Tricks & Treats & Kinks

I would have told you all I would be gone for a few days but the paranoid side of me said "don't tell the internet you're going on vacation and leaving your house alone for 3 days!"  Yes, I tend to be cautious that way not because you, my readers are thieves, but because somewhere out there thieves exist.  It was just how I raised.  My dad taught us to never leave empty boxes out on the curb for the trash man that would reveal some new hi-tech gadget purchase, lest you attract the robbers.  Anytime we purchased a new VCR or even a new coffee maker, he broke down those boxes into such small pieces they were unrecognizable and stuffed them way down to the depths of the trash can.  If he's ever driving around a neighborhood and sees an empty flat screen box on the curb, it takes all his strength not to pull over, get rid of the evidence and give the home owners a lecture about tempting the devil.

But anyhow, I guess it's safe to tell you all that we went to San Diego for a few days since Taylor had the week off from school.  We visited La Jolla and went to the Wild Safari Park and Legoland and got back late Friday night so we wouldn't miss soccer.  We were exhausted but it was a great trip.  I took hundreds of pictures and while I sort through those, I thought I'd share a few pictures from around the house.  We spent Saturday afternoon putting up what was left of our Halloween decorations after so many of them were destroyed by the rat bastard mouse.  Which by the way, I'm certain is dead somewhere in our garage.  The bait was taken and now I could swear there's a faint smell of a shriveled up dead mouse in there.  Art's on excavation duty this week...

We spray painted pumpkins for the first time this year. And these bones and skulls are a new addition this year too.

We painted a house a few weeks back, and this is the new color of the mantel, after we painted it off white right before Christmas.  Quite the transformation from last year at this same time.

So that's how things are looking around here.  Each year I seem to get more and more into Halloween after being a stick in the mud for so long.  I guess my in-laws have completely rubbed off on me :)  So do you go all out for Halloween or just sail right past it?

In other news, there were supposed to be some exciting things happening on the blog here today, but due to some kinks and a mini vacation on my part, the excitement will be waiting until tomorrow.  Please come back though to see what I've been cooking up!

See you guys tomorrow! Linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick's Outdoor Spaces Party