Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! And no we are not dead. Sorry for the absent posting. We couldn't let Marty and Jeremy have all the fun so we decided to move, too! How fun is that!? You might remember if you read back a few post, Erin was looking to buy a house. And she did and packed all our great stuff in boxes. Now don't worry, the move didn't stop us from having great adventures...we just don't exactly remember which box the camera was packed in. But as soon as we unpack all 29,042 boxes of Erin's crap we will have a slew of back post for you all. We can't wait, hope you can a little longer. Just drink some of that spiked eggnog and enjoy the holidays. That's what we are doing.

We'll help unpack this one!

Just ME!

Earlier this year, I went to Portland, Maine! In celebration of this trip, I first took some time to stop and smell the rosehips, a key ingredient in several kinds of tea.



Then I visited Portland Head Light, or PHL as some of the locals call it.



I don't see what the big deal is, looks WAY too small for me; lets see if they've got anything more my size around here...



Success! Just my size!

Seriously though, the scenery was gorgeous. Here is a camera-phone, postcard quality picture that scarcely does it justice.



I'll be heading back to Maine for some camping and more seafood ASAP! Wanna come?

Lobster

Veni



Vidi



VICI!!!!

Halloween Aftermath

So after the parade the sheep wanted to get going and get candy. It all seemed like a good idea...

Sheep ready to go Trick - Or - Treating

Until they decided to eat all the candy they got in one sitting. Now they are in a diabetic coma. We hope they snap out of it so they can keep blogging. But we will have to see.

Sheep in diabetic coma

Hope your sheep (dog, dragon, pink teddy bear) got lots of candy because of their great costumes AND that they know better than my sheep and space out the eating of it.

This state fair is a great state fair...

I got to go to the New Mexico State Fair! It was really fun, but first they didn't want me to go (see item 2 on the list).



Then they tried to get me to change my insurance to Gieco - 15 minutes and they didn't even save me money!



Once I FINALLY got inside, I saw some crafts, including a carved Mr. Potato Head!



Since I was from the furthest away, they even gave me a coupon for Malt-o-meal. I like the food people! Then, right by the Malt-o-meal people, there was a tractor from home; yay John Deere!



After some tractor riding, I got to play in a puppet show. I sang "I've got no strings," it seemed appropriate.



Next, I went to play in the New Mexico Department of Natural resources building; do you see me?



How 'bout now?



Last, I went to see Old McDonalds Farm.



I got nervous when I saw some future HAMburgers...



Then they tried to keep me!



Help!

I decided they were right in the first place, I should have stayed out to begin with and insurance sure would have been a good idea!

All good parades must come to an end!

Hi everyone!

Thanks so much for participating in this year's costume parade! We ended up with SEVENTEEN entries (wow!):

1 – D.J. as Shaun the Sheep

2 – Quinn as a member of the Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band

3 – Andi as an Iowa Cheerleader

4 – Scout as Monk from the TV show Monk

5 – Aerin as a Banshee

6 – Chris as a Mummy

7 – Farfner as a Witch

8 – Taylor as a Ghost Buster

9 – Franklin as a Famous French Pastry Chef

10 – Marty as Harry Potter

11 – Jesse as a Soccer Hooligan…I mean Sounder Player

12 – Elliot as Vince “Offer” Shlomi the Sham-Wow guy

13 – Val as H1N1

14 – Riley as a Pirate

15 – Pink Bear as a Witch

16 – Jeremy as a Witchcraft

17 – Shaun the Sheep as D.J.


Now, you have 11 whole months to be thinking what you're going to be for next year. Erin's accepting pictures anytime you have a picture to send in before next year of Halloween. I can't wait!

DJ...or is it?

Shaun the Sheep as D.J.

Shaun the Sheep is bringing us full circle with his costume of our very own D.J., who is going as Shaun the Sheep this year for Halloween. Shaun loves cotton candy ever since the famous episode “Sheep on the Loose" where a younger member of the flock Timmy gets caught in a cotton candy machine and comes out as a big wad of candy. Who wouldn't love that? Thanks Shaun for joining our parade and bringing us back to where it all began.

Lil' Blue Eyes

Jeremy as Witchcraft

Jeremy from Scotland is a big fan of Frank Sinatra, so he dressed up this year as Witchcraft. With this costume, Jeremy is sure no one can resist his blue eyes and they will give him his favorite candy, chocolate covered Brazil nuts. Thanks, Lil' Blue Eyes for jumping the pond and sharing your wonderful costume on the parade and bringing a little culture to the group.

Bewitching Beauty

Pink Bear as a witch

Pink Bear comes from our youngest person to send an entry into this year's costume parade. She is loved by a 5 year old girl and also loves to play dress up. Although Pink Bear loves to dress up in many costumes, this year for Halloween she is going in a classic witch's costume with high hopes to earn lots of snickers, her favorite. You can't beat a classic and we are all sure that Pink Bear and her best friend will get the most candy trick-or-treating. Thanks Pink Bear for stopping by our parade on your route to get lots and lots of treats in Iowa. And we all wish you many more years of love.

