Haaaaapppy Haaaalloweeeeen!

Happy Halloween today!!

Any of you that have been hanging around this lil' 'ole blog for a while. .

understands that I am I am glutton for punishment!!

Well, not really. .

But you DO know that I love Halloween. .and parties!!

I've now done so many Halloween parties, that I have simply lost count of them!

At one time, we stopped just doing ONE Halloween party. .and actually did TWO Halloween parties at the same time. .on the same day. .because the age difference in the kids was just too much for everyone to enjoy the same activities!

After I surveyed my attendees on Saturday afternoon. .

I realized, that, for the first time. .

we didn't have enough big kids to warrant separating everything. .

so we threw the schedule into the wind. .and just winged it. .

Well, after this game anyway!!

Fear Factor food. .

is never a game that the little ones want to play!

And. .

sometimes the big kids PRETEND that they don't want to play either. .

but they are ALWAYS up to the challenge. .

Take note of the horrified expressions on their faces as they get a good whiff of these. .

Oysters. .renamed "Frog brains"

and Gorgonzola cheese "decayed lizard tails"

As usual, THEY were up for the challenge. .and ate them without batting an eye (when it was their turn). .
Kristi and I. .not so good! We decided to try them out after the party. .Ick!! Jeremy LOVES them. .

. .and so did his daughter. .who ate them with a fork, right out of the container. .

Double I-C-K!!

Because I am a jerm-a-phobe. .we NEVER bob for apples. .

and it has been years since we bobbed for donuts. .

But thanks to a lot of big helpers who tied them onto the string. .

This game was the hit of the party!!!

In the past we blindfolded the kids. .this time we had them cover their eyes so they couldn't see, and it reminded them that they also couldn't use their hands when they "bobbed" for their dangling donut. .

Pathetic, right??

We finally let them use their eyes. .

and it was still hard for the little guys. .

but they had a BLAST trying to do it!!

Another new game was bobbing for marshmallows using straws!!

It was intended for big kids, but we threw some small marshmallows in our water for the younger ones. .

Almost all of the kids were able to suck out a marshmallow from the water. .

and they all enjoyed trying. The fish enjoyed the leftover marshmallows that got poured into the pond!!

Abraham Lincoln showed up at the party. .Jeremy's cousin is in town for a while as he waits on final plans to go to Germany with his family to work as a missionary. He is sooooo tall!! The kids. .and adults. .loved his costume!

There were no plans to do the punkin' launcher this year. .since we didn't have any small punkins to launch!!However. .the cousins took the go-cart Friday and picked 2 1/2 5gallon buckets of little green and yellow field gourds. .which worked fabulously!!

So Uncle Chris got to tone up his biceps helping Jeremy anchor the launcher. .

Those big boys would get that sucker as tight as they possibly could. .

in an attempt to get the gourds across the highway, about 75 yards or so away from them!!

A few of them made it!

The little ones enjoyed playing catch with balloons inside while warming up. .

The day was beautiful. .but chilly. .

about 56 degrees at the time of the party. .but not a breath of wind. .

so it was really NICE!

While the finishing touches were put on spooky foods. .

these big kids got an index card, 3 toothpicks, and 4 pieces of gum to make a sculpture. .

Here's Tyra, showing off her dude.

 I was disappointed that only a few of the kids actually chewed up their gum. .

most of them made DNA model creations! But it kept them busy for a bit!

32 little spooks and their parents enjoyed the yummy punch and spooky treats!

And everyone went home on a sugar rush. .

 high enough to carry them through. .

until the mother-lode of sugar rushes hits them tonight!!

Let the seasons of treating and eating. .

BEGIN!!

Oh, and I've found lots of cool workouts to do on youtube. .

everything from zumba to tai bo. .

 to try to maintain a trim and slim figure. .

as I snack my way into the new year!!

Happy Halloween ya'll!!

Little Family Road-Trip

So my sister and her family were in town over the weekend. .

they are on fall break from school. .

so we enjoyed them for a nice, long visit!!

Friday we took them down to Alabaster Caverns. .

which their 3 boys  had never seen.

It was cold and windy outside. .

so we were all glad to be in the shelter of the cool cave. .

The caves are an incredible wonder. .

made even cooler this time. .

by these guys and girls!!

It's bat season in the caves. .

and I must say, that made it feel a bit more like Halloween!

I've never been there in the fall, which is prime bat season. .

We saw a lot of bats. .some even close enough to touch. .

and a few times, we had to duck in a reflex maneuver to avoid their little flying selves!!

I won't lie. .

they totally creeped me out. .

but I enjoyed seeing their nasty little rodent-like bodies all the same!

The kids, as you  might imagine. .

loved them!! Even Cami!

After our cave tour, we enjoyed a sort of chilly picnic. .

and then some hiking! Gorgeous, isn't it??

It was a good place to run off their over-abundant energy!

Anytime that we have ever been to the caves it has been really hot. .

so we had never explored any of the trails. .

There were several to choose from. .

but we really only had time to do one.

We found ginormous boulders to climb. .

A little stream with a small wooden bridge to cross. .

and lots of trees. .coupled with some really wide open spaces.

On the way home. .

my brother in law pulled over so they could take a picture with the state sign. .

And every time I see the photo now. .

I can't help but sing the lyrics to Carrie Underwood's song. .

Not enough wind in Oklahoma. .

to rip the nails out of this house. .

