Halloween at Disney

We went to Disney at the beginning of October for the Halloween celebration.  There are special characters out and about, a special parade and lots and lots of candy.  Sweetie liked that part the best.  They also offered healthy options at the different stations such as raisins, apple crisps, carrots and sliced apples (think McD's).

Hey Look!  They are both looking at the camera and smiling.  At the same time!   :)

These are over the ticket gates.  There were also Goofy, Minnie, Donald and Pluto made out of pumpkins.

Dancing with Buzz

Sweetie is now big enough to drive the cars ALL BY HERSELF!!

She was SO excited!!

Got to meet Tink and friends.

Awesome fireworks!

Towards the end of the night, we got to meet the Genie.  Can you tell that Punkin is a little bit tired?

They really do watch and learn

Here is a video of Punkin at the dinner table a few nights ago. He did it 3 times before Space Ranger thought to grab the camera and record it. Our pastor blesses the kids at communion and I guess Punkin has been watching.

Neat, isn't it?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It has rained for a solid week here in the land of Mickey. That is unheard of this time of year. It actually felt like a Midwest Fall. Kind of odd. We wanted hot cocoa and a cozy blanket. The rain is really good for the land. This time of year is wildfire season because it usually is so dry from no rain during the summer and early fall. I don't think there is much of a chance of fires this year.

The sun shone for a few days and I thought the rain was behind us. But it has rained again today. I'm done with the rain for a little while. It can go away for a few weeks. I would like my sun back again. Thank you.

Top Seller

The beginning of the school year brings fundraisers after fundraisers. Sweetie's school was selling wrapping paper and chocolates at the beginning of the year. Thank you to all who bought from her. She ended up being the top seller in her class!! She was pretty excited!!!!! As the prize for top seller in her class, she got a free dress day. This is a big deal in a school where you wear uniforms.



She did wear shoes to school - she just hadn't got that far by the time I took the picture. We were running just a bit behind that morning...

Not a Good Idea

Don't leave Diet Dr. Pepper cans in the freezer overnight. Not a good idea. Ask me how I know.

Christmas Chapel Service

Sweetie participated in the Christmas Chapel on the last day of school before break. She said part of the prayers for the day (which she had written herself). She sounds so grown up.

Part Four of " I haven't blogged in forever so here are some photos from the past few months"

Space Ranger's mom came for a visit in November. She wanted to (among other things) see Sweetie's school, go to the zoo, go to Disney, and see where Space Ranger works.

At the Zoo


At Disney



At the office
No, this isn't Space Ranger's mom in the photo but I did take it while we were visiting his office. Does that count?

Part Three of " I haven't blogged in forever so here are some photos from the past few months"

Hangin' out with Tigger.


Waiting in line for her first time on Splash Mountain. She has never wanted to ride it before because she was afraid she would get "soaked".


She and Space Ranger got a bit wet but not enough for her to say she didn't like it.



Right before the above picture was taken, Sweetie was hit in the nose by Punkin. This is not a happy face.

Part Two of " I haven't blogged in forever so here are some photos from the past few months"

For Halloween this year, Sweetie wanted to be Tinker Bell. A few days later, she was playing with her dress up clothes and we put a vest on Punkin so he could dress up, too. He kept it on for almost an hour. I thought, "Great! This is his Halloween costume." When I said it out loud, Sweetie decided she wanted to match so she became a cowgirl. The only item I had to buy for her costume was her vest - she had everything else, even the boots.



Punkin had everything but the hat. The dollar store is a great place for costume pieces.



We went to a Harvest carnival at school and then to a friend's church in the evening for Trunk or Treat.



Before we left for the festivities, I tried to take a picture of the 2 of them by the pumpkins.

Take 1 - Um, no.


Take 2 - Um, no again but this time with Space Ranger in the picture, too, saying "No, leave the hat ON!"


Take 3 - It will have to do.

Part One of " I haven't blogged in forever so here are some photos from the past few months"

Hangin' out at the zoo.



This is just for you, Grandma!

The last time we lived here, Sweetie was fascinated with the Reptile House. My mom does NOT like snakes but Sweetie thought they were the best thing in whole world (or at least in the whole zoo) so each visit to the zoo had to include the Reptile House. Sweetie has now introduced Punkin to the Reptile House. Aren't you excited, Mom?

