An exhausting affair!!

Experiencing two Halloween parties simultaneously!!

Micheal Phelps walks with the elementary parade waving to his adoring public. I got to school just in time to see Noah's class walking the parade route.



Moving to Brenna's class where they were playing a game of throwing pumpkins into a basket. I kept trying to convince Bre that being a devil wasn't much of a costume, but she wouldn't listen to it!! The devil!
Moving back to Noah's class party where Noah and his friend were trying to eat donuts off of ribbon without them having fall to the ground.




Returning to the classroom to find Brenna with friends making bracelets out of froot loops. (I think they ate as many as they used) :)
Moving back and forth between Brenna and Noah. Catching Noah in the act of eating a 2nd donut off of the ribbon.



Noah's 4th grade class in full costume regalia!!!

Tobin and Noah's football and soccer highlights

Yep, that's Noah falling down. He was up to his old antics!

Noah's self portrait

I love this art lesson where the students are supposed to draw themselves. I feel like I catch a glimpse of how they see themselves, a perspective on their world. Although it only took Noah one or two art classes, I will treasure this piece as one of the highlights of their elementary years!

Andy's birthday

We made Andy a great breakfast. Tobin made art out of the oranges, and Brenna put the chocolate chips in the pancakes (at least as many went into her mouth). It was the highlight of his birthday!!! We laughed a lot and ate a lot!! And according to my kids, I took pictures a lot! (If they only knew).


Art Deco: Juicy 39!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are 39 exclamation points--a visual of the years Andy has been alive.




I tried to have the kids each hold up 10 fingers and Andy nine to show the kids how many fingers we needed to count Andy's years, but it didn't quite turn out due to the large number.

Later on, after church, we had Andy's family and friends over for cake and ice cream.

I always want to remember this moment

Hands

Mrs. Silversmith, Noah's teacher, nominated Noah for responsibility. As a nominee, he must have demonstrated that he was responsible in some manner. Oh how I wish I could get her to live with us! When we talked on the phone the other day, she talked about what a delight Noah was and how kind he is to others in the class; he is always ready to lend a helping hand. In fact, a mom today told me that her son had forgotten his musical instrument and Noah had brought it to him. My heart always delights in these things. Of course, they aren't having to tell Noah to clean his room, or be nice to his little sister. So, he was able to put his hand (painted) on a pillar at school with his name underneath his hand. It is actually a really cool idea and the kids love it. So, the ceremony started at 10:00 am, which....as you know, is when I am at school. So, luckily Andy was able to head out and be there for the hand ceremony, and hence....the pictures of the day.

I digress to say this is one of the reasons I love my husband so much. He is an awesome dad to his children. He knows what is important in their life and makes a point to be there, for which I am grateful. I think my children will remember this long after they have grown up. Thanks honey.

When I asked Noah about this, he couldn't remember what he had done to be nominated. When I asked him to think about it, he grew a little belligerent. The only thing he could tell me was that it tickled to get his hand painted. Go figure!! Hand painting or responsible actions....I ask you, which one would you remember???

Lighting the Night

What a wonderful and beautiful night it was to walk! When Brenna and I arrived, I could hear music playing, I saw "Survivor" t-shirts and "Light the Night" t-shirts participants had already received, the smell of bbq was pretty strong and I thought I remembered one of the sponsers being a local bbq restaurant. And as we crossed a main intersection, I felt Brenna's little hand slip into mine and I became undone. It is really a powerful moment to realize you are a part of something bigger than yourself and that you are trying to make a difference in the world by doing this one thing.

Brenna's heart was torn between two places: this walk and staying at home with Andy's family who was coming over for dinner because Andy's nephew was in from out of town, who I must say is quite fun and Brenna adores him. So, when we walked up to our tent, she was so happy to see her friends. It was so much fun to see so many people from the neighborhood. The foundation did a great job of catering to children on this walk. They had face painting, balloon art, drawing, and other things to entertain them. Brenna decided she wanted to get her face painted, but when she asked, the lady said she couldn't do it as she needed to shop. So, she turned to the balloon sculpture, she was told the same thing. Brenna's look broke my heart. I couldn't help it, I went up to the lady and told her that Brenna had just been told no by the face painter, please could we??? We were just one more. So, she did!! Two more things about this: 1) Thank goodness Brenna wanted a hat and 2) thank goodness the lady said yes.

That hat was one of the main ways I kept track of my daughter during the walk. Being Miss Independent she wanted to walk, well.....not with me by her side. It was pretty easy to loose track with so many people. And the number of times, I saw the hat first and then those pretty dark eyes...well, I was grateful that lady had a heart. So, thank you!!! Brenna stayed by Faith's side for much of the entire walk. They were so cute. And MacKenzie, another friend, joined them. They were so cute. At one point Faith and Brenna's balloons got tangled up and they gave them to me to get them separated!! I was having a hard doing this, walking, keeping track of the girls, and carrying everything else Brenna had cast off that I gave up and told the girls to keep the red ones I had. Faith, wanted her white one, and I finally heard her exclaim, "Mrs. Pagley, I got it, I got them undone!!" She was so happy, what a trooper!!

It was a lot of fun. And next year I will walk again. I tried to get a picture of Faith's mom with all of Faith's friend's but the opportune moment never came. Next year!!

Light the Night Tonight

Tonight is the walk!! Brenna and I are so excited to walk tonight to honor Uncle Klaus, Faith and Austin. We are lucky enough to walk with Faith, Brenna's friend, tonight. Faith is just six years old and is in remission. She is excited to carry her survivor's white balloon while the rest of us will be carrying red balloons to light the night. The balloons glow and everyone will be carrying one as we complete our walk.

