Keeping Up with the Etheridges: What You Missed (part 2)

6 Years of Happiness

Jei & I celebrated six years of happy marriage bliss in mid-october... and if we didn't do anything special last year for our fifth, then we most certainly didn't do anything of interest this year! But we did manage to get out of the house and enjoy a delicious meal out... all while reveling at how much our lives have changed and how happy those changes have made us since that amazing day on the beach in Mazatlan.

Spooky Spooky

It wasn't long before Halloween was upon us... but that doesn't mean we didn't have time or any fun enjoying all the time leading up to the big spooky night!

We started off the festivities with a fun-filled

afternoon at the local Pumpkin Patch.

Jack had a difficult decision to make,

but he eventually picked out a perfect pumpkin for us to carve!

Farmer Jack and his pretty little wife!

With our pumpkin home and ready to get mutilated,

Allen helped me draw a silly spooky face, and then we carved away!

The boys weren't much help with the carving...

but definitely good for moral support.

"Arrrrr Matey! Give me all your candy or walk the plank!!!"

While Allen got to decide what he wanted to be for Halloween and actually picked out his costume... poor Jack did not, and was left with his brother's leftovers!

A bunch of happy Halloween cards and a tub full of popcorn... definitely one happy Pirate and one silly Superman, and the Trick-or-Treat'ing hadn't even begun yet!

The Cul-De-Sac Gang... Lady Bug, Superman, Baseball Player, Pirate, Charlie Brown, Spiderman, and Cat Woman... ready to clean out the neighborhood!

One-Eyed-Willy and his First Mate...

cruising the concrete seas for sweet tasty treasures!

No candy for Superman... ok, maybe a little, but with bottle in hand he could've cared less and was quite satisfied.

It took a handful of houses to get the whole routine down... knock, say Trick-or-Treat, and then say thank you... but he eventually figured it out and had a blast running around the neighborhood knocking on doors with Spiderman.

Luckily our neighbors brought their wagon, so that Allen could rest a little and nibble on a little bit of that treasure he'd been collecting!

The neighborhood haunted house sure was scary...

but not for a hornswoggling one-eyed Pirate!

The sweet Pirate that Allen was, shared a lollipop with his brother... with a little persuasion from his Momma.

Allen sure was dedicated and true to his costume... for he kept that eye-patch on for just about the entire night, and not once did he trip, fall or whine about having it on. A trooper he certainly was!

After a fun and successful night of Trick-or-Treating, Allen does what only naturally comes next... count, sort, and eat his candy!

Giving Thanks With Family

Since we heard so many good things about Tom & Tracy's Thanksgiving feast the year prior from the Girls up in L.A., and since we didn't feel like cooking or being at home... we decided to spend a few days in L.A. with friends & family and see what all the hubbub was about for Thanksgiving 2014.

All dressed up and looking hungry!

Wela and her cute little Turkey.

Jei & I give our thumbs up approval to Tom's turkey on the grill!

Allen enjoying a few pre-dinner finger foods.

But I think he enjoyed the company of the host's doggie a lot more!

We wouldn't dare show up empty handed... so Jei made Jason Hightower's famous green bean bacon side dish, which was a huge hit!

Dinner was served... and it was delicious!

After the big meal, Allen gave Jack a ride around the backyard.

And then Allen got tired of pulling his brother around everywhere,

so he grabbed my phone and disappeared.

When that tryptophan kicks in... it hits hard!

Allen and his new best friend.

That night, after a great Thanksgiving meal and a good time hanging-out at Tom & Tracy's... we drove down the street and checked into a hotel, where Jack & Allen had fun being silly in bed.

We of course slept in the next morning, and then that afternoon, we did the unthinkable... we went to the Mall on Black Friday!!!

Our original plan was to to meet Momma Soch & Joanne for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at the Mall before Sochi had to go to work...

But after lunch, we decided to hang around and do a little shopping and see what kind of deals there were... and of course hangout with Wela on her breaks!

Allen even got to see a bunch of real turtles

in one of the cool outside atriums at the Mall.

Of course once Jack saw that there were turtles swimming around behind us... there was no way he was going to look for the camera!

And once Allen saw that there was a train going around...

there was no way we weren't going to go for a ride in it!

After hanging out and having fun outside for a while, we went inside the Mall to do some shopping... where Allen found a great deal on some sunglasses.

A little bit of shopping turned into a lot of shopping... which pretty much wore Allen out! Fortunately, we knew right where to find him.

We did so much shopping that even Jack got into the spirit!

