Halloween Hoop-Lah!

Corwin had is first, ever, school party on Friday.  The kids were allowed to all bring their costumes, put them on at the end of the day, enjoy some healthy snacks, and participate in a costume parade.  Owen was welcome to bring his costume as well, and participate along side his brother.  I am so proud of Corwin.  He was proud to let Owen share in the festivities.

If you haven't guessed, Corwin is Bumblebee, and Owen is Optimus Prime--both Transformers.  They love their new costumes!  (Thank you, Aunt Vernece!)  Apparently, Transformers are a big thing this year.  There were several around the school that day.

After they enjoyed their snacks of pretzels, caramel apples, yogurt, juice, and crackers, they headed out to the basketball court for a costume parade.  The kids all got in lines (according to their class) and paraded around in their Halloween costumes.  There were very, very, VERY few that did not have a costume, thankfully.  They loved seeing each other and seeing what kind of character their friends were!

It was a really good day.  The boys had fun, and came home very un-hungry.  :)  School party #1 -- complete!

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.

Nursery Update

So, I have been busy brainstorming and creating.  I've had to completely change gears, mentally, from baseball and trucks to flowers and PINK.  This was a difficult thing for me to do.  But, now that that train has come around the bend, I've jumped aboard and we're going full-steam ahead.

This first picture is not of a nursery item.  Instead, it is a picture of Jason's Granny's spoon collection.  (I thought the family might like to see this.)  She passed away about a month ago, and this is something that Jason wanted to keep of his Granny's.  I was not happy at first, until I figured out how to display it in our home.  Shadow box frames are the key!  Now, I LOVE it and am happy to have it in our home.  (This is just half.  I'm waiting until payday to buy the second one.)

Okay, now to the birds in the nursery.  I saw a version of this "bird mobile" online and thought, "I could do that."  Fortunately, I found a free pattern for sewing my own birds, and took some of Granny's fabric that I'd received, and went to town creating eight little birdies.  Add some sticks from outside, and a few silk cherry blossoms, string it together with fishing line, and viola!  A bird mobile.

Each bird is made from a different fabric.  Ain't they cute!??!

I also had a brown frame that wasn't being used, so I decoupaged the background with pink scrapbooking paper, and cut out letters from brown and teal fabric, and made framed her name, "Ella Joy".  On the bottom two corners of the frame are little tiny birds' nests (also from Granny's craft bins).  I also made the basket liners that you see on the changing table.  They were red before (both boys used them in their room), and now they're a cutie-patootie pink!

The room is coming along nicely.  I just need to hang my framed art, get an area rug, hang the curtains, and put on the finishing touches.  That might all get done this weekend, since I'll have my husband around to assist.  I'm excited to see the finished product, and share it with you!

Fall Fishing 2011

We didn't know if we'd be able to go, or not, but we were fortunate enough to squeeze in a couple days at the annual Fall Fishing trip at the Lake of the Ozarks.  It was a fun-filled weekend of fishing, eating, and playing with cousins.

The kids played at the playground all day, everyday.  But, did they play on the playground equipment?  Oh, no.  They played in the dirt.

 Shovels shoveled dirt, trucks hauled dirt, dump trucks dumped dirt, kids collected dirt all over their hands, faces, hair, and clothes.  The tubs were filled with mud at the end of the day.

They did take a break to eat a quick snack with their dirt-covered fingers.

Then, the men came in with their catch.  That distracted the kids from the dirt for a short while.

Saturday evening we celebrated many milestones in the family. My grandparents will celebrate 65 years of marriage later this month.

And Owen turns three on the 20th.  My dad celebrates a birthday, and my brother and sister-in-law have an anniversary.  Also, an aunt and cousin, and my cousin's baby celebrate a birthday.  It's a busy month for our crew.  (That's an Elmo cake, if you can't tell.)

The next morning, the boys were back to the construction site.

The swings were a hit, too, until Corwin fell off.  Then he didn't care to get back on for awhile.  He's a little clumsy sometimes. 

We also took the kids on a nature hike.  Sticks were the main attraction on this adventure.  Big, small, fat, thin, mossy... it didn't matter.  Each kid had a stick--at least one--to walk with.

Corwin and Eliza with their cheesy grins. 

 See?  They all have a stick.  I'm surprised someone didn't get whacked upside the head with one.

The crew.  We're missing a couple cousins, Silas and Ethan.  Pretty sure they had gone out on the boats that morning to catch a few.

It was a quick, but fun, trip.  The weather was gorgeous, and the company could not be beat.  It is always a highlight of our family's year.  Can't wait 'til next year.  Well...maybe I can.  Next year I'll have a 11-month old (or somewhere around there).  That should be ... fun.

Pumpkin Patchin'

We went to the pumpkin patch in Hoxie, AR, the first weekend in October.  It was a really great place!  Very family oriented.  The four of us, plus some other family, met friends of ours there and we spent three fun-filled hours there and enjoyed the fall festivities.

It was a really good time.  I'm very glad we went!