It's Been a Little Spooky 'Round Here!

Well, Halloween Week it finally over. It's been a little hectic but then again, when isn't it around this place.

It seems like Halloween lasts for a week and for years we've had numerous costumes depending on the function we were attending.

We started our celebrations with our school Halloween Parade.  While Cali has been around the school for years with her sisters this was technically her first.  Cali is going through a little thing right now and too much attention sends her into a tizzy. I had to be very careful with her costume this year.

For her birthday she got that LaLaLoopsy doll. She loves it dearly so when we saw colored wigs at the store we decided that was what she would be. It wasn't too over the top so she loved it!  I even made her a $24.99 tag to hang from her shirt which she thought was super funny!

Cassi wore a Mad Hatter store-bought costume. It's not like us to not make something of our own but she loved this one and who am I to argue.  One of her closest friends wore an Alice costume. They were very cute together.

Cori didn't really have a Halloween costume day in middle school but it was red ribbon week for a drug-free zone and each day there was a different theme. On the last day before our Halloween break, they had Beach Day so she and her best friend dressed up together. Aren't they cuties!

On Friday night we had a crazy game night out at Wren's house. We played a outside, in-the-dark-game called piggy-want-a-signal. It was really fun and the kids had a great time. Grandpa came our with us and it's a good thing. Since the game requires the adults to scare the be-jeebers out of the kids, he was a great addition.

After 2 rounds and losing one kid for quite some time, we made our way into the house and decided to play charades. It cracks me up that they enjoyed it so much. I remember hating it when I was a kid. I am glad they are as confident as they are. I don't think I was when I was their age. Scott was pretty good at it too and Cali joined in for the first time ever!

We ended the night with a pie-in-the-face game.  We play this like musical chairs but we use a plate full of whipped cream. We have been playing this for years and most of the kids still LOVE it!  Cori, not so much. She will do almost anything to avoid getting it in the face. :)

And in case you are interested, a few facts about whipped cream:

*It takes several washings to get the stiffness out of your hair.
*It will make bleach-like stains in clothing.
*It is ridiculously expensive!  :)


We tied up our week with Trick or Treating of course.

Cassi used her same costume. She thought her Alice friend was going to come. Unfortunately she didn't make it. :(  Still, she looked cute in her costume! Don't you think?

Cali wore a warm little leopard outfit. I have always bought the kids the plush outfits to trick or treat in. It can get really cold here and most years there is snow.

Cori and her best friend went as ghosts. We did their faces with some creepy make-up.

I think they look pretty darn spooky.

The wind wreaked havoc on them though. They fought the good fight but in the end all that tulle proved to be a pain in the you-know-what.

This year we didn't have snow but it was darn sure cold! It was the wind. It was BLOWING! And we all froze. In fact it was kind of a low key Halloween for us. We usually do a lot more trick-or-treating but the kids decided they were too cold and they wanted to be done!

There were too many yummy treats at our friends house where we started and everyone was happy just being together. And I love that!

amongst friends #52

U.S.A~

Sorry that I am late with the post again :-) We had a couple of stragglers this week and a newcomer, welcome Justin! Our goal is to post the collage each week by Sunday night. If at all possible, please submit your photo by Sunday morning so we can meet that deadline. Thank you to those of you that already follow this time frame, it is greatly appreciated.

Most people incorporated the American Flag in their picture this week, but we also had a few variations that I thought were rather clever.

Jenny's is a sticker that she received in the mail last week and thought it was a coincidence.

My photo was taken outside of a local Wal-Mart grocery store. I really liked the homemade transportation that proudly displayed the American Flag.

I think Karen's was very clever! Who would have thought of money? Great picture.

They originally thought they were not going to submit this picture for Renee', but what better way to show their support for our Country!

Joanne passes this flag almost daily on her travels and always admires it's size and beauty.

I heard through the grapevine that Jerri's picture was taken while visiting her Nephew for his Air Force graduation ceremony.

Sandy wrote "as you might guess there isn't too much USA over here! But then I remembered

a flag pin I found when I was walking one time". I love it!