Haircut

I've always cut Punkin's hair. I didn't necessarily always do a good job but it was fine after a few touchups. He is getting to the age where he won't sit still long enough for me to cut it (I guess I'm a slow cutter). His hair has been getting so long. It got to the point where when I tried to comb it, he would cry and hit my hand away. Okay time for someone else who is much faster to cut it off.

Before


After


Don't worry, Grandma and Grandpa, it will grow back. It usually does.

Results

Me - "How was the treehouse last night?"

Sweetie - "Great!! I made my bed already."

Success!

Treehouse

Well, it finally happened - the moment that she has been waiting for....

Sorting the pieces with Space Ranger and Punkin.


Punkin doing all he can to get in the way, I mean, help. Off to bed with you, Mister.


Assembling and assembling and assembling and...
(you did see all of those pieces stacked against the wall and on the floor, right?)


Ooooooo! It is starting to look like one.


Ta dah! Well, almost a Ta dah! The box was missing a ladder piece so we could not completely assemble it. She was very sad about not sleeping in the top bunk but how would she get down in the middle of the night? Not very safe. She and Space Ranger went back to the store to get the piece but they didn't have any more in stock to give them. The service reps offered to send it to us when it was in stock again. Wasn't that nice of them?


TA DAH! Truly! Here it is all assembled and ready for sleep! We'll let you know how her night was sleeping in the "treehouse".


Now Sweetie will be all ready for our guests. No more mattresses or sleeping bags on the floor.

Lunchtime Adventures

It was time for lunch today and Punkin and I were in the dining room. I moved my computer to the middle of the dining room table to keep it away from little hands and to make room for the lunch plates. I walked to the kitchen, got a hot dog from the refrigerator, put it on a plate, put it in the microwave and walked back to the dining room. All of this has taken me about a minute - from the time I left the dining room to the time I returned. When I returned, I find that Punkin is STANDING on a dining room chair, playing with my computer. EEKK!! When did he learn to do that??

My Digital Studio

I've done scrapbooking before - usually a power weekend where I get lots and lots of pages done in one shot. I often don't pull out all of the stuff and do it at home. There are always interruptions. I've never been too interested in digital scrapbooking. Why should I have that when I have a whole bunch of paper, ribbons and embellishments in my craft space to use?

Well, Stampin' Up! is now offering a digital scrapbooking and card making program. I've tried it and I think I'm hooked. I completed the page below in less than an hour just sitting in the living room with my computer - all without reading the user guide! Tee-hee. I can delete, move, change the size, recrop a picture... It was so COOL! If I make a mistake, I can try again without the wasted paper or picture. :)

You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.



Or this one of family pictures from February that I just did tonight.



Space Ranger's comment "I've lost you, haven't I?"
Me - "Hmmm? Did you say something?"

Random pictures

Here are some pictures that I've taken in the past few months.

We found a new park. Do you like her foot pop?


Punkin is not sure if he really wants to ride. He just wants to make it move.


This one is probably my favorite.


Do I really need to say anything about these two?

Screamin'

California style, that is.



Sweetie went on the roller coaster for the first time. When she went upside down, she yelled (while still on the ride) "That was SO COOL!" Yes, that's our roller coaster girl. :)




She rode it 3 times that day. And then for the next 48 hours proceeded to ask "When are we going again? When? Huh? Huh? When? I want to go again! It was so cool!! The upside down part was the best!!" Yes, she used all of those exclamation points.

1st day of school

Monday was Sweetie's first day of school. She was really ready to go the week before but we had to wait. This is her first school experience with uniforms. It made back to school shopping easier - you have a choice of khaki or navy shorts, skorts or pants. She needs to wear the jumper on days that they have Chapel.

Getting ready.


Each new student is paired with a buddy in the same grade - someone to show them around and be his/her friend. The new students also get to wear leis on the first day. The school had a really pretty flower one waiting for her when she got there. The yellow one was from the back to school picnic the day before.


Can you see that she is hiding the cell phone behind her back because Grandma called when I was about to take the picture?

Inspired by her cousin, we went to Cold Stone at the end of the day. She enjoyed her mint ice cream with chocolate chips.