HALLOWEEN (and the week preceeding it).

Halloween was last Saturday and we had a blast, but the entire week before was incredibly busy and fun filled. So I am sharing a Week of Halloween..

A week before Halloween, Donovan wanted to get dressed up, but I wasn't quite ready to get out the actual Halloween costumes, so we came up with the train engineer.

Here he is at his percussion class all dressed up.

With his friend Meghan.

That night we went to the Jacksonville Zoo's Spooktacular.


The train engineer got to go trick or treating a whole week before Halloween. He was in heaven.

Donovan and his dad are looking in the pirate cove for something...

Ah, they found the gator.

The zoo was quite fun, especially for the little kids. Donovan got to see the giraffes, the gators, and he loved seeing the bats. They were really cool.


That Monday, Dan and I got an opportunity to see President Obama speak at the air station. (I know it doesn't have anything to do with Halloween, but it helped make the week even more busy.)

Here we are with some of Dan's co-workers.

Air Force 1

Yes, that really is President Obama. We decided to sit instead of stand, but that meant we were quite far away. We could still hear everything and see his speak, but my camera doesn't zoom very good.

Here is proof he really was here.

Later that week, we carved pumpkins. We had a good time, but Donovan really was not impressed with the goo inside the pumpkins. After barely touching it once, he wouldn't put his bare hand back inside any of them. He helped with the scraper a tiny bit, but every time he touched anything slimy, he retreated out of the pumpkin. Dan thought this was too funny and decided to torture our child. He told Donovan, "Stick out your hand." Donovan grudgingly obeyed. Dan proceeded to take a large gob of the pumpkin guts and place them on Donovan's hand. I wish my hands weren't slimy and I could have taken a picture. His face was hilarious! It was absolutely terror stricken. After a bit of cleaning his hands, Donovan did help decorate his Mrs. Pumpkin Head.

While carving, I did come across a really good way to grow new pumpkins...

Let the pumpkin mold and the seeds start sprouting.

Needless to say, that pumpkin did not get carved. It was really gross.

On the Friday before Halloween, I was truly brave. I hosted a Cookie Party for Donovan and his friends - ages 3-4.

Meghan and her cookies.

Abby and her cookies.

Sara could have cared less about the cookies and went straight for the frosting.

Donovan used about half of the sugar sprinkles on one cookie and of course made the biggest mess.

The group (left to right):

Bonnie and Abby, Dave (Sara's dad), Donovan, Mary and Meghan, Jennifer and Abby, and Sara.

The kids had such a good time and the house really wasn't that big of mess. I might actually consider doing this again.



Finally, it was HALLOWEEN!!!

Our pumpkins barely made it, but we got them lit.

They were all moldy and bug invested; got to love the humidity.

Donovan went as Dash Incredible.

And of course, we have Mr. and Mrs. Incredible along with Dash.

(For those who know this is a repeat of last year, well tough. No one around here had seen them and they really were good costumes. Plus Donovan's still fit him.)

Donovan loved trick or treating around our neighborhood. I think he loved handing out candy when we got home just as much. Every time the doorbell would ring, he would scream with glee and run to go give out the candy.

This really was and absolutely marvelous Halloween. I can't wait until next year.

Pumkin Patch

Last weekend we went to one of the many pumpkin patches around. We went through a maze, picked out 3 perfect pumpkins and were even there when a new pumpkin delivery was made.

Can you see the smile on his face? He was looking at the most pumpkins he had ever seen in his life - a semi trailer was over half filled with PUMPKINS!

This picture just doesn't do it justice. It really was cool to see that many pumpkins piled up inside the truck.

Since it was also my 30th birthday last Sunday, I figured I would include a few of those pictures here as well.

The mushroom candle was all Donovan's idea. He just had to put it on my cake. I was also pleasantly surprised by a serenade from both my boys of the birthday song.

So who's birthday is it anyway?

I think Donovan was more excited than me to open the presents.

All in all, it was a very nice birthday and so what if I am 30, it feels pretty good to me.

Another Song

After my last post, Donovan reminded me of another song he really, really likes to sing... the "Move It" song from Madagascar.

I really do have one cute little performer.

He Loves to Sing...

Anywhere, anytime, Donovan can be found singing. He sometimes calls himself a radio. He does know quite a few songs he has heard on the radio (not exactly all the words, but most and the tunes) and he even inserts the call letters, "W Q I K" in between his songs. Some of his favorites are, "Life is a Highway", "The Big Green Tractor", "Summer Nights" (these are country songs for those who don't know them), and "Everybody Dance Now".

