Happy Halloween

Oompa loompa, doopity doo, I've got another costume for you!

I'm happy to report that Virginia thoroughly enjoyed her third Halloween.  This was probably the last year that we could select a costume for her, and Thomas went all out with his selection of the original Oompa Loompa.  He seriously considered having the costume made by someone on Etsy and paying the big bucks for it, but I luckily found a ready-made one on HalloweenCostumes.com this year.

We began the day with a trip to daddy's work to attend the "Horrorick Scarington" Halloween party.  Virginia happily decorated cookies and paraded around in her costume.  We then made a cameo appearance at GayGay's office, where Virginia put on a show for Susan's coworkers.  Then it was off to a chaotic Wee Play Halloween party with Kim, followed by a 2 1/2 hour nap so that she could rest up for the big night.

Trick or treating started early - about 5:15 for the toddlers.  Virginia was a little hesitant and wanted help in ringing doorbells and approaching new people.  But once she learned that there was candy involved, she came out of her shell a bit, saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone she saw.  We ran into a lot of her buddies while trick or treating, and she had a blast.  She also loved answering the door later in the night when we came home to hand out candy.

Here are a few of the best photos from the night!

First candy of the night with dada (a reward for wearing the green wig for the photo opp):

Best buddy Tasha at Chez Neumansky's Haunted Pumpkin Patch:

With playgroup pal Xander (aka Buzz Lightyear):

The Wallace girls from across the street (future babysitters!):

Oktober & October

Fall is here in California!  We started the month of October off right, by celebrating Oktoberfest at our favorite local German restaurant, Speisekammer.  Thomas and I enjoyed our German beer, and Virginia wore herself out at the jumpy house.

Virginia is getting very excited about Halloween this month.  She is finally at the stage where she fully understands holidays - the goodies, the decorations, and the rituals.  And Halloween is a BIG DEAL in Alameda.  The many old Victorian houses really lend themselves to creating a spooky atmosphere and the residents of them decorate them right.  To see a glimpse of some of the better Halloween decorations on the  island, check out our friends, the Neumansky family, and the Alameda Haunt Your House contest.

We made the trip last weekend to Moore's Pumpkin Patch out in Castro Valley.  Virginia's bud, Johnstone, came along and we rode teacups and enjoyed more bouncy house fun.  Very few pumpkins were purchased, but at least we wore the kiddos out for the morning.

Stay tuned for more spooky updates in the coming days...

Mimi and Papa Return!

We were lucky enough to have another short visit from Mimi and Papa in September.  They arrived 24 hours before I returned from Korea, so they helped babysit Virginia and keep her occupied until I got back.

I was apparently so beat from my travels to Korea that I forgot to take any pictures (I'll have to get the ones from Mimi's camera soon!).  We mainly just hung out and had some quality grandparent-grandchild bonding time.  Virginia was beyond thrilled to have them visit and literally talked their ears off the entire time.  Can't wait for their next visit at Christmas!

Grandfathers make great climbing apparatuses:

Dr. Virginia examines a patient:

A Week in Korea

Virginia was mommy-less for a week in September while I was sent to Korea for work.  This was the longest I have been apart from her, but she apparently did just fine while I was away.

The trip was pretty good - as far as business trips go.  I traveled with three other colleagues, and we had the good fortune of flying in business class in the new United lie flat seats.  Those can't be beat!  We spent most of our time in Suwon, but did get to travel to Seoul for a few hours of sightseeing.  Luckily, I wasn't totally lost because one of our colleagues who accompanied us was born in Korea.  She took us to some authentic places to eat and served as translator the whole time.  Best of all, I got to visit Si-Wook (one of the Whiffenpoofs from Thomas's year) and have dinner with him, his wife Claire, and baby Hajin.  It was a blast. 

Labor Day in CT

We had quite the Labor Day adventure this year... we arrived in CT just days after the entire Northeast was devastated by Hurricane Irene.  The power was still out in half of the state and as luck would have it, 1918 was still in the dark.  But we were determined to have a great time and to enjoy our visit with all of the Mack family!  We luckily had the good fortune to have a free night at a Marriott hotel, and we booked a room down the road at the local Residence Inn for the first night.

The following day, we imposed upon the generous hospitality of Uncle Peter and Aunt Nancy (and Cousin Sarah!) and moved down to Southport for two nights.  Aunt Nancy was smart enough to have saved all of her little girl toys in the attic, and Virginia put all of them to use: baby carriages, play kitchens, tea sets, and more!  It was a little girl's dream come true.  When the power finally was restored to 1918 and it was time to move on, we had a hard time getting Virginia to agree to move out.

It was nice to have a few nights in 1918 as well (for the uninitiated reader, 1918 is Thomas's grandmother's house, and it is about to become the home of Thomas's Uncle John and Aunt Joyce).  Virginia spent plenty of time splashing in the pool and remarking about the fallen trees that the hurricane left behind.  Thomas and I spent lots of time going through old photos and boxes in an effort both to help John and Joyce clean out decades of Mack family junk and also to find information for our ongoing genealogy efforts.

The weekend was filled with lots of Mack socializing... a trip up to Yale for a Thai Taste lunch, dinner at the von Eulers' home, a visit to Rawley's (of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives fame) for milkshakes, and a cookout at the Steven Macks.  Virginia loved seeing all her cousins and we were amazed at how quickly she learned everyone's names.

Harvey Outings

We had a couple of great outings in August with the Harvey boys and family.  Now that Doug has become an official resident of Los Angeles, he made a few appearances in the Bay Area over the summer.  We had a blast celebrating some belated birthdays with the Harvey family (at Trader Vic's - our favorite) and also going with Virginia's crazy uncles to Gilroy Gardens.

Cutest Keiki:

It was a virgin mai tai, we promise:

Riding the Gilroy Gardens train and having a blast:

Those crazy Harvey boys:

Icee is as big as the kiddo!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

One of the joys of scanning all of our old photos is getting to see how much Virginia and I are alike and how many similar things we do! Here are a couple of like mother, like daughter shots:

Family Reunion

Even though all of the Webb family has endured great sadness in losing Granny this month, we were able to find some joy in our loss because we were all able to gather together in Montgomery for her funeral. This was quite a feat - Granny had three children (all with spouses), seven grandchildren (all with spouses), and 5 1/2 great grandchildren (Suzanne is pregnant with #6 due in October). And those children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren live in some pretty farflung places: Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Charlotte, and all over the great state of Alabama! We realized that this was actually the first time that everyone was in one place at one time since the grandchildren have all gotten married. It was a great gift that she gave us to allow us to have a family reunion of sorts.

Virginia had an absolute blast playing with her cousins. She is right between Suzanne's two girls in terms of age, so the three of them went wild playing ring around the rosie, blowing bubbles in the backyard, and generally wreaking havoc.

The Webbs thoroughly enjoyed each others' company. We hope to do it again soon at a Webb family reunion?!?!?