Justin's Picture Retake / Trick-or-Treat

Justin's school had Picture Retake Day. Since Justin's first picture had a 'cheesy' smile, I decided to have him redo his picture. For the retake, the photographer took his time, let me see the pictures taken on his computer, and let me choose which one I liked best. We went to Columbia Mall in the evening for treat-or-treating. Kevin wore his ninja outfit, while Justin was Pooh, and Brian was a frog again. We walked around the mall, the boys collected quite a bit of candy, and we had dinner at the food court. Brian says 'trick-or-treat' Brian, the frog, with smoothie sample The boys collected more candy this year than in the past, so when we got home, we opened our door to the late trick-or-treaters and gave out the candy we collected over the past few days.

Kevin's Playdate

Justin had speech class today. He is really pronouncing his ‘L’ words very well. The grad teacher began working on some ‘K’ words with him today (his ‘k’ sounds like a ‘t’). Class went by very quickly today, because his teacher had Justin play various games while pronouncing the different words.

Kevin had a semi-impromptu playdate after school with several of his classmates. The boys did their homework, used their imagination to dress up and play ‘war,’ ate pizza, then played Wii. While they were eating, they talked about the girls in their class, and which boys liked them (very interesting information).

We are blessed that Kevin has classmates and friends that want to come over for playdates. It seems that his friends are good boys coming from good homes!

Dad And Mom's New Wheels

Justin’s class is still studying the letter ‘P.’ The first thing they did today was practice writing their ‘Pp’ letters in shaving cream on the table. The kids enjoyed that a lot. For their craft, they made beautiful Peacocks.

Dad and Mom stopped by on their way home. They had an alma mater get-together with meetings held both in New Jersey and New York over the weekend. After their meetings were finished, they dropped friends off at the airport, and went to Chinatown to get some freshly made hopia (Filipino dessert). They brought us three packs – delicious!

Dad and Mom are sporting new wheels, a brand new 2007 Suburban! Getting a new car, and spending a weekend in New York with friends – it looks like Dad is now beginning to enjoy his well-deserved retirement!!

Maryland Zoo OctoBOOFest

We spent a large part of our day at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The zoo was having their ‘OctoBOOFest ZooBOOO!’ The kids were able to get candy from different booths set up throughout the zoo by local companies. We walked around through most of the zoo - the boys especially enjoyed seeing the animals in the African Journey section. Here is Justin posing in front of the giraffes.

A pair of Okapi - notice the long, snake-like tongue sticking out Flamingoes and their reflections We ate lunch at the zoo and got so cold sitting outside. The temperature was probably in the high 50s, but we were fine as long as we kept walking. All throughout the zoo, there were fall and Halloween decorations set up. It was a fun outing – the kids always enjoy going to the zoo, and they were able to get candy as an added bonus. Here are the boys holding huge candy in front of a large trick-or-treat bag. Some very handsome penguins!

Air and Scare

We had a relaxing morning at home together, then attended second service at New Hope.

In the late afternoon, we headed to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. It was their second annual ‘Air & Scare’ family event. There were dozens of vendors set up at tables throughout the museum. Each table gave out candy or had a craft for the children to do.

We waited in line for over an hour and a half to go on a simulator ride. The rides were free this evening, thus the long wait. All three boys wanted to ride, and it was a tortuous wait, but once inside the simulator, they enjoyed themselves. The ‘show’ simulation was a roller coaster ride made for Halloween.

The boys played balloon races, and Kevin participated in a creepy robots contest game. Brian got the most candy, because at one table, a kind gentleman dressed in a black and white striped prison suit kept handing him piece after piece (probably around 20 pieces).

It was an enjoyable evening, and we plan to return to the center to see more of the exhibits. Here we are in front of the Enterprise, the first space shuttle.

Costume Day / Fall Party / Adventurers Induction

It was Costume Day at Kevin’s school. The kids could dress up in a costume instead of wearing their uniform. Kevin decided to wear his spiderman outfit (he is second to the end, with both hands in the air). It turned out that two other classmates of his wore spiderman. The question is – who is the real spiderman? Justin’s school had a Fall Party. I had signed up to be a helper in his classroom, so was able to be a part of his first class party. The kids were asked to wear a costume that was a character in a book. They were to bring a book to match their costume. Justin decided to be Winnie the Pooh. He picked out the book, “Try, Try, Again” from the ‘Lessons From the Hundred-Acre-Wood’ series, and brought it to school. The teacher read the different books to the kids in circle time.

