Halloween 2007

We had a great day!

It started when I went to bring treats and play games with Genna's class.




In the afternoon, we went and helped out at Connor's party. The 4th grade teachers are a hoot, we couldn't find the other little pig when it was picture time.




Jameson came home and told us the game they played for their "party" was where you try and pass the orange from under your chin, without using your hands. He "hated it". He must have been by a girl. Poor kid!

Hot dogs were already on my menu for today- something fast and easy- and then I saw this fun idea on Amber's blog. They look much better than they taste.




After dinner, it was finally time for trick or treating! We had a lot of fun getting their costumes together this year. I altered a large graduation robe to fit Genna and then made scarves from a very funky pair of vintage pants. It was a shame to cut them up, but they were perfect Gryffindor colors.



Here are my 3 cute kiddos. Genna was the talented and brainy, Hermione Granger. It was so cute the past couple of weeks when people would ask what she was going to be for Halloween, she would always start out saying, Hermione, but then people usually didn't know who she was talking about, so we would have to pipe in, the girl from Harry Potter. And Connor was going to be Harry originally. But after I bought his robe, Jameson tried it on. He thought it was pretty cool, and Connor graciously decided to go as Ron Weasley. It's just too bad we didn't have a pet rat for him to carry along.



Most houses we went to didn't get who they were tonight, but that's ok. We even had someone ask if they were choir singers. Oh well, we still had a lot of fun. Although, it was really a lot more fun before the sun went down completely. By the time we quit, it was 40 degrees and despite the layers of socks and long underwear, we were pretty chilly. As our teeth were chattering, I suggested next year they consider going as Eskimo children.

Lucky + Cards

Last week I won a blog giveway over at Savoring the Details! I have long been an admirer of Melissa's work over at 2peas. I got a copy of Cards- which is one of those magazines I drool over, but never buy because I am too cheap. Thanks so much, Melissa!

Melissa also inspired my October card challenge- a gender neutral birthday card. My friend, Marilyn gave me the star stamp.

Pumpkin Carving

For FHE last night we carved pumpkins. We invited the Jones/Propp clan over to join in the fun. These are Troy's cousins who recently moved to our town. We are excited to have them here. Grandma Koski got us the pumpkins quite a while ago, so the kids had lots of time to decide how they wanted to carve them. The boys decided to do a big Husker "N" vs a Texas Longhorn, after the big matchup last Saturday.
Genna originally wanted to do this face:


She changed her mind at the last minute wanting to do something Rockets. I suggested the template I used for her t-shirt, but she decided to be like Jameson and just do one letter.

Here are the finished pumpkins, glowing cheerfully on the kitchen counter:

The Perfect Fall Evening

It started with a gorgeous sunset on the Nebraska plains...

Next, we enjoyed good food(chili, cinnamon rolls & hot cider) while visiting with good friends...

There was a definite chill to the air, so we were grateful for a warm, toasty fire...


We watched the Harvest Moon rise...



Then, we rode the hayrack over terraced cornfields for a ride full of bumps and lots of laughter.

8 Things About Me

Amber tagged me today, so without further ado, here are 8 things maybe you didn't know about me....

1. I am a collector, almost more so than a scrapbooker, stamper, seamstress or crafter. I seriously get just about as much enjoyment from purchasing items for my hobbies as I do from actually participating in them.

2. I like to dip my grilled cheese in ketchup and then honey. Strange, I know.

3. I love handmade onion rings, but will pick out of a dish any distinguishable chunks of onions- especially if it is raw.

4. When Troy is gone, I usually sleep with the TV or my lamp on.

5. I am not a big tv watcher. I prefer to waste my time in front of a computer, lol! However, my all time favorite tv show is Alias. I just need Season 5 to complete my collection.

6. Our dog died in the winter of 2004, shortly after we moved into our house. We had her cremated with the intention of burying her ashes at our old house(where she was happy), once the ground thawed out. Well, before we could get there, that house sold and so Sands is still sitting on top of our cabinets in the kitchen. I think she will probably stay there forever.

7. I've always wanted a claw foot tub for a reading nook in my house. We had one at Meadowlane Elementary in the library and I LOVED getting a turn to read in it.

8. I LOVE popcorn. I have such fond memories of having it when we got to stay up later at Grandma Olson's house. She would make popcorn on the stove and we would drink 7up out of the bottle. Then when I was in college my Mom gave me a 18 pack. I took it almost everyday for lunch, until I ran out.

There, more than you probably wanted to know about me. If you haven't done this meme yet, and you read my blog, consider yourself tagged!

Orange

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Orange.

Orange Who?

Orange you glad fall's almost over so I can't post anymore leaf pictures?




Sorry, I just can't help myself. You are just really lucky you aren't my kids. I ooh and aah every where we go these days. Then there are the stops in odd places, in front of people's houses, on the side of the insurance companies, etc. I am a lazy photographer and only take what I can reach with my zoom from my car.

So, I finally finished up my blog giveaway goodies. It took me a little longer because I decided now would be a good time to learn how to use some of the bias tape from my stash. I will apologize now to Kassie and Lucy, because I am still a beginner when I comes to binding, but hopefully we can chalk some of the imperfections up to homespun charm. My favorite part of the whole wall hanging is the ribbon I stamped so they can hang it up. I was inspired by Patchwork Pottery.





I haven't had a chance to start on my I Spy bag yet. When I get that done, next I want to make some napkins. But first, I better start figuring out my discussion questions for our church book group tomorrow night. We are reading the 5 Love Languages. Then Saturday, I have a training meeting I am teaching at that I really need to get working on as well.

Pumpkin Patch

The sun was setting as we arrived at the Roca Pumpkin Patch. Because of that, I didn't get a lot of great pictures, but we still had a wonderful time.

Highlights from the night:

-petting the goats and sheep

-walking around and seeing all the displays- they have it all from Alice in Wonderland to the 3 Little Pigs. One of my favorites is the bunny village. They have a cute little clothes line with little Peter Rabbit clothes hanging on it.

-having a husband who was happy to take the boys on the Haunted Hayrack ride and the Psycho Path

-having a sweet little girl who couldn't get enough of the fun "haunted" house, she also had to try out every cut out picture spot there, and believe you me there are a ton of them!



-enjoying a funnel cake

-being together as a family!