Friday was the Virginia Thompson's Halloween party. Dad got off work a couple of hours early so that we could be there at a decent time. When we got there everyone was already in costume and ready to party. Dad and I quickly got ready so we could join in the fun.

Here you see Gomez and Morticia Addams. (Don't you think Gomez looks a little like Hitler?)

Here is Batman Dark Knight.

Here we have a Jedi Warrior.

Here is a Halloween witch and a "disgruntled poet." (Ryan was in charge of the scavenger hunt, hence the "disgruntled" part. He did a great job!)

We started the party off with a delicious dinner of dinner in a pumpkin and homemade rootbeer.

While Ryan was hiding the clues for the scavenger hunt the boys got to work on painting their pumpkins. Then we played a little bit of murder in the dark. (Remember when that was Jordan's favorite game - we played it year round back then).

After the party was over we decided we needed one more group shot. We couldn't figure out the timer, however, so we took it twice. You can see that our disgruntled poet, is disgruntled no more. After the scavenger hunt was over he turned into "Skeletor."

Javin and Cael ready for some trick or treating!

Saturday was the ward "trunk or treat." It was a lot of fun. They had some great food, a pumpkin launch where they tried to see who could launch these tiny pumpkins the farthest. They had a huge double slingshot, and it was amazing to see how far these kids could throw those pumpkins. They also had all kinds of games: a palm reader (I really believe she knew what she was doing), face painting, story telling, "penny pinching" (they hid $10 worth of pennies in the straw and let the kids rip through it looking for the pennies), and "dry apple bobbing," (instead of apples in a barrel of water, they hung the apples from the trees and you had to try to grab them with your teeth). Then, there was the costume parade, and the actual trunk or treating. It was amazing how some of them had decorated their cars. Ryan really got into this with the kids. We were all pretty tired by the time we got home, but not too tired to go out and finish up the night with a little trick or treating.

Sunday morning when Cael got up he asked me if we were going to have another Halloween party. I told him "no, not until next year." He insisted that we should do it "just one more time, Pleeeese."

OUR VISIT TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH

We took advantage of the fact that Shantelle's parents were in town one weekend, and decided that we would all go look for some pumpkins. Javin needed one for school, both boys wanted one to paint at home, we needed one for "dinner in a pumpkin," and we needed a big one for the front porch. We found a little pumpkin stand, and found exactly what everyone wanted.

DULLES AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

On our way out, the boys foud this Transformer model. I think they were more excited about that, than they were about any of the other planes.

Here is Dad in front of a cub. This is the other plane that he built.

For all those who remember dads airplanes that he built. He's standing in front of the Chipmunk. His looked exactly like the real one.

This is Javin and Cael standing in front of the space shuttle Enterprise. It was huge!

Here's Dad and the boys in front of a Pegasus missle. This is the missle project that Dad first worked on when he worked at Hercules.

Here we are in front of the Enola Gay. For those who don't know that is the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb that ended the war.

This is Dad in front of the p38. This is his favorite plane.

Here we are standing in front of a "space experience." You put on 3D glasses, and it simulates a spaceshuttle flight. The kids loved it! (Dad and Ryan preferred the flight simulator).

This is Javin and Cael in the Cessna. They loved this. They were actually moving the flaps, etc.

This is right in front of the entrance. Right behind us is a Blackbird. This is one of the largest planes here. It flies fast and high. According to the information given us, this plane went from L.A. to Washington D.C. in 1 hour 23 minutes.

This past weekend we went with Ryan and his family to the Dulles Air and Space Museum. It was amazing! I don't know that I've seen Ryan and Dad this excited in a long time. We were in line so the kids could sit in a Cessna, and play a little when we saw a flight simulator. Right after the Cessna, Dad and Ryan disappeared. Shantelle and I saw them standing in line for the flight simulator. They did it twice. You know what they say about boys and their toys. Besides the fun of the flight simulator, they also had dads favorite plane, a B38. He practically ran over so he could have his picture taken beside it. It was a ton of fun. Here's just a few of the pictures we took.

THE RENAISSANCE FAIR

This weekend we went to a Renaissance Fair with Ryan, Shantelle and the boys. It was a lot of fun. In the picture above, that is Javin. He was chosen to be Sir George, in the play Sir George and the Dragon. He did a great job, (it helps that his father has taught him the art of swords). At one point the narrator (the man in green tights), laughingly held Javin back. He told the dragon that he might just really die that day.

Both boys were also knighted by "Queen Mary."

We saw some jousting. They really go all out here. We were some of the very few who didn't dress up in renaissance costumes. All in all it was a great day. Although after driving through Washington D.C., we were really glad to home.

It's been so much fun to be able to spend time with Ryan, Shantelle, Javin and Cael. It makes the rest of the week worth it.

DAD'S WORK

This is Dad's work. Pretty depressing huh? Good thing he has a great view of the river!

This is the view from Dad's work. He overlooks the Susquehanna River. When we go to Ryan and Shantelle's we follow this river quite a way. It is really gorgeous.

Who's the King? (Pretty much Ryan)

Here are some random pictures of our weekend with Ryan and Shantelle...We were so tierd all we wanted to do was play at the park...

A friendly Jousting match... Something Ryan and Javin really enjoy, and I think Dad might have really had to much fun beating up Ryan... Revenge is sweet!!

No mercy... I about lost my life in this game of soccer...

Caellum loved this, every time he would fall to the couch he would ask for MORE!!

Ryan and Shantelle's New Home

One of the major reasons we decided to take this opportunity in Pennsylvania, was that we would be so close to Ryan and Shantelle. We decided that we would drive down every weekend, and spend time with them. This past weekend was our first trip. We left after work on Friday, and got there fairly late. We had such a great time, just hanging out with them. Since we got in so late on Friday, we decided to take it pretty easy on Saturday. We went to a local park and played around. It was so much fun! When we were pretty much exhausted, and Ryan had proved himself still king of the soccer field, and the jousting match we went home and had some really great white chili.
On Sunday we went to church with them. They have an amazing ward. In relief society they asked anyone who had spent some time living out of the United States to stand, and just say where they had lived, and what they did there. I would bet that 90% of the women stood. Of that 90%, all but a couple of them had served missions. Shantelle was the only one in the group who had served in South America. I was the only one who had served in Sweden. The vast majority of the women had served in Asia and Europe. You might think that it wasn't a very large group of women, but they actually meet in the cultural hall because the relief society room isn't large enough.
After church we went home and, keeping up your dad's tradition, Ryan fixed Sunday dinner. Let me tell you, he is a much better cook than your mom. When he comes home for Christmas I vote we have Ryan make his pineapple curry for Sunday dinner. Sadly, we had to eat and run because dad has to be out the door by 5:30 each morning.
That's all right, because in just a few days we'll be back for more fun!