the Halloween parade.

Alex walking in the parade for the first time.

Paris' class.

Alex's 6th b-day-

Alex woke up to pirate decorations.

... and got an early start to opening presents.

One of these years (obviously not this one) I'll make my children proud with a homemade b-day cake...

Patrick, Jennifer, Mason, Paris and Alex getting ready for the party to start.

lining up for a fun obstacle course...

Getting ready for a game of hide and seek-

Group photo

We had to fit a skateboard in somehow so this was Alex's pinata-

Happy 6th Birthday to Alex!!

Here's the birthday boy today - he's looks so grown up to me in this picture! I'll post more pics of his b-day party later.

We packed a lot of fun into this special weekend with Uncles Mike and Jeff

The kids got very spoiled with attention from their uncles. First off, a hike with Uncle Jeff.

Here are the brothers cozily sharing a bunk bed :)

Heading off to the soccer games-

Roman joined us for Paris' game.

Playing football with Uncle Jeff.

A heated game of tether ball.

Mike helped Mason put together this helicopter.

Paris started taking a cooking class a few weeks ago at Chow Bella, a kid's cooking school. I pulled some info. from their website and from their facebook page to share here:

Coming this Fall: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution!

Our 5 and 10 week children's course will include Jamie’s delicious recipes. Teaching is done through hands-on cooking, giving children the chance to learn about handling raw ingredients, portion size, and choosing and using equipment. They will learn a foundation of skills, from boiling an egg, through chopping and baking to making a family meal.

The Program:

Week 1: Leek and Potato Soup & Tomato Soup

Week 2: Chicken Fajitas

Week 3: Meatballs and Pasta

Week 4: Pizza Dough and Sauce

Week 5: Butternut Squash Muffins & Pancakes
Week 6: Beef Stir Fry

Week 7: Homemade Corn Tortillas & Tacos

Week 8: Green Salad with Jam Jar Dressing

Week 9: Best Baby New Potatoes & Broccoli with Asian Sauce

Week 10: Granola & Stewed Fruit and Crumble Dressing

Age Range: 7 and up

Paris has done 4 weeks so far and is loving every minute of it (she takes after her kitchen savvy mother). Here she is, second from the left, showing off chicken fajitas.

Meatballs and Pasta

Posted by Elaine Smit on Thursday, September 30, 2010 Under: recipes

Week three of our Jamie Oliver Food Revolution cooking class.
We made Meatballs and Pasta. I decided this class needed a little challenge so we made our pasta from scratch.

Amazingly enough, here is Paris making homemade pasta with another girl named Paris, who is 12 years old.

Exciting Weekend-

Mason started swimming on his own on Friday- see the video below for the exact moment that it happened :)

Paris and Alex gave Mason a lot of props, which was very thrilling for Mason.

Alex's game face.

Passing the time during Alex's game.

Paul's company picnic was Saturday afternoon. Here is Paris on the far right competing in the sack races.

Here she is winning the race. It was 98 degrees and they still did best 2 out of 3, up and back, to determine the winnner.

So as not to be outdone, Paul competed in the adult version- he wasn't quite as successful as his daughter :) ... although Paul and I did win the water balloon toss!

Moving on to the egg races, Paris won by a hair.

Mason was first up on the pinata, after him they ditched the blindfold.

If you look closely you'll see that Paris ripped it in half with this swing... luckily everyone had gone through several times.

Here's the main attraction- Mason's first ever swim w/0 floaties.

Birthday Bash-

Last night we had a fun dinner at Benihana's to celebrate my birthday.

Onion volcano!

I got some very fun presents, do you notice a theme at all?

Annie made these beautiful hand towels!

So as to keep up with the Joneses (Kristi) I put up my Halloween village a little early this year.

Paris and her friend, Maddie, doing their homework.

Mason, Jennifer and Alex passing the time during Paris' soccer game.