Tricks and Birthday Treats!

I decided to be a little bit crafty this year and make Nicholas and Samantha's Halloween costumes. Nicholas was Luke Skywalker and Samantha was Dorothy. Nicholas has never seen any of the Star Wars movies in their entirety, but still loves all things Star Wars (but what kid doesn't!) Neither of them have ever seen The Wizard of Oz. After explaining the movie to Nicholas he almost had all of us dressing up as characters from Oz. He was going to be the tin man, Chris would be the scarecrow, and I was to be the lion, but I quickly talked him out of it... :) Samantha still has no idea who Dorothy is, but she was darn cute!




For those of you who don't know, Chris and his dad share the same birthday. Both Nicholas and Samantha were born in April which is my birthday month. Samantha was due on April 3rd, one day after my birthday and everyone kept saying how much fun that would be for us to share a birthday. All I kept thinking is that the last thing I wanted to be doing on my birthday was giving birth to a child! But, I guess with a father and son, it's a little different. Cindy did all the work and Larry was given the best birthday present ever! Earlier in October we had a birthday dinner for all the October birthdays; Larry, Chris, Chris Benton (Chris' step brother, who's birthday is today!) and Jameson (Chris' brother-in-law). Last Saturday (on Chris and Larry's actual birthday) Larry and Patti were in the area, so we got to have lunch with them and they came over to share some homemade cheesecake (a recipe from Patti's mom).

Here's a cute video that I have to share. For some reason, "lollipop" is by far Samantha's favorite word. It may even have been her first word and she puts her own little twist on it which makes it even cuter. Click here to watch.

Chus Oma, Ich liebe dich.

Last week I made a trip to Germany to say a final farewell to my oma. In the midst of the sadness, it was a really special time being with my family - the original 6 Huis. We realized that the last time we had all spent time together without husbands or children was almost 20 years ago. We reminisced about our times with Oma, learned the stories behind old family photographs, and walked through the woods that were my mom's childhood playground.

Here's a photograph that Monica took of Oma in her little kitchen during their stay with her this past May. Monica and Andy were her traveling companions after her last visit to the U.S. During our stay last week, we ate most of our meals together in her small apartment. All of us have fond memories of our past visits to Germany and sharing meals with Oma around her small table.

This is my mom's childhood home in the town of Munchhausen. My dad also stayed here as a house guest a few times, which sparked the romance between my parents and...the rest is history!


Across from the house are the woods. We enjoyed a beautiful walk up to Christenberg and the church and cemetery where Oma's mother is buried.

The girls of course had to do some shopping. We enjoyed the unusually beautiful weather as we strolled through the town of Marburg.

I am left with so many memories of the wonderful woman she was. I will miss her so much.

Earlier in October, we experienced quite a heat wave here in Southern California. The temperature in Los Angeles hit an all time record of 113 degrees. The Slip'n'Slide that Nicholas got for his birthday back in April never made it out of the box during the summer since the sun never really made it out, so we busted it out and Luke joined his cousins to cool off. They also all managed to pile onto the Jeep and ride around the yard a few times. Samantha looked like Indiana Jane hanging off the back!