Ahoy ye matey

Riley the Pirate

Hide your booty, Riley the Pirate is here! That's right, Riley is going to get the biggest stash of treasure of them all: Snickers, Twixs, Milky Ways, Skittles, and Gobstoppers. But the most valuable candy is Smarties. Riley knows that if you eat Smarties, you grow up to be really smart. And Riley wants to be the smartest of them all. Riley, its a pleasure to welcome you to the parade, just remember to mark the spot where you bury all your goodies from trick-or-treating in Iowa this year.

And this little piggy went...

Val as H1N1

Val from Iowa tends to stay in the lab where it is nice and safe. This year Val was convinced to come and join the parade; but only on the condition of being allowed to dress up as the most scariest thing, Swine Flu. So all dressed up, Val is downing the candy of choice to fight off infections diseases, Flintstone vitamins, and is joining the parade! Thanks Val for conquering your fears and joining the parade!

Sham-Wow-Say-What?

Elliot as Sham-Wow's own Vince "Offer" Shlomi

Our next entry comes all the way from Iowa. Welcome Elliot in this original Vince "Offer" Shlomi costume. Elliot spends most days watching television and wanted to be the "greatest superhero of all time." What is Vince's superpower? Well Elliot explains that it is being on every channel at every minute of every day. That's right, Vince is everywhere and is keeping it clean. WOW! Elliot's favorite candy is Reese's Pieces. Thanks Elliot for interrupting this parade with a special sponsor bulletin.

Ole Ole Ole

Jesse as a Seattle Sounders FC Player.

Jesse from Seattle, Washington loves the Seattle Sounders and wanted to go as a Hooligan but was "convinced" to put the pint and scarf down and pick put the shin guards and cleats. Jesse says the best candy in the world is Guiness but was quickly "reminded" that it was in fact root beer barrels. Thanks for not beating up the other entries in the parade, Jesse!

Impedimennta!

Marty as Harry Potter

Now that I have your attention, let me introduce Marty who is dressed in the finest Harry Potter costume this year. Marty is trick-o-treating in Scotland for the first time, but no worries he has his Cheering Charm all ready to go to make everyone happy to give him lots of candy. And if that doesn't work he can always use "Accio" to snatch his favorite candy, lemon sherbets (just like Professor Dumbledore). Thanks Marty for coming all the way to America to show us your costume!

Bon Appetit!

Franklin as a Chef

Franklin from Iowa is trick-or-treating this year as a famous French pastry chef. His main course is sheep shaped sugar cookie but his most favorite candy is peanut butter twix. Unfortunately, chocolate is not good for growing puppies so he can't eat the twix. Instead, he trains his human, John, by giving him twix whenever he does tricks. Franklin, thanks for joining our parade and passing out the best candy.

Who you going to call?

Taylor as a Ghost Buster

Taylor from Iowa lives with Aerin and is always trying new ways to get rid of the extra sheep. So this year Taylor is going as a Ghost Buster. Nutroll is Taylor's favorite candy and yet Aerin isn't Taylor's the favorite sheep. Go figure... Thanks Taylor for coming and being in our parade.

Mystical Magic

Fafner as a witch

Fafner from Washington saw all the cleaver, tasty sheep on parade and wanted to join in. This fierce little dragon likes to hang out and play video games all day long. Which led him to want to join a more mystical rank of witch this Halloween. When not playing games, Fafner likes to snack on his favorite candy, red hots. Thanks, Fafner for adding a little sizzle to our parade and double thanks for not eating the other entries.

I want my Mummy

Chris as the Mummy

Chris from Washington got all wrapped up in this Halloween costume and is loving every minute of it. Sheepy's favorite Halloween candy is Candy Corn. Thanks, Chris, for untangling yourself long enough to find your way into the parade!

Not just any ghost

Aerin as a banshee

Aerin from Iowa is sporting the latest line of banshee sheik. Gone are the days of sheets with holes cut in them. This starlet won't be seen in anything but the best as she flies down the runway. Milky Ways are the candy of choice for this fashion forward sheep because Aerin is all about being amongst the stars. Thanks for bringing cutting edge fashion to our parade, Aerin!

Monk Madness

Scout as favorite TV personality Monk

This year for Halloween, Scout from Hawaii is going as that OCD detective Monk. Although, solving crime is not Scout's favorite, it is more about the cleanliness. Scout's favorite candy? You guessed it, carrots because they don't melt and don't get sticky. Thanks for keeping it clean on our parade route, Scout!

Go Hawks!

Andi as a Hawkeye Cheerleader

Andi lives very close to Quinn and wants to be just like Quinn when all grown up. So of course when Andi saw Quinn as a member of the Hawkeye Marching Band, Andi just had to be a Hawkeye Cheerleader. Andi's favorite candy is Ramune Whistle Candy which makes noise and helps to get the crowd going wild. Thanks Andi for getting everyone on their feet and cheering for the parade.

Quinn on the Horn

Quinn as part of the Iowa Marching Band

Quinn from the University of Iowa in Iowa is showing the Hawkeye spirit by going as a saxophone player in the college marching band. Quinn's favorite candy is...um....all of them! Its not a parade without a band; so thank you Quinn for making our parade complete.