Our Little Monkey from Valentino Valdez on Vimeo.

The beach house also had this sweet playground set (if only we had room) with little rock climbing grips. We were impressed how she figured it out. There was no stopping her, after that!

The Valdezs were invited to our friend Kim’s birthday party at her uncle’s amazing beach house in Kaneohe this past Saturday. It was a good, old-fashioned day outdoors; hamburgers and hot dogs, swings and slides, oh and paddleboats and kayaks. Oren donned a toddler life vest (where was mine?), and we all boarded the paddleboat. We explored the mangroves around the bay, checked out a cool dilapidated pier, and burned quite a few calories, while we were at it. Check out the video below for the “chugga-chugga” action!

Paddleboating in Kaneohe from Valentino Valdez on Vimeo.

We see Halloween as the perfect opportunity to exploit our daughter’s adorableness (and push Daddy’s crafting abilities to it’s limits). While the last two years have explored geeky themes (Princess Leia and Supergirl), the 2008 costume was pure satire. Behold! The under-age gold-medal winning Chinese gymnast! Because there’s nothing more terrifying than someone who has stolen the hopes and dreams away from the American people.

All kidding aside, Oren had a great time. She was a pro in the dressing room, allowing Mommy to do her hair and makeup. She followed her cousins on most of the trick-or-treating trail, before pooping out after a half hour. Kit Kats and Raisinettes were knocked down first (Daddy had to commandeer the Reese’s, though) and she finished off a sweet night with a Melona bar from Auntie Kristie’s freezer.

So what’s in store for next year? I’m not sure. She might become self-aware and *gasp* choose her own costume!

After 5 hours and a compressed spine from sitting on the floor, Huanhuan, the 2008 Beijing Olympics mascot, was immortalized in a Halloween pumpkin (until it rots, of course). Oren helped with the gutting, while Daddy did all the cutting. This was a lot more difficult than my past pumpkins (Darth Vader, Yoda, and Gollum to name a few) because a lot more design was involved, but it was the most fun. I might just make a pumpkin for Christmas!