Halloween

There are very few things in this world I enjoy more than seeing little kids in Halloween costumes. This year Spencer dressed as a cowboy and Mitchell was a superhero he called "Stormy." He and Jared created the concept and then Mitchell took the liberty of designing the costume, right down to the rocket boosters on his boots. I took these pictures last night- right before we went trick-or-treating with my sister and her kids in our old neighborhood in Columbus. We are looking forward to more Halloween fun this weekend with cool temperatures, a little more trick-or-treating and hopefully a date night for Jared and I to a local attraction called The Castle which offers eerie ghost tours this time of year. I hope your Halloween weekend is spooky and spectacular!

Hot Diggity Blog's Best Places to Live 2010

Jared finishes his graduate program next summer and will be gainfully employable as a Physician Assistant. (Hip hip hooray!) The cool thing about his career is that PAs are needed just about everywhere. This puts us in a lucky position of being able to choose where we would like to live. Our families are both from Ohio and aside from his 2 year mission in Brazil and my two years of college in Utah, we have always lived here. We love Ohio (most of the time) and we love living close to our families (most of the time), so chances are we'll end up sticking around. However, we can't help but wonder if there is something we are missing somewhere else (I'm thinking mild, sunny winters) and by choosing to stay in Ohio we are missing what might be our last great opportunity to pack our bags and experience something new before our kids get older and we get settled comfortably right here. Anyway, it is something we have been thinking a lot about lately and we have been all over the map: from Alaska to Virginia, from Texas to North Carolina, from Idaho to Michigan. So, I'm posing the question to you - If you could live anywhere in the United States, where would it be and why? Perhaps it is the city where you are currently living, the state where you grew up or a place you frequently visit for vacation. Don't forget to include the why- I'd like to know the reasoning behind your choice (good schools, close to family, low cost of living, great weather etc.) Okay. Ready, set, go!

(United States pin map from here.)

Speaking of Babies...

Caroline keeps getting bigger by the second! She's getting more and more animated- babbling, cooing and smiling. She loves to play pat-a-cake, stand up in my lap and kick and play in her bare buns. I'm loving her sweet little lips, her chunky thighs and her oh-so-dainty eyelashes. :)

(3.5 months)

Babies

I watched a really good documentary last night called Babies. There is no commentary, just film accompanied with music and it follows the first year of four babies from different parts of the world. Seriously, such a great little film! It was interesting to see the circumstances in which the babies came into the world and how different their surroundings are but I also enjoyed seeing the similarities in their development. (Even kids in Mongolia unravel the toilet paper!) All the babies were super cute but I'd have to say the little boy in Mongolia was my favorite. You can watch the trailer here and if you have Netflix, the movie is available on-line.

Texas

I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and post about my trip to Houston. It was short but fantastic! My younger brother and his wife have the cutest little girl with loads of thick dark hair. I considered trimming a bit off and fashioning a wig for Caroline! :) Aside from lots visiting and feeding babies, we also went to the beach in Galveston, the boardwalk in Kemah and a quick shopping trip to old town Spring (the suburb where they live.) I was pleasantly surprised by Texas and happy to report that many things there are definitely bigger- all except for the babies. Check out chunky Caroline compared to her more petite cousin, Roslynne! (Caroline is six weeks older, but still...)

My mom and three of my four siblings.

Pretty palm tree on the boardwalk in Kemah.

Caroline visits the Gulf of Mexico!
(She's not so sure about the bright sun.)

O-H-I-O! Just bringing a little Ohio pride to the Lonestar state.

Caroline and her cousin Roslynne.