Halloween

Captain America and Minnie Mouse braved a rainy Halloween night to gather candy during the Trunk or Treat event a Moss Wright Park. We also made a stop to see Graham's new friend, Kellen, in what will soon be our neighborhood. It's a popular trick-or-treat spot, so much so that Kellen's parents rant out of candy despite buying $65 worth of goodies. Much to our surprise (and delight), Graham shared some of his candy with trick-or-treaters after they ran out.

Summertime Adventures

What better time to post summertime photos than November? I was looking through photos on our camera card this morning and discovered some fun images from our adventures in Maryland. How can it seem like so long ago?

Our summer visit to Maryland started with a visit to Chef Paolino's in Columbia to celebrate Mimi and Pop-Pop's birthdays. I love this photo of the kids. 

Emily and Pop-Pop with the ever-popular Maryland bow tie. 

Now that's a sharp looking couple.

Emil and Ryan get ready for the pirate adventure in Annapolis.

The pirate ship had a strong crew that day.

Lindsay and Pop-Pop. Two peas in a pod.

Speaking of peas in a pod, here are Graham and Madelyn.

Somehow Graham convinced the crew to let him wear a pirate flag as a cape. There's truth to the adage, "You never know unless you ask" 

The pirate adventure wasn't just for kids. 

Sydney and Mimi. Must've been around nap time. 

Sydney aboard the pirate ship.

Everyone looks pretty happy given it was hot and this photo was taken at the end of the adventure. Aubrey still bursts out in spontaneous chants of "Heave, Ho" to this day. 

Hoop Dreams

Graham's basketball career is underway. His first hoops experience will be in the Upward basketball league with practices in December and games starting in January.

We attended evaluations Tuesday night. They ran Graham through offensive and defensive paces, having him shoot from three spots on the floor and do defensive slides.

Graham kept cheering (loudly), "Go, go, play defense!" while he waited in the stands and watched kids of all ages complete their evaluations. However, he couldn't wait to shoot once they put the ball in his hands.

The shooting drill was timed. Graham kept taking shots before they said "Go." The evaluator was patient and chalked them up to practice shots.

Diamonds are a Guy's Best Friend, Too

I ordered Graham a set of "Baseball Guys" earlier this week. 

The purchase was mainly to save our newest Manny Machado and Matt Taylor bobbleheads from suffering the same fate as Eddie Murray (double arm amputee), Chris Davis (severed hand, severe lean), and Brian Matusz (beheaded). 

I also assumed that Graham would love them given his love of storytelling and figurines. The "Baseball Guys" arrived today. The smile on his face is the only hint necessary as to whether or not he likes them. 

Mommy's Workout Partner

It's said that having a workout partner helps you to remain motivated. Erica has that covered. 

Sacked on Amtrak

Riding the rails is a peaceful experience. The slow swaying of the train can rock you right to sleep.

A Super Easter

We didn't do much (okay, any) advanced planning with our Easter outfits this year, but it worked out well. Not only did we locate matching colors for everyone, but we also selected a color scheme (red and blue) that helped me coax Graham into changing into his church clothes. I told him he would be Clark Kent and only I would know that the red and blue were actually for Superman.

Superheroes were a theme from the outset of the day as Graham wanted to dress up in his Supermam costume. I put on my Superman T-shirt, and Aubrey soon emerged from Graham's room dragging his Spiderman costume. Apparently she wanted in on the action, too, and Spidergirl was born.

As we sat in church, Graham started saying, "Daddy, we have a big problem." I was prepared to race out of the service to get to the potty in time when I learned that the problem was in fact that the villain Kanjar Ro had "followed us" to church. The battle between good and evil never rests.

Having survived the morning service, we applied our super powers to tasks including dying eggs and riding toy cars outside. Erica brought Graham and Aubrey great joy with her two-person trips down the driveway with them in the wiggle car. 

The Easter baskets were a hit, as you might expect, with Graham once again adoring his chocolate bunny. He didn't dance with the bunny this year, but his joy was evident nonetheless. Meanwhile, Aubrey immediately took to her Elmo and Cookie Monster figurines. So it appears the Easter Bunny was the real Superhero.