Faith, Brenna, and Josie (Faith's twin)

And Austin...Austin, just celebrated his 3rd birthday last month. He was diagnosed in August with the adult form of leukemia which is rare in a child. They are unsure of his prognosis; he has a long fight ahead of him. An amazing story: One night, a stranger read Austin's parents blog about Austin's fight with cancer and learned his birthday was coming up in a few short weeks. This complete stranger loaded up his car with toys, lots of spiderman toys (Austin loves Spiderman), spiderman balloons, and even a cake and drove across state lines to make this a birthday Austin would remember!! A complete stranger!

Uncle Klaus....we miss you.

Also, thanks to current pop culture, I can tell you this as well. Do you know the story of the Ernie Davis? Ernie Davis--he won the Heisman trophy for Syracuse University, the first time Syracuse had ever won the trophy and the first time an African-American had won. He was drafted and traded to his all time favorite team, the Cleveland Browns! His dream--within his reach. But he died at the age of 23 of leukemia, never having played his first or any game in the NFL.

I know everyone has their own personal cause that they are fighting for and there are so many good causes out there. If you are able, please help me fight this very real cancer. Every little bit helps. Thanks so much.
To donate, please click Light the Night.

Brenna's rainbow

Brenna has been playing with this soccer team since last year!! And she couldn't be having a more opposite experience this year than last! Last year they were the youngest in the league (all kindergarten) and they lost every game. Brenna didn't mind though, she was just happy to be out on the field. This year they have won every game by at least 7/8 goals. Coach Jane does an excellent job with them. Although what I love about soccer at this age is that they all follow the ball and create a huge pile up.


Brenna is so fun to watch. Last Saturday Brenna had an incredible game. She ran, and ran and ran. At one point, it felt like she had the ball simply to keep running. She ran around the whole field. She was so red in the face, but the smile that she beamed to us was worth the soccer fee for the whole season. She had so many opportunities this game to score a goal. But she always kicked with her left foot and had she done so with her right foot, she would have made the goal due to her position in relation to the goal. So she missed as many as she kicked. It is also interesting to note that she seems to have ambidexterous feet. Many times she will kick the ball with her left feet and then switch to her right. It is like looking at an intricate dance between her mind and her legs which she orchestrates very well. But for some reason on Saturday she only used her left foot. But she never gave up and tried again and again. That trait is heart warming to see in your children.
When the game was almost over, the air seemed to grow misty, like someone had a spray bottle and was playing a practical joke. We soon saw this rainbow. It was fun to see and more beautiful than I remember a rainbow being. Thought I would try and share with all of you.

Al's 70th birthday party

Happy birthday to Al! We were able to celebrate Al's 70th birthday yesterday and it was a blast. We had a brunch at the country club near his house and enjoyed all of it. Caroline, Al's daughter made a fabulous slideshow of his 70 years-- and who knew he was quite dashing during high school. She had a "remember when" where she, and her two brothers said, "Dad, remember when...." and followed up with something funny, or eventful, or something that illustrated Al's personality. It was a lot of fun. The food was delicious and we had so much fun catching up. I hate to say that we haven't seen Uncle Todd or Aunt Robin's families in soooo long and it was just fun to catch up with them. We always laugh with Buff and Andy around. Here are some pictures from our day.



Todd (my brother) and Michelle and their 4 children.

Me with my most handsome boys!

Mom-mom with Brenna

Al with Tobin and Grayson. Aren't they handsome?

Al and Mom-Mom with all of the grandchildren that were present!! Jack, Al's grandsone is the one in the blue blazer on the left. He fits right in. Tierc, we missed your family and need them here to be complete.

Andy's favorite truck

This truck has one Acura for every day of the week!! :)

Brenna, I will pay for your therapy, I promise

Connect Four—the little game of strategy where you connect four pieces in a row to win—has become my obsession. Correction—beating Brenna at Connect Four has become my obsession!! Here are snippets from our household the last few weeks:

Brenna—where are you? We need to play Connect Four!
Mom, do I have to?
Yes, you have to. At least three games so I can really win.
Mom, winning isn’t what counts. But if you want me to beat you again, I guess I will.
(Brenna, you just wait….. You are going down, my little blonde devil)

Brenna, did you realize you won? You won two moves ago, Brenna. Look here.

Noah, no don’t help her. She can win on her own.

Ok, playing my moves didn’t win. I’ll just follow Brenna’s moves. Ok, she moves, I move on top of her, she moves beside her first one, I will go on top of hers…ok, good….wait, now how did she get three in a row with two options to get the fourth?!
_ _ _ x x x _ _
_ _ _ x x x _ _

Mommy, I’m tired of playing.
No, we need to play one more time.
But mommy you said that last time
Ok, I mean it this time (only if I win).

All the Things that pushed me in my run yesterday

• The little engine that could
• The girl that just past me
• The guy that just past me
• The dog that just past me
• The squirrel that I just past that is staring at me
• Knowing that tiercy, Emilie, and michelle are ahead of me (in a good way)
• The song I am listening to on my ipod
• The thought: I blogged I was going to do this
• Seeing this frenemy mom and I didn’t want her to see me be weak and walk
• The thought: There’s no place like home

When I checked it out on mapmyrun.com I discovered that I ran a total of 2.5 miles and I had walked .5. I was quite happy.