He also has been know to make up his own songs from time to time. This one is the Firetruck Song. Enjoy.

Who Needs a TV?

We have no need for other entertainment in our house anymore. All I need to do is put some tater tots in the oven and turn on the light.

(I just couldn't resist posting this picture. We all got such a good laugh out of it.)

Disney World Adventures

Now that we live in Florida, it has been an absolute must to visit Disney World. Since it is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from us, we have made several trips this summer and have now successfully visited all 4 of the Disney World theme parks. So here is a recap of all our exciting Disney adventures.

It all began on May 9 (our 11th anniversary) at Epcot Center...

Donovan still talks about the "Big Silver Ball".

We started off eating lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh.

It even included a belly dance show.

He joined the dance.




Japan World even had a life-size torii just like at Miyajima, near where we used to live in Japan. Epcot was quite fun. Donovan even rode the Test Track race car and loved going into Spaceship Earth (the Big Silver Ball).









It was a long and hot day walking through all the various countries represented, but we all survived.

On our next trip, we visited the Magic Kingdom (the original Disney park).

Cinderella's Castle

Goofy boys.

Donovan loved the teacups after he rode them, but wasn't quite sure what to think before it started.

The Buzz Lightyear adventure was great because Donovan actually got to meet the real Buzz Lightyear.

Goofing around in It's a Small World.

Flying in Dumbo.

Donovan's favorite ride of the day (with maybe one exception to be noted later on). The Walt Disney World Railroad!

Now that the summer had ended, we thought it would be nice to actually stay overnight and go to more than one park in a trip. So we headed back to Orlando last weekend and a wonderful time.

Here is Donovan at our hotel Shades of Green (right across from the Magic Kingdom).

We got to Orlando on Friday night and headed to Downtown Disney after checking in.

We had dinner on a steamboat and then dessert at Ghiradelli's. Mmmm, good.

The next day, we went to the Hollywood Studios park.

Donovan was finally able to meet his absolute favorite movie stars of all time...

Lightning McQueen and Mater!

He was enjoying this quite a lot, when Donovan touched Mater and at that very moment, Mater beeped his horn.

He still had fun in Radiator Springs; he just didn't want to go to near Mater again.

We also got to meet Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc.

and got to ride a tram around the studios.

The new Toy Story ride was quite fun

Donovan showing off the talking Mr. Potato Head.



Donovan's favorite ride of the day was the Tower of Terror. Before he went in it, we just told him it was a really fast elevator.

He did really well and never screamed, but he sure was in a hurry to leave the building. We asked him if he liked the ride, and he said yes, but when asked if he wanted to ride it again, he said no.

After leaving the park, we were able to ride Donovan's most favorite thing at Disney...

the Monorail.

waving bye and watching it leave.


The next day, we headed to Disney's Animal Kingdom and Donovan got to ride another favorite...

the parking lot tram.

The park brought out our wild side. "Roar".

Riding the triceratops (a lot like Dumbo).

Since it was Dan's birthday, we had lunch and cake at Rainforest Cafe.

Happy 35th Sweetie!

On our safari around the park, we saw a lot of animals, but they never want to pose for the camera. This is the best picture I got of the giraffe.

We saw many wild animals and then, in true Disney fashion, got to watch a Mickey and Minnie safari parade.

These have been our adventures of the summer and it was a blast. Seeing Disney through the eyes of a a 3 year old is amazing. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

What is its full name?

The other day, I had an very entertaining conversation with Donovan and it went something like this:

Donovan pointing and asking, "Mom, is that your butt?"

Me, "Yes, but I prefer you call it a bottom."

Donovan, "What is the bottom's other name, is it butt?"

Me, "No, (long pause) it is gluteus maximus."

Donovan, "What name is butt then?"

Me, "Butt is a kind of nickname for the bottom."

Donovan, "So it's full name is Gluteus Maximus Bottom?"

Me, "I guess so."

Then Donovan started marching around saying, "Gluteus Maximus Bottom, Gluteus Maximus Bottom, Gluteus Maximus Bottom!"

This all probably doesn't seem quite as funny written down, but it got me truly laughing out loud.

All of this probably stems from Donovan knowing his full name and now believing that every other thing must have a first, middle, and last name. For instance, our car's name is Shiroi (She-roy-ee -- it means white in Japanese) and Donovan asked me the other day, "What is the car's full name?" I told him, "It is just Shiroi", but he said, "It's last name is O'Neal." He then asked, "What is it's middle name?" Not wanting a long explanation, I said, "It is Mazda." Donovan then stated, "Shiroi (which he pronounces shidowee) Mazda O'Neal; that's a nice name."