Friday, October 31, 2008

Supersweet

Need some sweetness? Head on over to www.denvertokc.blogspot.com to check out Blake's arrival back in Colorado.

Drudge Report

I've questioned my main source of news for the past several months.....many times looking like he was swaying towards the left....but that is why I read his site...as much as I'd love to hear the news tailored to my preference, I go to Drudge instead of Fox News, CNN, and Lord knows, MSNBC.

I still can't figure him out. But, I still keep reading at http://www.drudgereport.com/ for the latest news.

I don't think it's fair to assess any media source as "fair and balanced", no matter how hard my beloved Fox News tries. And, my father-in-law brought up an interesting comparison - one I've done several times, but had not really sat down to take good notice of how drastically different the reporting became, but it is so very true. During a recent debate, he watched it in full and then wavered between CNN and Fox to determine who won. As expected, McCain won on Fox and Obama on CNN.

The whole world as you know it - and choose to know it - can be determined by which news cast you listen to. Should it be that easy?

Carter's Birthday Party

Another fun Halloween-themed birthday party at the Starnes house unfolded Thursday night. Everyone in costume....except Jack, of course.



He'll wear this skeleton shirt, which will be washed and worn again this evening because I'm sure he won't put his Thomas costume on!



My sweet octopus. She loves her costume and even brought it to Blake this morning to put on her.





Guests arrive.....here are Emily and Lindsey.

Our basement gross out game.

It was completely dark except for the lights leading down the stairwell. Kids guessed the body party in the bowl. They were silly with excitment!

Carter's buddy, Collin.

Jack snacked on the brains for a while. Nice.

Time for the toilet paper mummy roll. We've done this 3 years in a row and it never wavers in popularity.

Marisa with new baby, Lucciano, in tow.



Taylor.

Time for presents. Carter is in there somewhere.

And, cake! A picture of it and other party food to come. Turned out pretty cute.

Because of our open house on Sunday and our leaving very early tomorrow morning to ski....which leaves not a lot of time to clean up.....we didn't allow kids upstairs during the party. Didn't stop them from trying, though.

I love these two together.....Jack and cousin, Emily....just a few months apart in age. Jack LOVES her. Emily can barely stand him.

Lindsey, Jack, and Emily.

OK, maybe she likes him a little.

Smooth, Jack.

Devon and Carter with the ever-popular Bakugans.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Fall Favorites


#18 Halloween Parties - and ours is Thursday night! For the past few years, we've moved Carter's birthday celebration up to late October in order to have a Halloween themed party. It's such an easy night to prepare - pumpkin decorating, mummy wraps, and a new addition this year.....put your hand in the bowl and guess the body part.

Yep, we're taking a step towards the dark side and incorporating some really gross details. We figure that if they don't go over well, who cares? We're moving out of the neighborhood, anyway!

The menu:

String Cheese Digits (pictured above)
Deviled Eggs
Spooky Spiders
Brain Mush Dip
Guacamoldy and Chips

Blake will have a booth in the basement....dimly lit by a strand of orange lights and maybe a few candles.....each willing child will walk down by himself to guess the body parts. Eyeballs? Nope, cherry tomatoes. Brains? Nope, cooked spaghetti. And, one more bowl of unknown items, which I will have to consider more before posting. I'll see how the kids react first!

Pa And The Kids

A few final pictures from our visit with Steve this week.



Notice Jack's hand. I love when he does this to me to get my attention. It's the one and only gentle thing he does.

And, take a good look at that Thomas hat because you won't see it on him again! 2 year olds are such a pleasure.

Lookout Mountain

I took the kids to Lookout Mountain on Sunday after we went to the train museum. There are several sites along I-70 that we see going in to ski at 7:00am, when we're not able to stop. Since we were already in Golden, we took advantage of the close proximity and toured a bit.

No matter how many we see, it's still fun to catch a few deer on the side of the road. There were plenty driving along the scenic Lariat Loop.

Quite a view.





A look down on Golden, Colorado.

We stopped at Buffalo Bill's Museum and Grave, too.

It was a cool little museum with a few interactive exhibits the kids enjoyed.

Our little cowgirl.

Tough guy.









His grave.

Without prompting, Carter insisted on ordering the buffalo burger at dinner. He ate every bite.





Starting to get dark.....time to head home.

But, first, a quick look at the Boettcher Mansion, a historical building in Colorado which doubles as an event center.


Another


Pa and Lainey at Barr Lake during his recent visit.