Now that  you are singin' it too. .

I'll leave you for today!

I have some of their family photos that I took as well as our annual Halloween bash that will be up a little later this week!

Have a great day. .

and thanks for stopping by!!

Tomorrow's Halloween. .

do you have your Tums purchased yet??

They're Pumpkins. .Incognito!!

Decorating pumpkins for the school's pumpkin contest has ALWAYS been a big thing around our house. .

There's something fun about doing an art project on the big 'ole punkins!! This year was no different; and Cami got to make one for preschool too!

Double trouble!!

I thought they turned out sooo cute.

We didn't really know what we were up to until we sat down with it.

I found some cute little sparkly foam flower stickers at Walmart last week. .which is what we eventually went with. .I saw some cute modge-podged punkins online. .but she wasn't biting. .may have to try some ALL by myself!! The sparkles won her attention!

She worked for an hour with a small paint brush and some off white paint. .

I prefer to think that I was helping her develop fine motor skills by letting her use a small paint brush (instead of prolonging the peace and quiet by making her use a small paint brush)!

We came up with lots of possibilities for Dev's pumpkin. .We ended with the idea to use candy (licorice, jelly beans, and a circus peanut nose) to make a witch on the pumpkin.

BUT. .

while searching the internet. .I came up with Mike from monster's inc. .and knew he would love that because his initial idea was to make an alien pumpkin!!

DOUBLE SCORE!!

He loved. .L-O-V-E-D the idea when he saw the photo. .

and I gotta say. .

His turned out pretty cute too!!

Other than outlining the teeth for him with permanent marker, cutting the foam hands and feet, and helping him glue the appendages on. .He did the whole thing himself. .

In fact, we had to take his picture later that evening because he burned his finger with the hot glue gun, and tragically, couldn't smile after that at all!!

Cami didn't mind though,

it gave her some one on one time with Mike!

Have you started eating Halloween candy already??

I'll NEVER tell!!

Stubborn Blooms

Howdy, Hey!!

Hoping all is well with my friends and neighbors in the blogging world.

Life is good here. .

We are enjoying the changing of the seasons. .

Football will ending shortly. .

and on to a bit of a slower pace.

Tristan has a part in the variety show coming up in November. .

so it will be practice, practice, practice for him. .

and part time jobs starting for both older boys when they no longer have Friday games/practices/team meals!!

The maximillin sunflowers were just radiant as usual. The sparrows will be enjoying their seed pods very soon.

Devin and Cami have been busy creating decorated pumpkins for their school contest. .

which I will post later this week. .

cause they were sooo darn cute!!

Aren't they just perfect and sunshin-y?

As for us big people. .

work, work, work. .

day after day. .

Fifty hour week, with forty hour pay. .

or less :-)

Les Miserables was a great experience for me. .

and the shopping and company were phenomenal!

Jeremy finished his racing season with a blown transmission. .

so he can spend the winter fixing that!

a new to me purple sedum. .the dead bush behind it is just one casualty from the unbearable heat and drought!
My yard is scattered with others. .almost depressing!!

We're gearing up for our big Halloween party this weekend. .

and a nice visit from my sister and her family. .

though she just went home before lunch with symptoms that sound like the flu to me!

After spending 2 days last weekend with a stomach bug myself. .

and seeing TONS of illness-stricken people in the clinics. .

I am at the peak of germ warfare with my lysol bottle!!

There are still some blooms to be had. .

as you might notice in the number of photos that I snapped the other day. .

This weekend is supposed to hit mid 20's again at night. .

so these little greenhouse plants might be the only thing left.

The cherry tomato plants are loaded with blooms. .as is the lemon tree. .

so there is hope. .at least for the tomatos anyway!!

But I can't WAIT until the aroma of those lemon blossoms perfumes the greenhouse!!

It will smell much better than the aroma of the organic fertilizer I used in there a few weeks ago. .

which smelled like the inside of the chicken coop!

I'm trying a greenhouse variety cucumber this winter. .

It isn't growing too fast. .but I hope it works out well. .

cause those would taste good with the tomatoes.

I'm also trying some yellow squash. .

I have NO idea how that will work out.

The mums are short. .because of the heat I'm sure. .

this one is a start from my friend GonSS. .and it is gorgeous!!

The salvia and catmint in the memory garden are doing well still. .

the chickens hunt and peck there every day. .

and it is becoming quite an effort to avoid looking at all the mulch they toss up onto the sidewalk.

I don't have time to sweep it once a week, let alone once a day. .

so I just keep my eyes above the ground!

We love our eggs. .

that is their saving grace!

The rubinstern echinacea are continuing to bloom next to a mum given to us after Jeremy's grandpa died last fall. .I love yellow and purple combo's!

Mini roses??

I am surprised they survived the freeze. .but they are right next to the south side of our warm aluminum siding! They are a bright spot of color.

The burning bushes are turning color and look nice in front of the "grove" of Maximillin sunflowers.

I thought this sight was funny. .the nice salvia bloom in the forefront of the photo. .contrasted to the frozen blooms just feet away! Crazy?

I noticed yesterday afternoon that the Echinacea paradoxica is reblooming. I started them from seed last winter and had only one other bloom on the plant this summer. .I can't wait to see them bigger and fuller next year!

Can't believe next week is November already. .

Can you. .

Where DOES the time go!!

Have a very safe, healthy, and blessed week friends!