Halloween 2007

You know... even though I think that Halloween is a silly holiday, we sure had FUN tonight! We had Superman and Dash running through the neighborhood!

There was also a cross between a beautiful ballet dancer and Frankenstein!

We also had a magical candy bowl - whereas most candy bowls empty out over the evening, OURS continued to FILL UP with mostly peanut products! :)

CA Fires

Our (old) next door neighbor in Ladera Ranch sent me this photo. It is taken from the top of the Oakley Building in Foothill Ranch CA where her husband works.

When we made our return to California in 2003 we were in contract to purchase a house right up the street from this company. The price was $450,000 and we declined for WE THOUGHT it was way too small and was just too pricey. (It also had a few issues too.) Well, when we left CA in 2005 the price on this house was over $650. Man... now it's right in the path of fire, fire, fire... who would have known!

She said that the layers of ash have been building up for days around their house in Ladera Ranch. When you walk through the grass, it kicks up clouds of ash! The sun is RED!

We continue to pray for all these dear friends and especially for our family. Hang in there!

Month at a glance (Oct)

It's been another busy month. It just baffles me how the months just roll one into another. Glenn finished up his old job with Intacct Corp out of San Jose and began a new job with RealPage out of Dallas. What's so interesting with this new job is that he'll be working with so many of his old friends in San Jose.

He headed for TX last week (during Fall Break) and will be returning this week. He really went out to look for a rental but instead will be coming back with a house that we are in the process of buying.

No, I haven't seen this house... and most everyone thinks that I'm crazy. "You'd let your HUSBAND pick the house where you're going to live!?!?" Let me explain. This guy I married has an awesome track-record of finding the best house for our family. It just amazes me!

We lived in Chicago from '96 to 2000. During that time we were in a condo while we built a nice house (together)...

then the separation began...

He accepted a job in San Jose (2001) and went out to find a rental and found a really really old house in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the Bay Area. We made wonderful friends out there! It was a rental and we lived there for 3 years.

Then we moved on to Southern CA (2003) where he found a really really new house but it too was only a rental and it was nice. We left friends there too.

In 2005 he accepted a position with the San Jose Company once again, but this time he was able to work from a home office. This allowed us to move on over to Mesa, to be closer to family and to have the opportunity to buy an affordable home. He found a beautiful house in a nice part of town. Sent me pictures. Made an offer (after checking with me) and on we came to AZ.

Neither of us have lived in Texas but we're excited for an opportunity to see more of this great country. The boys are also excited, probably more-so than me. Emma keeps asking if Haley and Lindsey (her cousins) will come too. (I sure hope they can visit!)

During Fall Break (since Glenn was gone)... the boys and Emma and I had a good time together too. We didn't do much on Thursday, a few doctor appointments. But on Friday we decided to go to the Phoenix Zoo. We've been to the zoo before, but there's always been more adults than this visit! We arrived at opening (9) and stayed till nearly closing (4).

We ALL had a wonderful time! We were able to see so many animals and just have a nice time walking the park, playing in the water areas, eating lunch, petting the farm animals and best of all - eating ROCK CANDY!