The teachers (dressed as Dirty Harry and Clean Harry the dog) helped the kids make turkeys using rubber gloves. Each fingertip of the glove had a candy pumpkin, and the hand part was filled with popcorn. The kids also got to decorate a paper bag which ended up being filled with treats for them to take home. They feasted on apples, grapes, doughnuts, chips, and punch.


Siblings were invited to join in the Fall Party, so of course, Brian came. He chose the frog outfit from our costume box. He thoroughly enjoyed being able to be in Justin's classroom, and played with the trains and cars the whole time there. He lasted about an hour, then got tired and wanted to go home for his nap. I brought him home, picked up Kevin from school, then returned to the party.


Justin’s class singing a song about obeying your parents Justin’s 4-year-old preschool class in costumes – Fall Party In the evening, Kevin and I went to his school’s church for the Adventurer’s Induction Service. He received his scarf and slide, along with an Adventurer’s membership card. The Adventurers were each given a sticker with their name on it, which they placed on an altar to symbolize their dedication to follow Jesus. The Induction was followed by a Family Blessing in which parents promised to always love and look after their Adventurer, because he/she was a blessing from God. We also promised to correct their mistakes and apologize for our own mistakes. The Adventurers pledged to do their part to make their family a happy one. It was a very nice service.

Sunbeam Adventurers waiting in the lobby for the service to begin Kevin with his friend Jeremiah after being inducted into Adventurers Club

Jump! Zone

Justin, Brian and I went to a new indoor kids play area called Jump! Zone. It opened two months ago. I had heard about it from another mother while at Pump It Up! (another indoor kids play area), so decided to check it out. It is a place with six large inflatable structures and a pirate ship tree house/slide. Each inflatable had a theme, except the largest one in the center, which was a huge obstacle course.

The boys had so much fun going through all the different obstacle courses and slides, and just bouncing around. They were very excited with all the different themes. After playing for over two hours, and snacking on the way home, they got sleepy. I drove around until both boys were out. All the energy they expended resulted in a much needed naptime.

Justin and Brian on The Incredibles inflatable at Jump! Zone Justin and Brian inside SpongeBob inflatable at Jump! Zone Brian (center) and Justin (on top of right slide) on Cars inflatable Brian entering Jurassic Adventures inflatable at Jump! Zone Brian and Justin riding dinosaurs in Jurassic Adventures at Jump! Zone

Mom's Get Together / Impromtu Playdate

Today, some mothers of Justin’s classmates came over for a potluck luncheon. There were six of us total, along with two younger siblings (one being Brian). I had hoped to get to know some of the other mothers better, and had sent out customized invitations last week. The response was positive – the mothers thought it was a great idea.

We dropped our kids at preschool, then had our get together. Our visit was so enjoyable that we plan to do it again soon. We made dessert, ate, talked, did an ice-breaker quiz, talked more, and played Wii boxing. All too soon, it was time to head back to the school to pick up our kids. I had forgotten to take a group picture at the house, so Justin took one of us at school with some of our kids. It was really a wonderful mothers’ get together!

When picking up Kevin from school, we saw his best friend sitting in a car. We told him to come over and play for a while. He did, and the boys were able to have an impromptu play-date. Kevin and Ethan dressed up and pretended they were transformers. My sister-in-law and nephew also came by to borrow a costume (we have a chest-box full of costumes for dress up), so we had a total of five boys in the house. The older boys were given a mission – to run around the basement without getting caught by the younger boys. The stairs were their home base. Each of the younger boys had a sword or claw stick to catch the older boys with. The older boys kept running their missions, while the younger boys kept trying to catch them. It was a lot of fun for everyone - running, playing, and laughing together.

