My Hallowieners

Well, 'tis the season for costumes and candy, pumpkins and parties!  Corwin had his school Halloween party this Friday.  They get to bring their costumes to school and wear them at the party, and they eat and eat and eat.

 

 

Then, they have a Costume Parade.  Each class lines up and the kids parade by the parents and other kids and show off their costumage.  Ninjas, withes, super heroes, princesses, animals, scary characters, cartoon characters, etc.  You name it, we saw it.  I am proud of Corwin.  He wanted to be a ninja for Halloween, and made this decision quite some time ago and told me he'd buy it with his birthday money.  Since money is tight, that made Mommy very happy.  (And Daddy too.)

 

 

Owen wanted to be Thomas the Train.  Thankfully, I found a cheap and comfortable costume for this boy.  He absolutely loves it!

 



That evening began Intramural Basketball.  This is Corwin's second year to play, and he loves it.  They played one game Friday night and two Saturday.  They've lost all three, but he either doesn't know, or doesn't care.  He's having fun, and I love the fact that he isn't pouting over the losses.

 

Saturday evening was the school carnival.  So, we loaded up our ninja, train, and little birdie (she was supposed to be an owl, but looks more like a general bird).  We enjoyed--well, the KIDS enjoyed--an hour and a half of carnival games and came home with a small collection of candy and toys.  Again, they offered to pay with their birthday money.  And, let me tell you, $5 of tickets goes a L-O-N-G way.  I mean L    O    N    G!

 

It was a fun weekend, finished off with some pumpkin carving.  I didn't get pictures of that, but will try to get the boys out there with their creations.  Have I mentioned that I love fall!??!

Fabulous First Grader

Well, we're back at it!  Early mornings, quieter days, busy evenings, packing lunches....  SCHOOL!!!  Corwin was very excited to start first grade, to be reunited with all his friends, and to get back to work.  He came home not as enthusiastic, but was still hopeful.  I think he quickly realized that first grade is going to require more work from him.  And handwriting!  UGH!!!  Lots and lots of writing.  The boy hates writing.  But, I know he'll do well.  His teacher has told me that he is perfect--behaviorally.  That makes this mother very, very happy.

The two younger ones have adjusted, I think.  Owen usually asks for us to go get Corwin after we've had lunch.  Ella gets up and seems to look all around the house for Bubby and Daddy.  I'm still adjusting myself.  Having to get used to those early-morning workouts again, and trying to push myself to not go to bed at 8:30 p.m.

I pray Corwin and Jason have a great year.  God bless them both!

"Cleaning Up" in Kindergarten

Well, Corwin is no longer a kindergartner.  Thankfully he passed kindergarten and they are progressing him on to the first grade.

We finished up with Play Day, where he played t-ball, long jump, ...

... jump rope, and sack races.  He came home with four blue ribbons that day.  He was a very happy boy.

Graduation Night:  Here's a picture of my little graduate.  I'm reluctant to see how he looks in 12 years (2024) when he graduates from high school.

There are approximately 40 kids in his class.

He pridefully won the P.E. award in his class.  He stood there for a very long time enjoying the applause of the audience.  (If you can see, the teachers in the background are laughing because he just won't sit down!  Does that remind you of anyone?  Yes, he is very much like his Daddy.)  :)

Finally, Kindergarten diploma in hand!  Hello, first grade!

We were very blessed for Corwin to have such an amazing first year of school.  He did great academically and behaviorally.  He is so excited to now be a first grader!  Now, for approximately 100 days of summer vacation to enjoy!!!

A Dapper Homecoming

Corwin was asked to be the "junior attendant," "crown bearer," ... whatever you want to call it, for the high school's basketball homecoming program.  He was very willing to do it, until he found out he'd have to dress up.  He told me he'd do it, but he'd wear his basketball uniform (which consists of a yellow t-shirt and maroon gym shorts).  I told him that was not an option, so he began to back out.  BUT, then he found out we'd get to go to a basketball game, so I guess we weighed the good with the bad and decided it was worth it!

We borrowed a little suit from a friend of ours, shoes from an acquaintance, bought a tie, and wore a hand-me-down dress shirt, and the results were stellar!

And, he had a crowd of fans, too.  Nana, Pa, Brett, Jeremy, Kerrie, Jack, plus all of us were there to watch his walk onto the court and up on stage.

This picture is really poor, but he had the important job of carrying the king's crown and placing it on his head.  He did great!  Kerrie (Aunt Toot-Toot) asked him before the program if he was excited, and he said yes.  She asked if he was nervous, and he said nope!

Another pay-off was that he got to get out of class Friday afternoon to practice.  Then, he was allowed to stay for the high school pep rally, which he really enjoyed.  I think, all in all, it was worth dressing up.  He had a lot of fun!  (And so did we.)

Hillview Carnival

Saturday, Corwin's school put on a Halloween carnival, and we decided to take the boys.  I remember having a carnival similar to this at my elementary school, and I looked forward to the event every year.  The boys agreed to spend a little of their birthday money for games, so there was really no excuse not to go.

Corwin went in last year's costume, Darth Vader, and Owen went in Corwin's old costume as an astronaut.  Owen was very excited to dress like a space man.  All the way to the carnival he asked if we were going to go "3-2-1 blastoff" in the space shuttle.  How do you explain that a minivan is the closest thing he'll probably ever get to riding in a space shuttle.  :)

Both boys entered the costume contest.  They had 3 or four categories, divided by age.  Astronaut Owen won his division of ages 3 and under.  He got a blue ribbon, $3, and two vouchers for free french fries from McDonald's and Burger King.  He wasn't nearly as excited as Mommy was.

Corwin didn't win his division, but the competition was pretty stiff.  I told Jason that modern costume costumes don't hold a candle to the old ones.  Now, every kid has a store-bought costume.  Gone are the good ol' days of homemade costumes.

They had the typical carnival games (fish pond, dart throw, pie throw, etc.), jumpy houses, and a haunted house.  Corwin was convinced that he was big enough and tough enough to go through the haunted house.  I had my doubts, but he insisted.  So, Daddy and Corwin went through it.  Apparently, Corwin only had his eyes open during the first half.  He came out with tear streaks down his face.  Daddy was laughing and vouched for it being a really, really, GOOD haunted house.  Not appropriate for a 6-year-old.  Corwin kept talking about it afterwards, how it wasn't nice for those people to scare kids like that.  Ha ha.  I tried to warn him.  Sometimes we just have to learn by experience.  (I'm afraid he might have a little of his Mommy in him.)

Anyway, we had a good time, and the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  It was fun to see Corwin interact with some of his school friends.  He played the dart throw about a dozen times.  We came home with a collection of candy, some cheap toys, and prayers for no nightmares.