Halloween

We started celebrating Halloween a little early on Thursday, October 29th. Grant wanted to have a Halloween party like we had a few years ago, so our normal Thursday night dinner was turned into quite a party! L-R: The Tooth Fairy, the Emperor, a Ninja Spy, Clothes-on-backward Guy, Orange T-shirt Guy, Gandalf, Old Man, Old Lady, Cowgirl, and Young Girl.

This jack-o-lantern didn't feel very good. But, the chips and guacamole were tasty!

After dinner, there was pumpkin carving

They did a great job! (Daddy & Mama helped)

Bobbing for apples races

After I saw how wet they were getting, I decided to pass.

Kellen, as youngest got the honor of starting off the jack-o-lantern piñata.

Grant also had a great idea of having candy hidden in the yard that they could find. Garrison hid all the candy. So, we had a Halloeaster of sorts! It turned out to be a great idea as they all had great fun looking for candy with their flashlights!

The celebration continued with fun cards from Grandma on Friday and Saturday.

And, finally, the day they were waiting for! Kellen, the ninja spy and Jenna, the tooth fairy. Both their ideas.

We were one of the first families to arrive at trunk or treat at church and it paid off! Not many lines. And, the maze wasn't crowded yet. A new feature this year, they turned one of the portables into a maze. Kellen headed in and then quickly headed back out, so I went in with him. It was small - I had to crawl on my knees the whole time. And, it was DARK even with the glow sticks they provided. But, it was also really fun!

This trunk was perfect for our tooth fairy! 

The cutest three musketeers! 

There was a photo booth this year too that was new and fun! There was a cut off point and then they went and printed the pictures so they were ready for us to bring home when we left.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed trick-or-treating. And now, I'm glad for the extra hour of sleep tonight!

Costume fun

Last night, Kevin's band had a Star Wars theme concert. It was a blast! 

Kevin was The Emperor 

They played a song from each movie plus the beginning and end credits theme. In between each song was a scene from the movie performed by the students - complete with pod race! And, Kevin conducted with Kellen's red light saber flashlight. So fun!

And, today was Roman day for 3rd grade. 

The beauty of being at a campus that has K-12 grades is that the high school offers Latin class. And, the Latin students need a project, so the high school Latin class created and taught all five stations of Roman day for 3rd grade.

Learning defense formation. In the background - the first snow on the peak!

Roman-style Dodgeball! 

A discussion panel with the Roman gods Pluto, Apollos, Jupiter, Diana, and Neptune. During Diana's (goddess of the moon among other things) interview, they asked her how she felt about the moon missions being named after her brother Apollos. And, if that made her feel eclipsed. So funny! The high schoolers did a great job.

The Battle of Carthage aka ultimate tag 

Kevin had some free time this morning, so he was able to come visit. 

Miss Luster and Jenna

Girls Weekend 2015

Bright and early Thursday, October 15th, I started on my way to Abilene for Girls Weekend 2015. I arrived around 2:45pm and spent a little time with a good friend. She dropped me off at Jenni's where I had a nice quiet hour to myself. Then, Mollie picked me up. We enjoyed chatting during Mattie's dance class. Then, Mollie, her girlies, Jenni, and I enjoyed a yummy dinner at Rosa's. Sarah arrived later that evening.

Friday morning, Sarah and I had a nice visit with Me Ma. Then we had the blessing of going to chapel and singing with Katie and Mollie.

"Blessed Be Your Name"

After chapel, we were treated with a lunch with Dava Lynn at Bogie's. Their Oklahoma Kid really hits the spot! And each other's company was wonderful.

After lunch, we shopped at Eternal Threads for our weekend souvenir infinity earrings plus a few other things we couldn't pass up. Then we were off to Hickory Street to pick up their amazing chicken salad for lunch Saturday.

Friday night - Mexican stack! Beautiful friends, tasty food, fun new mix CD, and sweet fellowship. So happy together!

Our weekend coincided with ACU Homecoming, so we had to throw a few homecoming activities into the mix. TKG is back on campus with 40 pledges. They hosted a fun breakfast. Then we were off to the homecoming parade where I was able to visit with Matt and Leslie for a little while. After that, we were off again to Mattie's soccer game. Then all back together for lunch.

We ate and watched Pitch Perfect 2. Visited, sang together, and ate some more. (Over the weekend, Dara did some delicious cooking for us, Katie brought chocolate, and Jenni was our gracious host providing her home, drinks, and breakfast!) Thanks to Sarah's selfie stick, we got these pretty pictures before Katie and Dara went off to the homecoming musical.

Love this one too - with the honorary "girl" of the weekend.

Sweet baby

Sunday morning, Dara made us a yummy breakfast. We had church at home, celebrated communion, and soaked up the last few moments together. So very blessed to have these women in my life! Can't wait for next time!

Fall Break

Jenna had a fall break from October 8-18! Grandpa and Grandma were able to come visit and we kept them busy! Friday morning, Jenna took them to her school and they adopted a couple books for her - she loves that. Then we had lunch at Chick-fil-A and some play time at Focus.