Justin, our newcomer, took his picture around 630pm at night, outside of his Apartment complex gym. The flash cancelled out the sky around it, and after some cropping, and hue change....viola! Nice twist, I really like it.

Chris took her photo back in July. She originally saved it for reflection but decided not to use it. Some things just happen for a reason. Turns out it would work better for USA. She actually stuck her head out of the window to talk to the driver while she was at a stoplight. The truck was awesome and it was clear that the driver was a proud American!

Jocelyn's is very original. I thought the idea was great. I know I am proud to be "born in the USA". :-)

Next week the theme is hat(s). I hope you will consider joining us. We are still open for upcoming theme suggestions, we only received one last week.

And speaking of Greatness

I told you I was having a moment. :)

Cali is doing awesome with her little mini team. She is a leader to be sure. She is confident and man is she ever cute out there. It's hard to tell you where she is all the time but she is a base and at the end she will be sitting in the front on your left.

Since we are talking about Talented

Remember I mentioned I didn't really want to be boastful. Well, sometimes it just happens.

Cassi and Cali had a cheer competition this past weekend. And they were awesome! :)

Here is Cassi's individual.

You will see in her tumbling, she didn't do everything she'd wanted to but she did pull it off in her team competition so it's all good. Her next individual will be in February and I am certain she will nail it!

Now watch and see just how great she is! :)

Under the Sea

Really I wanted to call this post, "My  Talented Children" but I thought it sounded rather boastful. And I didn't want to come off that way. Seriously, some days I am so proud of my children I get a little overwhelmed with emotion. It's my hope everyone one feels this way about their children but I've been called passionate about all things before and I know it's true so it's possible I am just passionate about them too!

Never the mind, I shall call it Under the Sea and tell you, that is the title of the piece Cori played for her ensemble at the band concert just nights ago.  She was very excited about the piece. It's so much easier to play something you know well. So I think this one was fun for her.

I had no idea she would be standing at the front of the stage with her fellow players. When I saw that  is how they would perform, I got nervous! Uggg!

Again, no worries. She did fantastic. Had no bloopers! In fact there was only one from the trombonist and unless you are listening for it, you wouldn't likely notice it!

On that note, here is my very talented child! :)

Wordless Wednesday 10-20

amongst friends #51

Weather

Sorry the posting is a bit late, but I was lucky enough to have the chance to create the collage and narrative this week! Chris is due a needed break and wanted to share the experience with me :-)

I thought this theme might have been a little more diverse, but maybe it fell during the wrong time of year. It seems many of us took the same direction.

My picture is of a beautiful clear day without a cloud in the sky and 78 degrees.

Jocelyn took hers of her husband at a local museum acting as a television weatherman.

On a ride to a County fair, Karen captured her photo along the way.

Jerri didn’t say anything about her picture, but it’s pretty clear that it was a nice day at the beach!!

I really like the rustic look of Chris’ picture. Her comment was “not too bad for Mid October in Alaska! This unusually warm weather sort of makes up for the cold and wet summer we had!”

Sandy was thinking about actual weather, but thought that it wouldn’t be much different to what everyone else would get. She realized that even if other people photographed “the weather” on TV it wouldn’t be the British Isles on the BBC! Sandy lives just to the left of London a bit.

After keeping up with Jenny on Facebook, I can only assume hers was taken on a nice getaway to Epcot in Orlando last weekend.

I really enjoy our weekly picture findings, and am glad I got the chance to post it this week! Thanks Chris. I hope to do more of them. When submitting future pictures, it would be very helpful if you give a blurb about your photo. If you don't have the time, we are happy to translate it into our own interpretation.

Our theme next week is USA. I hope you will join us! The last of the themes we have stock piled are Hat(s), Noise, Transportation and Bridge(s). Please feel free to post us new ideas. We may have to pick and choose from the ones submitted, but it’s only because they might be similar to some of our past challenges or ones that are too difficult for some people. Please don’t be offended if a theme you submit is not used in the future.

Looking forward to next week "USA"! Please join us.