Halloween!!

I was thrilled when the kids told me what they wanted to be for Halloween. A shark and a mermaid. Finally, two costumes that go together!
Miss Elizabeth - Mermaid.
Patrick the Shark.
Our first trick-or-treating stop was at the Gooden's. Then we hit Tom's and that is it for our neighborhood. Miss Mary was at Tom's and so excited to see the kids. And they were really excited for Miss Mary cookies.
Trick-or-treat Aunt Di! The party's here!!
Three trick-or-treaters ready to head out!
What a cute shark!! I'm not scared!
Once everyone had some dinner and the sun started to go down we headed out for trick-or-treating. This year it was Mom and Dad, Aunt Peg and Uncle Joe, Timmy, and Aunt Ann escorting the three kids around the neighborhood. It was the perfect ratio!
Tattooed contest after getting into the ring pops that Aunt Di got for all the kids!
Pat was definitely the winner!!!

The kids really didn't trick-or-treat for all that long. It was cold. They don't know any better yet, which is great. Patrick is his father's son and loves the handing out candy part the best! He and Brian were a great team. Hope Pat doesn't pick up on all the sarcastic comments that Brian makes while handing it out.

Getting Ready for Halloween

All ready for bed and SOOOOO excited for Halloween tomorrow!
And excited to show off the scary masks that we colored tonight.

Halloween Parade

Today was the Halloween Parade at school. I was able to leave my class for a while and walked with Pat's class in the parade and hung out in his classroom for a little bit.
There's our shark!
Apparently Patrick was embarrassed by me and my camera again. He better get over it because I am not going away.
In Pat's classroom after the parade the kids said good morning to each other by playing a spider web game.
They were all really cute during the activity. Watching it reaffirmed that I am not meant to be a kindergarten teacher!
After creating a class spiderweb it was time to pass out all the treats the kids brought in to share.......at 9:45 in the am! Gotta love the half day Halloween day. After Pat got out of school we went to do something fun with Elizabeth.......the zoo! We had a great time.

Halloween Jack-o-lanterns

Tonight was Jack-o-lantern night. I would have loved to have roasted the seeds but no one else was interested, and I wasn't picking out all the seeds from the pumpkin goop for just me, so no seeds. One year we will.
The three getting ready to go in and do some cleaning out.
"Helping" Mommy. Why is it that Pat has to pick the most complicated design every year. Guess it is my own fault for buying the design books.
Finished products..........
Lizzy and her owl.
Patrick and his "Werewolf".

Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot

There was a dance at school today so of course I went to watch for a little while. Patrick told me not to take pictures because he was embarrassed. I was crushed. I tried to get pictures anyway but he ran away from me. All the Pre-K-2 graders were really cute dancing. Pat and his friends just did a huge conga line all over the place. He wore an ear to ear grin the whole time.

The Case Tailgate

The Case's have an annual tailgate party at their house every year. Even though SU lost it was a fun day hanging out with friends and family. The weather was great.....a little cool in the shade but sunny and pretty. Only if SU had won :(
Sarah Jane and Elizabeth were having a blast in a pile of leaves that Ciochi raked up for them. I don't think Elizabeth was expecting to see Sarah Jane at Sara's house but was sooooo thrilled when she arrived. The two played together all day, living it up for a long time with Kayla and her friend. Elizabeth told me they were playing big girl.

My cute Lizzie :)
Elizabeth needed some quiet time and made her self all snuggy in front of the tv.
Patrick spent a lot of time up in a tree in the front yard. All of the kids did and Patrick was loving climbing high like the big kids.
Patrick was so EXCITED when Marcy, Matt and Peyton arrived. He misses seeing his friend everyday so much. Pat and Peyton palled around, played in the leaves, and loved every second of it.



Brian must have raked 50 piles for the boys who would have the leaves all over 15 seconds after the pile was finished. Guess that is what fall is for.
Liz and Sara, her other Mommy :)

Learning Mommy's Baking Skills

For all those who know me, you realize I am passing on only one baking secret to Elizabeth ........banana chocolate chip muffins. Anything beyond that, she is totally on her own.

Pumpkin Picking

Today Brian took the day off, Pop Pop and Uncle Bud came into town, and we used our day off from school to head to Tim's Pumpkin Patch. It was a great day. We arrived early, beating the "No School" crowds and really enjoyed ourselves.
A family picture. We don't do this enough and we should. That is going to be my goal. It is hard to give the big camera to strangers. They are scared of it and end up taking crappy pictures. Go figure. To be honest, the only reason we did this one is because Elizabeth needed a family picture for school and I couldn't find a recent enough one. I will get better. I promise.
Everyone loves playing in the corn. I think I was fishing corn out of the washing machine for five loads after these clothes went through.

Elizabeth took a break from riding with the pumpkins, or whining that she wasn't riding, to help Daddy push all the pumpkins.

I love this pumpkin jacket I got her last fall. Only downfall......I wasn't expecting the height growth spurt she's had and it could be a tad bigger. Oh well, it is still so cute.
The kids loved the hay maze. We grown-ups just loved that you had to CRAWL your way out. I was kind of worried when Pop Pop got there........but he crawled out with the rest of us. What a trooper. The kids must have gone threw 5 times, and would have done more if we let them. Uncle Bud was a sport heading in dutifully each time.
We had to feed the animals too. There was an older guy there showing Pat how to get the food out of the machine you buy it from for free. Great! Luckily we came up with some change to override that new skill.
I just love Elizabeth's shirt. She has a lot of Halloween shirts this year. I couldn't resist all the cuteness.
There were the cutest kittens running around (yes I really said that....and sort of mean it). Pat and Liz loved petting them.
And, there was a Donna. And Pat went near her. And Pat TOUCHED her. We were amazed. Maybe Ciochi can bring Donna back to her house.
Our little pumpkins.
There's my big strong guy. When he was a tiny baby I used to call him my littlest pumpkin lumpkin. Now look at him. I am amazed how big and grown-up both kids are. And, amazed at how cool they are :)