Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween. I think it is my favorite holiday. There is something about the spookiness, and the costumes, and the idea that it is okay to be a little bit weird and different. There's the carving of pumpkins, and of course, the candy, although now that I am older there is more of a love/hate relationship wih the candy. Now that the boys are old enough to really understand the holiday, it is even more fun. We carved our pumpkins a couple weeks ago, with the girls, before we left on our epic road trip to NJ. They had a great time using the pumpkin carving knives, and nobody even ended up with a flesh wound! But the day or two after we carved them, it rained, and the boys were devastated when we got back from our trip and the pumpkins had melted into a big pile of black mushy goo on the front porch. :(
Tonight we went over to our friends' house for dinner and trick or treating. The Kujacznskis live in the best trick or treating neighborhood in the area, and you can tell by the number of almost-too-old-teenagers walking around without costumes, looking for free candy. The boys had a good time, scored a pile of candy and didn't get scared at all. Riley was very disapointed though, when a great Darth Vader we saw in the neighborhood didn't stop by the house for candy. Perhaps he was busy using the Jedi mind trick to relieve other kids of their candy; at any rate, he didn't stop by for snickers.

Spell check

Every so often in my line of work I have the opportunity to take a picture that resonates with people. I mean, a picture with meaning and depth that speaks to the very essence of humanity. Other times, you drive someplace with the kids in the back seat, jump out of the car, engine still running, and snap a few frames of the road. Somehow the above picture made it onto our front page, the Associated Press wire service, San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Times websites, and yes, even David Letterman! Letterman used it to close out a segment on his show called small-town news last week. Unfortunately Letterman is on a little bit too late for me, and I didn't see the show. So if any of you are closet Letterman fans who Tivo every show, let me know, I would love to see it!