Saturday, we had a great breakfast at the Pantry, then drove up into the mountains to see some leaves, then back to the North Pole for some fun. Jenna and Kellen decided they wanted to be the reindeer and pull the sleigh.

There's a magic show at the North Pole and my favorite magician was there - something about the British accent make it more fun. During some shows, the magician asks for a volunteer and he chose Jenna this time!

Her first time to be chosen after all these years. She did a great job!

Jenna talked Grandpa into riding this ride with her. That's love folks!

Sunday, we went to a fall festival at the Mining museum. They demonstrated a lot of their steam engines that they don't run during a typical tour. Jenna got to try out the whistle on this little steam mining train. Monday, we had a last lunch with Grandpa and Grandma before they went off to have more fun in Winter Park.

Tuesday, the kids, Papa and I enjoyed a fun time at another pumpkin patch. One of the owners has grandchildren at Jenna's school and for this day of fall break they had a special discount for TCA students.

Each admission came with pumpkins (just like Diana's pumpkin patch). We used a wheelbarrow to get them and the kids enjoyed a ride. Now, we have 6 giant pumpkins in our house! Plus a small one that Jenna picked out that we actually got to cut off the vine - that was neat. I'll have to have a pumpkin pureeing work day (except for Jenna's pumpkin - she said I CANNOT cook her's). Then we'll have LOTS of pumpkin in our freezer to bake pumpkin yummies to our heart's content.

They gave us water balloons to fill and launch. Super fun!

This pipe swing was really fun. That is until Jenna got inside, then fell out, and then it ran over her. She still has a few scrapes and bruises.

Tuesday afternoon, Kevin texted, "it's so nice out, let's get hot dogs and cook out at Fox Run." Kellen and I had to go grocery shopping for a few things anyway, so we picked up cook out stuff and S'mores. It really was a nice day and unusually warm for October. We're so blessed to have this beautiful park just minutes from our house.

The silliness! Maybe I should stick with candids.

Wednesday morning, I had some last minute errands before my trip the next day to Abilene for Girls Weekend 2015. And, Jenna joined Kellen and I for music class.

Thursday through Sunday, Kevin had the kids. I heard reports of Chuck E Cheese, Golden Corral, yet another pumpkin patch, and some football games. Overall, a fun fall break!

Around here

We've been busy!! Fall is in full swing. Besides school and normal day-to-day stuff. I could probably make 3 or 4 blog posts out of this one, but decided to lump it all together. (It feels like it was all lumped together anyway.) Here's what we've been up to:

Friday, Sept. 25th, we went to the second LPHS home football game. This year, the bigger kids are wanting to stay in the upper row. But, Kellen still likes to go down and dance. By the time he gets down to the platform, the song is over - poor guy!

Saturday, Sept. 26th, Kevin's High School Band director, Mr. Boulton and his wife came to town for a visit. And for Mr. Boulton to conduct Kevin's band playing a piece that he composed. Sunday, the 27th, Kevin took them to Aspen, CO to see the aspens.

Monday afternoon, Sept. 28th, Kevin and Kellen took them to Garden of the Gods and to the top of Pikes Peak.

And, then Jenna and I joined them for a meal and visit with Papa and Mima. He kept them busy Tuesday afternoon as well with a visit to the Air Force Academy and then a dinner with Heather's family (Mr. Boulton was her band director, too). And, Wednesday, September 30th, was the big concert. Unfortunately, we didn't think to get a picture of Kevin with Mr. Boulton at the concert or anywhere.

Thursday, Oct. 1st, Kevin took the Boultons to the airport, while Jenna went to school, and Kellen and I went to BSF. Then the rest of the afternoon was filled with Field Day.

Jenna was a great big sister and let Kellen play along with her class. 

In this relay, you had to hold the ball between your legs and bounce down to the cone and back. Kellen actually did a pretty good job considering he could barely get the ball to fit!

And the next relay was holding the ball against your backs and going down the cone and back. The kids had a blast!

Friday, Oct. 2nd, Jenna's school had a movie day after school so we had lunch and a movie. Then in the evening we had our annual pizza and fall decorating party at home.

Saturday, Oct. 3rd, we enjoyed our annual trip to Diana's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze.

This year, we were smart and picked our pumpkins first while all the wagons were still available!

We ate our picnic lunch and the kids played in the corn pit. 

And then we were off to the corn maze! This year, there was a punch card like the game card for Clue only with fall themed locations. You go around the maze and find different clues, punch your card, and then try to figure out the mystery.

Kellen's feet got hot in the rain boots we had him wear (the day before was rainy and we thought it might be muddy). And he was tired of walking, so he got a ride.

Jenna and Kellen challenged me to a sack race. As you can see, they won!

We enjoyed a tractor pulled hay ride through the corn field.

Love the fall colors

Sunday, October 4th, after church, we packed a picnic lunch and drove into the mountains toward Cripple Creek.

We missed the peak of the aspen-leaf-changing season - some trees had lost their leaves already. But there were still some beauties.

This giant tire was at one of the scenic outlook locations. It's for a 311 ton truck. The kids loved getting inside.

We found a nice place to hike for a little. We'd like to go back when we have more time.

We're so fortunate that all of this beauty is just a short drive away!