WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE?!?

Halloween's always fun for the kids whose excitement begins the moment their costumes are picked out.  This year Sophia was Deedee of the Doodlebops.  Brandon was a dead pirate.

Our community set aside two hours for trick-or-treaters on the Sunday before Halloween.  Porch lights were turned on at the homes where the costumed kids are welcome.  Some residents even sit in lawn chairs at the street so the candy collectors don't have to traipse over lawns or up and down driveways to get to the sweets.  We headed out promptly at 4:00 to get to as many homes as possible.  After an hour of running from house to house, Brandon and Sophia began to wear down and long before time ran out, both were ready to go home.

Dawn and Sophia celebrate their November birthdays on the 3rd and 4th.  Sophia and Brandon wanted to buy something to give Mommy, so they emptied their piggy banks and we went to the dollar store.  Brandon immediately picked out a bracelet with tinkling bells on it.  Sophia took a little longer, finding more things she'd like to have than were appropriate for her mom.  But eventually both spent their money and we came home to wrap their gifts.

To celebrate Sophia's transition from baby to little girl, her bedroom was redecorated.  The color was changed from periwinkle to a rich, deep rose.  Before her party began, Brandon joined Sophia to have their picture taken on Sophia's new "big girl" bed.

Sophia's birthday party included Christian and Kelsi (and Grandma Sherry and Aunt Kellie, their mom) plus neighborhood friends Nicholas and Genevieve who came with their parents.  Once the presents were opened and cake and ice cream eaten, the kids began working off their energy.  It's amazing how much noise six children can make.

Sophia with Little Mermaid CD	Sophia and Kelsi

Sophia and Dawn building a bear	She's 4!!

Brett was also born in November.  A year ago we left Brandon and Sophia in Matt's care and Dawn and I flew to San Diego to spend several days there celebrating her birthday and Brett's.  We decided to repeat the reunion again this year, but rather than return to San Diego, we decided to meet in Las Vegas, a new place for Dawn and one worth revisiting for Brett and me. 

We had a great time walking through some of the hotels along the south Strip.  While Brett exercised patience, Dawn and I found some shops at the Aladdin and Venetian worth visiting more than once and we stopped long enough to take pictures at Caesar's Palace and Bellagio.

We stayed at the Paris-Las Vegas hotel which is across the street from the Bellagio, known for the fountains programmed to perform to music.  Don't laugh when I tell you that I had tears in my eyes after watching the water "dance" to Time to Say Good-bye sung by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.

A few years ago, Dawn and I visited a Dale Chihuly glass exhibit in Columbus.  He is also the artist who did the ceiling in the Bellagio lobby.

We rented a car on Friday and drove out of the city.  Our first stop was Red Rock State Park.  We stopped at several turnouts to take in the scenery, but didn't have the time to walk any of the available trails.  (That cute little red car in the background was our day's transportation.)

From there we drove to the other side of Las Vegas to see Hoover Dam.  We didn't spent much time there, and we didn't take many pictures, but at least we can say we've seen it twice -- once from the air coming into Las Vegas and once on land.

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