Halloween in Kansas

There were so many pictures to choose from that it was hard to decide which to post. These are pictures I have loaded already and since I'm at work and have the time to write I'll just stick with what I have. (It is Sunday and we are slow...don't worry everything is done :) ) I'm having trouble moving some of the pictures so they may not be in any sort of order...oh well.

Being home was wonderful. I was still recovering from a nasty cold on the way there and I was grateful that on both legs of my flight the plane was not crowded. Having a coughing fit with nobody sitting close to you is much better than the alternative.

I was there by the time the Hailie and Seth were getting off the school bus. I loved seeing them run and then give me great big hugs. We had a blast playing together and I enjoyed being able to help them with homework.


We decorated for Halloween with some of the goodies I brought. Between Halloween costumes, decorations, and all the DVD sets I brought for my Dad to watch during his upcoming surgery, my suitcase was pretty packed. On the way home I was able to fit my smaller suitcase into my big one because of all the stuff I'd unloaded.

We did manage to find some time to make Halloween cupcakes. You can see our handiwork in a later picture.

Mom and I went to Farley school to watch Hailie and Seth in their school parade and then help with the class parties. Seth was Luigi and Hailie was a bride.

Gotta love the mustache and the pretty dress.
Kisses!
Hanging out with the fam.

We bought a cd that had songs like 'Monster Mash', 'Purple People Eater', 'Jump in the Line', etc. and had somewhat of a little dance party. I can't really even begin to describe how much fun that was. We had a little strobe light and everything...awesome.
Dad got in on the dance party too. Pretty good moves for an old guy:)
Here are our cupcakes...they were very tasty.

I was able to see Grandad, Grandmom, Aunt Laura, Aunt Julie, and Greg while I was back. It was fun spending a little time with them. It will be nice to see even more family when Kevin and I are both back over Thanksgiving. We haven't been home for Thanksgiving since we've moved to California and while we've enjoyed our new traditions it will be wonderful to spend this one in Kansas.
A couple of years ago Kevin and I were both vampires for Halloween. I decided to recycle our stuff and so Dad and I got dressed up. We didn't want Hailie to get her white princess dress dirty so she morphed into a vampire too. She wouldn't really let me tweak her makeup much and the teeth were too big for her mouth. I think she looks more like a little Zombie....but a cute one at that.

As I said before...these picture are out of order. Here we are before heading to the airport last Sunday after church.

Mom was looking cute to pass out candy while the rest of us went trick or treating. I hadn't had time to do my makeup before trick or treating so I put on a mask that I had brought along with my vampire teeth. Our neighbor came over and took a group picture of all of us...but Kevin later told me a looked REALLY stupid in it so I've opted not to put it on here. I may add it later after I crop myself out of it. This picture cracks me up. Seth's face is priceless.
Leaving was hard as usual, but it was easier knowing that we'll be back very soon. I can't believe a week has already passed since I was there.

Since Kevin was here over Halloween I don't have any pictures. He did go to a costume party up in S.F. The costume he was originally working wasn't taking shape like he planned so he had to get creative. He bought overalls, a blue long sleeved shirt, a blue hat and put a 'K' on the hat. He gave himself a mustache and when people asked who he was he said in an Italian accent... "I'm a Kevin" He was playing the third Mario brother who couldn't get into the game because he couldn't jump high enough. I'm laughing as a type about it. Hopefully someone at the party took pictures and I can round one up at some point.

Pumpkin Carving and Football

Before I post about my trip back to Kansas over Halloween, I have a little catching up to do.

The last Stanford home game brought a victory not only to the Cardinal, but to our Flip Cup Team. Take that ASU Frat boys. Here is some of our winning team.

Kevin and I had been fighting off illness the week before so we didn't stay long into the actual game. We had to get rest for our Pumpkin Carving Party the next day.

Crock pot chili, cornbread muffins, pumpkin cookies, roasted pumpkin seeds, and pumpkin ale. Made for a wonderful fall evening.

Here are all of our pumpkins. Kevin's is the third from the left (it is Lupin), and mine is the cute little goblin second from the right. The castle pumpkin was Jonathan's. His first ever pumpkin. Pretty good for a rookie!
We had our neighbors over to look at our pumpkins. (They are from Ethiopia and aren't that familiar with the tradition.) Ethiopia (that is her name too) had just come back from visiting and she brought us back these hand stitched shirts. We were blown away that she thought of us while she was there. She said it was difficult finding one that she thought would fit Kevin because people just are built much differently over there. It fit perfectly though!! The craftsman ship was incredible and they are very soft and comfy.

Kevin's Latest Paper

Kevin's second paper was published yesterday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). If you'd like to take a look check out the link. You aren't expected to read the whole thing.


http://www.stanford.edu/group/boxer/papers/paper267.pdf

I am very proud of Kevin and the work he has done here at Stanford!