Before we knew it... it was dinner time and we were still at the Mall! So once again, we found ourselves a nice restaurant, sat down with Wela & Joanne, and had ourselves a nice dinner... which may or may not have included some cake pops!

In the end, despite it being a super long day on our feet shopping at the Mall on Black Friday... a place neither one of us would ever expect to find ourselves on that particular day, we really enjoyed our time together with the boys, Joanne, and of course Momma Soch at the Mall that day... not to mention finding so many great deals while shopping!

The Peanuts Gang

I suppose there's pros & cons in every job... and in my case, one of the pros has got to be the occasional amusement park promotion that we couldn't say no to! As with SeaWorld a few months back, I was able to get a handful of free tickets to Knott's Berry Farm... but with only a limited window to take advantage of the promotion, we decided early December was the best time to go... which of course made Jack very happy!

Allen knew all about "Soupy"... so while Allen was excited to see a real life Snoopy, Jei & I were just as excited to see Allen's reaction!

Momma Soch tagged along too and was in charge of stroller duty... while Allen searched the map for exactly where to find Snoopy.

Allen wasn't quite sure about the plane ride at first,

but he quickly learned to enjoy it very much!

Wela kept Jack well entertained...

While Allen & his parents rode all the fun rides together!

The four of us... all on Charlie Brown's school bus ride.

The boys sure did do a lot of horse'in around while we were there!

Perhaps one of the coolest things Allen saw (and rode!)...

was a real life Choo-Choo-Train!

All aboard and ready for a cool train ride!

What we looked like on the way up

Knott's version of Disney's Splash Mountain...

And of course what we looked like on the way down!

(Allen's face is absolutely priceless!!!)

It was nearly Christmas time after all, so technically we were at Knott's "Merry" Farm... but regardless, we found ourselves a great spot to watch Santa, Snoopy, and their fun Christmas show that evening.

Allen & Momma teamed up and thought they could

out-manuever me on the bumper-cars track...

But of course they were wrong!

Certainly hard to complain about free tickets to anything really... but even if we had paid to get in, we would've definitely gotten our money's worth and had just as much fun!

So happy the boys got to see Snoopy, especially Allen. And with meeting Snoopy and riding all the fun rides, both boys couldn't have had a better happier time!

Tis the Season

It seems like retail stores are always breaking out their Christmas crap earlier and earlier each year... but thankfully, Jei & I have agreed that no matter how much we love Christmas and all the joyful spirit that comes with it, will we ever follow suit and start decorating and celebrating the Christmas season before we even carve our Thanksgiving turkey!

With that being said, we had just gotten into December when we all started getting into that great Christmas spirit together!

The boys love it when Momma reads books to them in bed...

but it's even more fun when it's a book about Santa!

Since our Christmas was going to be spent up in Colorado, we decided that our small white fake tree would do the job just fine.

Momma Soch's gifted ornaments...

I wonder what 2014 will bring?!

And the decorating begins!

Allen loved decorating the tree...

While Jack loved taking the pretty ornaments off!

Admiring the finished product.

So while Jei was in charge of decorating inside...

I was in charge of decorating outside.

And like Jei did inside, I too had a little help.

Jack gave us his nod of approval as he watched from his stroller.

Allen put on the final touches...

And just like that our house was beaming with Christmas spirit!

Since it was the last time we were going to see Momma Soch before we left for Colorado, we decided to celebrate and exchange gifts a little early.

Wela was very generous which meant the boys

had quite a few presents to open.

Joanne got in on the action too...

and snuck in an incredibly generous gift!

"Strip Club... here I come!"

But Allen's favorite gift???

...the board game Candy Land for sure!

In anticipation of Santa Claus visiting our neighborhood one brisk December evening, the local crazies came out all excited about meeting Mr. Kringle!

Jack got to meet an unusually tall Elf...

While Allen got to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas!

Jei & the boys visited one of her cousins for a small family get-together/Christmas party one day... and they certainly didn't go empty handed!

With a Christmas pinata to destroy, it was hard

not for all the cousins to smile and have lots of fun!

Jack's Santa outfit didn't exactly fit all that well... but that doesn't mean he didn't look super cute in it with his big brother!

We made our way to the mall

for our annual Santa photo with the boys.

We weren't real sure how the boys were going to react... with Allen having a complete meltdown last year and it being Jack's first time on the big man's lap. But much to our delight, they were absolutely wonderful which made Jei & I oh so very proud!

It was a short and quick three weeks of decorating, celebrating, meeting Santa and enjoying that joyful Christmas spirit... but we definitely made the most of our time and enjoyed our time at home before leaving for our big Christmas vacation in the snow!