Halloween night

Several neighbors love Halloween and decorate to the hilt. Here is one house I thought was particularly festive!! This is all one house.
This is the graveyard closer up. If you look closely on the left side of the picture is a bird's beak eating a pile of guts (ala spaghetti and blood red sauce).

I love the headless guy hanging from the porch rafters in this picture! There is so much to look at, it is hard to take in all of the details. Much better in person, I assure you.


Noah's friends: Annie, Carson and Christopher.

Brenna's friends, Shira and Brooke.



Tobin's costume: along with friends. This costume was a joint effort. One wasn't going to wear theirs without making sure the others wore theirs!!

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???