Inner tube Water Polo

This is my third official post on this totally sweet blog. Cara wasn't around for the events below, so I have to give you the down low. It was a bright sunny Saturday, and the conditions were perfect for an inner tube water polo match. That's right, I said inner tube water polo. It's a sport for people that like throwing balls into goals and being in the pool like water polo players, but are too lazy to tread water for that long. The picture below is me showing some girl how to really play inner tube water polo.



Somehow our team (shown in the picture below), which was composed of all graduate students, ended up getting second place in the tournament. The team we lost the championship to was the undergraduate club water polo team. They practice five times a week! The club water polo team entering this intramural tournament is like me entering a one on one basketball tournament with third graders. Anyway, we beat all of the other teams with a few close calls. I mostly played defense, and I stuffed one of the players, but my specialty was playing dirty by holding offensive players back so they couldn't get in good position.

First Storm of the Season

Thought I'd show you a picture of the tree branch(s) that fell in our parking spot during last weeks storm. Luckily I was at work so it didn't go through the windshield of our car. It was a pretty crazy storm leftover from a typhoon that hit Japan the week before. Lots of wind and rain. I guess it is the first sign that rainy season if upon us.

Weekend in Reno

This last weekend was a road trip to Reno! We left early Friday evening and dealt with a little of the infamous Bay Area Traffic. After stopping for dinner in Davis, CA, we made it to Reno a little before 11pm.

Now none of us our major gamblers or anything so we mostly just hung out around the slot machines and played penny slots for awhile. Kevin was down about $7 and I was down about $10 when I won a bonus round and won $40! We only played a little bit longer and then called it a night while we were ahead.

Kevin and Jonathan enjoying the slots!




On Saturday we headed back into California to check out Lake Tahoe. I had never seen it before and Kevin only once before. It was so beautiful! The water is amazingly clear and the weather was perfect!



Me and Sarah chillin' by the lake.


A gorgeous view.





After enjoying the outdoors for awhile we headed back to our hotel. We decided to play cards in our room for awhile where you don't risk losing any money. Here we are playing Euchre....a card game Jonathan taught us.



Here we are in are almost identical shirts. I guess great minds think alike :)


That night Sarah and I stuck to the slots some more and spent a few dollars on the entertainment. The boys tried their luck at some Blackjack and had a blast playing. They only played with $5 bets and Kevin left with what he put in to start with. It was a really fun night...but we were still amazed by the people putting down $500+ per bet. I guess bigger risk...bigger rewards...but that much money is just CRAZY!!!

On Sunday Sarah was wanting to stop by this Animal Sanctuary she read about online. Our GPS was broken so we didn't know exactly where to go but we heard about a zoo just north of Reno.

Here is the sign advertising the zoo. Let's just say it made the 'World Famous Topeka Zoo' look World Famous.



The first animals we saw after entering were some domestic cats, a couple rabbits, and some turtles. Naturally we were a bit pessimistic. They ended up having quite a few interesting animals including a White Tiger, Camels, Lions, Patas and Vervet Monkeys (baby monkeys too!), Baboons (another baby as well), a Bobcat, Zebras, a Black Leopard, MaCaws, and a few other interesting animals. They also had a petting zoo and we enjoyed getting friendly with the goats. It wasn't the best zoo by far, but I guess it could always be worse. The zookeepers seemed to love the animals.

Here is my favorite goat.


Overall the trip was a blast. Next we are thinking a trip to Vegas + Grand Canyon. I think it is good to add something outdoors to city trip in order to keep some sanity.

Beating UCLA

Saturday was another awesome day of football. It was a little cooler than last weeks game which I think we all appreciated. The game was also a lot earlier (12:30pm vs 6pm) so we had to get out there early. It turned out to be a pretty sweet setup. Scott brought bagels and coffee, Dan put his culinary skills to work with torizo omelets, and we grilled up sausages. It was delicious!
Luckily my friends Anne and Irene were able to make it to the game. Irene went to UCLA so I had to give her a hard time. She behaved and only wore a blue shirt giving no real indication that she was really cheering for the other team.


After taking on UCLA in another 'Flip Cup' game. (And completely annihilating them I might add...one round we had the perfect game...one flip each), we were ready for some football.

One of the drum players came over and let Kevin play his drum.
Pete, Dennis, Cara.
It was a really good game. Stanford played pretty well except for a little in the 4th quarter. They'll have to work at that for when they play some more difficult teams later on. This Pac10 win is great for them though!


Next week they hit the road to play the 3-2 Oregon State Beavers. It will be an important win to snag. We'll have to catch the score from Nevada though. Road trip this weekend to Reno! I can't wait!