Happy Halloween!

a bubble bath

Where's Waldo?

Spider Girl

a reluctant pumpkin...

October 31st....

Ready to go...

a stop at grandma betty's

gracie and eve
a perfect night for trick or treating!

Trick or Treat

it started out rather bumpy...
reyna just wanted to go into every person's house...
Yahaira was whiny...her costume proved a bit challenging when it came to the whole in and out of the van....sigh
(another great on paper costume idea, but in reality oiy!)
Rosie was the only one who was actually excited about going to each door...
after an hour the decision was made (by me) that it was time to take Reyna home...
where mittens were gathered, tylenol dispensed (to yahaira and me) and then out the door for another round.
It was quickly apparent when the tylenol kicked in for Yahaira because she was suddenly quite excited about the whole door to door thing. we headed to a neighborhood where most houses hand out candy and walked, kevin stayed in the van and kept pace with us...this seemed to work quite well that way when one got tired or cold they could jump in the van for awhile and warm up.

candy!

as I type they are sorting and ooooing and ahhhhing...
thinking bedtime is NOT! going to happen tonight

carving pumpkins

yes we did just do this today.
yes, I do know that today is Halloween.
No, I can't say that we have ever waited this long to accomplish this halloween tradition.
sigh.

Halloween Fun Run...

held in St. Peter. This is the second year for Beckie, Cassandra and Anthony to run, Gracie joined in this year
Last year several of Beckie's friends and some of their family ran too, joining in once again this year. They call their group Crazy People Running. Their costume theme this year was Where's Waldo...

preschool halloween party

these two were so excited about their halloween party...
the energy level was crazy...
both were ready to go long before it was time...
both took a nap that afternoon after preschool

Rain

and cold...
wondering if I will ever be able to hear it pour and not instantly wonder what is lurking in my basement.
days like this make it truly difficult to accomplish anything

Halloween treats

some of the halloween gifts we have been working on...

Dancing

The girls dance program performed at the football game last night.
The energy level was intense at our house and continued to build as we arrived at the game...
It is safe to say they were excited to perform.
I waited, sitting on metal bleachers, freezing my butt off. I am not such a great football attendee to realize the importance of bringing something to sit on, during these cold October nights...sigh.
They danced, I watched the backs of those individuals who felt standing in front of all the people sitting on the bleachers was a perfectly cool thing to do...rudeness knows no boundaries I guess.
and in a blink it was over, I gathered up my two very excited dancers and headed across the county to where my car was parked. At least the walk put blood back into parts of me that had turned numb in the cold.

Kelly's visit

One last photo snapped before kelly left...
so glad she was able to visit, just wish it could have been longer.

after

Reyna "worked" on the computer the other night this was the view on my monitor.
No I didn't tilt the camera to a 90 degree angle to take that photo. That would be what you needed to do with your head in order to see things in a manner one was accustomed to viewing. tilt it 90 degrees.
sigh. After a bit of clicking and muttering all was restored to normal.

Fall

is slipping away, soon to be replaced by that season that seems so endless.
a few glimpses of this fleeting season around my yard...the lawn mowed this last weekend, one last time, now strewn with leaves.
The garden still green with those hardy cool weather plants, it still looks like summer, except for those last few tomatoes rotting on the ground. Potatoes are waiting to be cleaned and stored for those long winter months. Those inevitable leaves that seem to like the inside of my garage to pile and gather, the sun shining with less warmth than even a month ago..and those maple leaves that always, always make me smile.
I sat outside today, on the front step looking through the mail and soaking up the sun. The wind blew leaves around my feet and chased them down the street, shadows and shady spots fill areas that just a few weeks ago would have been drenched in sunshine and warmth...the yard is cleaned up, toys put away, flower pots emptied and tucked away, preparing for the next season that will soon be upon us. Spring seems forever away, summer even more distant. I love fall, the colors, cooler evenings, the sites and smells, if only it didn't have to be followed by that dreaded season called winter.

a sneak peek

at Yahaira's Halloween costume...

Reyna snagged a balloon to use as her own perfect size exercise ball..