Happy Halloween Haunts

This is one of my favorite holidays. It gives you

a reason to make silly foods, dress up in

sillier clothes plus you get to eat more candy

than you should.

This was the first year that we hosted the

Halloween get together that happens every

year with us and John's Family. Knowing that

they were coming gave me an excuse to do

some Halloween crafts and cook "spooky

food". We were extra excited when Josh,

Katy and Christian decided to come over too.

Creating spooky food has become a tradition.

It is a tradition that I borrowed from Sue

Koenig, who passed away several years ago.

She was my first "other mother" as I think I

spent as much time at her house during my

high school years as I did at my own. She always

gave us a spooky spread to celebrate Halloween.

This year, I was glad to carry on her tradition with her

daughter, Katy. Even the kids got in on the fun by

helping me with the food. A special "thank you" to

John as well. He helped me with the one million last

minute details. The kids looked great, the food turned

out fun, we had friends and family over to help celebrate...

what more could one want?

A real ghost?

Nothing says Halloween like a little

candy blood.

Jenna enjoyed a little snack rat! Crazy girl!

Our Halloween fun started on Wed

with the fall festival at CCD classes.

The kids had to find saint or church

related costumes. Ian was a

shepard, complete with his staff

and herd.

Mother Mary Jenna and her

"Baby Jesus". She looks quite

sweet here, if I do say so myself!

Ian was Snake Eyes from G I Joe.

Really, anything black with a sword

would be awesome by Ian's

standards. He looked cool but

was very hot. It was a warm night plus

his costume had him covered from

head to toe. Maybe those cold

nights in Texas aren't as bad as

I think they are.

Hip, Hip Hooray for Halloween!

For the past several weeks,

Jenna practiced Halloween cheers.

Our skull fairy, Morgan. I love

her wings!

A sweet costume for sweet

Chelsea.

Ninja, aka Joshua

Yikes, what scary pumpkins! Jenna's is the

ghost and Ian's in the skull. They worked so

hard on these and did a great job!

Poor John...don't be so scared!

These are my glue ghosts. These were cheesecloth

strips dipped into a glue/water mixture and then

draped over a balloon. Once dry, the balloon

was popped and TA DA, a ghost! I was grateful

to John for stringing them with the lights. It

was the perfect effect.

Halloween Jugs. Can you guess which one

John did?

Pumpkin Head John, this makes me

smile each time I see it.

The Pumpkin Head Family

(Ian, John, Christy, Jenna, Chelsea, Morgan)

Spooky Spider Snacks, these are what the kids

took to CCD and then we made them again for

our Halloween get together.

"Eye" love a good snack

Does anyone know a good dentist?

Finger Food

Bloody toes

Rotten Apple Punch

Mmm, Mmm, Mummies (Pizza that is)

This graveyard cake was created by Katy.

It tasted as good as it looked!

Thanks again to David, Marjory, Jennifer,

Chelsea, Morgan, Katy, Christian and Joshua

for coming over and helping us to celebrate!

My Texas Family

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

~Anthony Brandt

I am so grateful to my parents for sending me a plane ticket so

I could come out for a short visit. I took in some sights in Dallas,

a freezing night time concert, a couple of tee ball games, a shopping

trip for maternity clothes and a wonderful family dinner. Considering

I was only there for a couple of days, I can't imagine what more we

could have possibly fit in.

The Dallas skyline

My Dad has a client near these mustangs. Every

time he sees them he thinks of Jenna, who just

loves horses. So, of course, while we were out

seeing the sights, he brought me to see these.

This is the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. It was

amazing! (Which I hate to admit because I am

an anti-fan of The Boys) Those glass panes are

really doors that can slide back so it is all open.

We were hoping to take a tour but it was closed.

My sister Amy and her sweet boy Evan.

After our sightseeing, we met The Berry's and
my Mom for lunch for some Mongolian stir fry.
It was mmm, mmm, good!

Amy and Allen, staying close to stay warm.

For dinner, we went to enjoy an outdoor concert

and bbq. It might possibly be the coldest picnic

I have ever been on. It was expected to get into

the 40's that night. This Florida girl does not enjoy

the cold weather. However, she does enjoy a

yummy brat, cold beer, great music and even

better company. It was a fun night!

Evan has been practicing wiggling

his hips when he dances. He got

A LOT of practice that night.

Isaac and Spencer Lemons,

adventurers extraodinaire.

These boys took advantage of the open

field to create all kinds of adventures.

Here they are walking so carefully so

they didn't fall into the lava. I'm happy

to report that they were successful!

WHEW!

Coach "Dad"

Saturday started with tee ball games.

Greg is the coach for Spencer's team.

They play Blast Ball, with is similar to

tee ball but less structure...and much

more amusing. The other team had kids

laying in the field, wandering around and

one even joined in with Spencer's team while

they were running the bases. My sister and I

were cracking up watching these cute kids!

For most of the game, Spencer played first base.

He also spent a good part of the game chatting
with the other coach. These bases are funny

because they "honk" when you jump on them.

So, all through the game, the kids on base would

jump up and down making it squeak.

Isaac played catcher for the first

part of his game. He was all business.

He didn't even look at us as we cheered

for him. As soon as the batter hit, he

would jump to the front of the plate to

be ready for the play to be at home plate.

Great job Isaac!

"Amy, how do I make Evan laugh?"

Isaac was very proud of his "eye blackers".

Beautiful Mommas, Amy (in black) and Angie

(in brown)

I'm going to be an aunt again...twice! Amy is

due at the end of January and Angie is due

about a month later. The main event of the trip

was to take them on a shopping trip to stock up on

some new maternity clothes. They both found

some great outfits. Once back to my parents,

we made them do a modeling show so we

could see everything they purchased.

Spencer having dessert after the yummy

roast dinner my Dad made for us. Angie

was less than thrilled with the Halloween

treats our parents gave her kids.

Grandma taste testing a mouse.

Yum...super giant spiders!

"Hi Jenna!

During each visit to Grandma and Grandpa's

house, Evan asks to take a trip down the hall

to "visit" his cousins. He especially loves to

say "Hi to Ian, Jenna and SANTA CLAUS!"

(Last December, we happened to bump into

Santa on the beach and he was nice enough to

stop for a picture)

Thanks to my parents, sisters and their families

for showing me such a wonderful time. I was sad

to head home...until I walked in the front door

and was greeted with several Welcome Home

messages taped to the doors and the happy

shrieks of "Mom's home!".

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers