Miss Bell

The only crafting I had to do for this year's costume, to transform Annabelle into Tinkerbell, was shoes and wand. She had everything else ( including the sass! ) to make the perfect pixie. I justified buying the extremely cool light up wings while we were at Disneyland in June, by deciding Annie would be Tink this Halloween. I'm sure it's probably the last year I get to pick.

This was Halloween morning getting dropped off at preschool.

Miss Bell and her big scary Brothers & Friends that evening. She had decided against a nap that day, and then fell asleep in the car on the way to the Casa de Kess. She woke up when we got her out of the car ( after just about twenty minutes of sleep ) to lots of Halloween chaos, and sugar rushes, so the first part of the evening was not all smiles. This was before we learned she was also catching a cold.

The Kessler Spooks.

Hoping for some fairy dust.

The Dads, making a statement.

Sean & Kritters as "The Zombie Patrol."

"The Blanket Statement."

Classic Pops. Pretty funny.

As we often do, we brought our trusty Buckley Dog with us, and he was the highlight of the night. Bounding from house to house with the kids so happy and loving the buzz of the evening like it was all for him. He was cracking us all up.

Trick-or-Treatin' Dawg, going as "Bones."

The Linden Spectacle.

This costume one my vote for the night for most clever, simple, and beautiful! This woman just wore a dark outfit and held a sheer embellished umbrella and went as a jellyfish! Brilliant.

Pretty evening.

You can see Miss Bell's wings and wheels all lit up in this fuzzy photo.

At one of the houses, a man sat on his steps with all of his artwork.

These are the jac-o'-lanterns he carved himself without patterns. Pretty great!

Butterfly Kisses.

Maybe we did get a little fairy dust sprinkled on us,

because Tink did a little better and eventually enjoyed the action ( not that you can tell from the photos ) of her very first trick-or-treating experience.

And there were even a few houses that were ADA ( American Disability Act ) friendly, which was a pleasant surprise. We enjoyed another great time with dear friends.

Good night Halloween!

SEE you next year...

A Divine Appointment

A couple of Saturdays ago, Annabelle was scheduled to surf with Wheels to Water ( W2W ). Well, I guess we didn't get the memo of cancellation, because they were not there. As it turned out, it was exactly as it should be.
Do you believe in divine appointments? When something so wonderful happens, that it is beyond coincidence? Well I certainly do. That Saturday was truly divine.

Four other participants showed up waiting to surf. So we made our own program. Matt and one other Dad, were the default surf instructors, and what a wonderful job they did!

I wish I had photos of our new friends surfing, but Annie was napping up for her surf sesh in the car while they were surfing, so unfortunately I didn't get those shots.

Pops took our little mermaid out by himself, and made it look like they'd done it a hundred times. They are both fish, and truly happiest in the water. This has always been.

The money shot.

And back out.

Annie caught five waves with Daddy that day. I have never been surfing, but my three year old, differently abled daughter has been three times now. I have been astounded at how people in this community are often so much more adventurous than so many of us in the typically able bodied community.

So happy.

And back out.

What's better than that?

Back out.

Pops said this group was pretty excited to see them out there...

ROCKIN' it.

My blissful fishies.

Safe with Daddy.

.

Just them.

This is our new friend William...

and you can see Matt and Annie off in the distance.

Time to come to shore...

...before Mommy flips out.

So proud!

These are two of our new friends William and Devin...

and this is "Mad Man Mark." What a joy to meet these guys and share the day with them. It was Mark's customized board ( with a seat ) that Annie used that day. Talk about an innovative inspiration. Thank you Mark!

Annabelle has her "take on the world ( or at least the sea! ) face" on.

Mark described her as "fearless." I think he may be right.

Post session chat.

Heading out.

Mark has everything rigged so that he can haul it all himself. I can't imagine carrying all this by myself. Unstoppable.
Annie with new friend Devin. There is a common ground that bonds us, and cuts through the pretenses. With Devin it was pretty much immediate.

I think I know you.

We look very forward to surfing with W2W, but I am convinced that we met these guys ( and new friend Beverly, who left before I had the camera out ) and missed the cancellation memo for a reason. We would not have shown up had we gotten the message, and what a day we had because we didn't! The nature of a divine appointment.

And here we have the after glow ( or post party ; ) of time spent in the ocean.

Surf Buddies.

Such love.

Maybe since I can surf, there's no reason I can't fly!

This is how she has been every time post surf sesh.

She spent at least a half an hour just laughing on the beach.

Nothing entertaining her but her own beautiful thoughts...

...and nothing could make me happier.

Once we left the beach, it was good and time for LUNCH. And how could we resist the place that was all DECKED OUT for Halloween? Another post party.

Am I a bad Mom? I'm sorry, this cracks me up.

Lunching with such friends...

can be dangerous!

You've got to watch out.

And the menu was shocking!

Good spooky fun.

Another blessed day.