Halloween Weekend

Friday Night: Halloween Night @ the Museum. A heart dissection (pig heart), making wounds, glow in the dark fingerprinting, explosions, levitation (with magnets, air and static electricity), dry ice bubbles, making slime. Needless to say, it was spooktacular!

 Saturday Night: Thriller performed by over 100 people on commercial street. A couple friends participated. I don't think the girls knew what to think. The thriller dancers did a great job!

Sunday Night: Trick or Treat Fun. We went trick or treating with the neighbors, followed by a campfire, smores, the laughter of friends and the screams of kids playing games in the dark. The girls convinced me to dress up this year and I'm glad I did. It was a lot of fun.

Gratitude

Gratitude. It's the gift I received today.  I had the joy of planning the Fall Party for Sarah's class.  I've done Morgan's class parties the last 4 years, so this year was definitely Sarah's turn.  We played M&M fall bingo, made a fall craft, did the mummy wrap game, ate spiders for a snack, and made a giant spiderweb.  Good times. The best of times, really.

Afterwards, as we are walking out to the car, Sarah says to me, "Thank you mommy for coming to have lunch with me! and thank you for the fun party!"  So as fun as the party was, and planning it was, the greatest joy came in my daughter pausing to say thanks at the end!

I also got to drop in for the last half of Morgan's party. She's in 4th grade and still gives me hugs when I see her at school, oh, I'm soaking it all up! I'm not going to be 'cool' for much longer, so I love that I am still cool in her 4th grade eyes!

Both classes did the mummy wrap game. Here's a few pictures I took of the cutest mummies I ever did see!

Pumpkins!

Pumpkin Carving Night! Sarah's is on the bottom left (she bought a pumpkin that doesn't stand up! :)) and Morgan's is on the bottom right (it's her 'oh no' pumpkin). On the top, Mike and I decided to carve our alma mater's - Go Spartans! and I didn't feel like carving a tiger, so here's the Go Mizzou pawprint! :) 

As an added fun bonus tonight, the ice cream man stopped by while we were out carving, so we got to get ice cream! Yes, it's really that warm here right now!!

I Breathe, I Write

Lately I've found myself playing around with words on paper, enjoying the process of writing itself. I'm not sure if my writing will ever go anywhere, but I do enjoy the journey of it. I often find myself 'lost' when I'm in the midst of writing and I love that feeling. So, I've started a second blog, so I can share a few things I've written with others. I've called it, I Breathe, I Write, here's the link,

Grandparents

The love of grandparents is a beautiful thing. My girls always enjoy the times they get to spend with their grandpa and grandma. Twice a year (Spring, Fall) they visit us and twice a year (Summer, Christmas) we try to get back 'home' to visit them. Here are a few sweet pictures of their most recent trip.

Welcome Fall!

Unofficially, the Guinness Book of World Records Mum is in my front yard. I have NO idea how it grew this huge. I was trying to take some pictures to capture the enormity of it. The mum is so huge that it's blossoms are making the middle split open. I bought it at the PTO mum sale two Falls ago - I think it should be the poster mum for next year's sale! :) Notice the 4' bench behind the mum! Beautiful mum, beautiful girls, beautiful Fall day.

It was a perfect afternoon for a walk at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Loved the family time before Mike headed off to KC for the week. I hate it when he travels. Really hate it. So I'm trying to think of what I'll love about him being gone...hmm, no football games on the TV, a bed to myself, and the alarm not going off at 5:30 in the morning! At least I have my parent's visit to look forward to this week, as they are arriving sometime mid-week! With fresh Michigan Apple Cider, I might add!