Kevin and Justin Play In Aftercare

Justin’s preschool is continuing to study the letter ‘P.’ He went throughout the house finding ‘P’ items to bring to show his classmates. He came up with the following all on his own: pencil, paper, penguin, purple and pink crayon. Kenton and I helped him with peanut butter and purple plate.

For his craft, Justin made a Pocket. The teacher had told the kids they could write their name and the letter 'P' several times on a piece of paper to put inside the pocket. She told me that she went to help another student, then came back and "about fainted when I saw that Justin had written several 'P' words, like pie, pretzel, pop." I told her that reading and writing were Justin's thing - he insists on doing 'homework' every day.

Kevin had begged to be able to play in aftercare today. When Justin and I went to pick him up, he said he hadn’t finished playing. I let Justin and him play for over an hour while I watched and took pictures.

Kevin and his classmates playing ‘war’ in the sandbox

Justin and his play buddy, Tommy

Washington Harbour / House Of Sweden

We spent the majority of the day in Georgetown’s Washington Harbour, located on the banks of the Potomac River. It was the perfect day outdoors - sunny and breezy, along with the water, the boats, and the fountain court – absolutely picture perfect. We walked along the waterfront promenade, and could see the Virginia shoreline, the Kennedy Center, and the arches of the Key Bridge.

It is Children’s First! at the House of Sweden, where many exhibits are set up for children to learn and play. The House of Sweden was built last year and is where the Embassy of Sweden is located. It is a modern building with Scandinavian style. The kids tried every exhibit (over 20 total).

The boys had a lot of fun climbing the Digiwall. They watched Swedish cartoons downstairs, and enjoyed the colorful and comfortable children’s library full of books written by Swedish authors. Children’s First! is definitely a child’s idea of fun and a parents’ ideal of child’s play.

After the activities at Childrens First!, the boys were hungry. We went back to the Washington Harbour to eat. Here are boys patiently waiting for their food. Eating outdoors at the harbour was a great way to end our outing!

At the entrance to the House of Sweden there are glass walls with water flowing down over them. Justin is on water side while the others are behind the wall (dry side).



View of Washington Harbour from where we ate













Justin with vortex bottles at House of Sweden (with harbour in background) Kevin at the entrance of House of Sweden children's library Brian climbing the Digiwall at House of Sweden Justin and Brian making bubbles at House of Sweden Brian inside playhouse in House of Sweden children's library

Community Praise Church / Wii

We visited a church in Virginia today thinking that we would be attending a baptism of the daughter of one of my girlfriends. Somehow I had gotten my dates mixed up – the baptism is scheduled for next Sabbath. I liked that the people were friendly and that the praise leader talked quite a bit about worship. The challenge for us was the time - the drive there (almost 1 hour each way), the service length (2½ hours), and the wait to get out of the parking lot (over half an hour). I really enjoyed experiencing another church’s worship though and would visit again.

We relaxed for the rest of the evening, getting some groceries and playing Wii. Brian loves to play boxing on Wii. He always says, “Fight, fight” when he wants to play. He is so cute boxing! One of these days I'll figure out how to post a video clip ...

We had bought Wii for Kevin for his birthday in May in lieu of having a birthday party. The boys (and Kenton and I) have a lot of fun playing the Wii games. We like the fact that it is interactive. You have to move in order to play - boxing especially is a game that makes you sweat. It’s a great workout and a fun way to play video games.

For part of our bedtime routine, I read to the boys. Tonight we finished up a book called Treasury of Virtues, a large collection of stories/tales. The virtues we’ve learned about are: hard work (The Little Red Hen / The Elves and the Shoemaker); honesty (The Emperor's New Clothes / The Honest Woodcutter / The Boy Who Cried Wolf); friendship (The Four Musicians / The Lion and the Mouse); cooperation (Stone Soup); responsibility (The Bell of Atri); generosity (The Gift / The Selfish Giant); patience (The Ugly Duckling); wisdom (King Midas); moderation (The Fisherman and His Wife); courage (Jack and the Beanstalk); perseverance (The North Wind / The Tortoise and the Hare / The Little Dutch Boy); and love (Johnny Appleseed / The Velveteen Rabbit). I hope that when the boys remember these stories, they especially remember the virtues learned from them.