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

CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT IAN!

YAHOO! He won! When he walked into the classroom yesterday and his classmates said "Good morning President Ian!" We went to Iguana Mia to celebrate his victory!

Sick, But Not Too Sick

Jenna ran a fever all weekend. It ranged from 100 up to 103. Nothing else was wrong with her just a fever. On Sunday, she hung out in our bedroom, resting and watching her movies. The rest of us were up front watching football, doing laundry and housework. When she needed something, we didn't always hear her so I gave her a little whistle. Ten minutes later, I hear her blowing and go to check on her. "Momma, can you turn off the fan?" A little later, it blows again. "Momma, could I pleeeaaaasse have some Gatorade?" A couple more minutes go by and once again the whistle is sounded. "Momma, I sure could use a little snack!" Finally I tell John the next whistle is his. When he is summoned, she says "This whistle thing is really working well!" Later she told me it was like we were all her maids, getting her whatever she needed.

Thankfully, she is feeling better and the whistle has been permanently lost!

President Ian????

Ian was voted to the top three candidates for his classroom. On Thursday, he has to give a speech explaining why he should be voted President. It was Ian's idea to not say anything bad about his opponents and to thing of words to describe that spell his name. We helped polish it up but this is mostly his speech. (when he first describes the president, picture him measuring himself while speaking and at the end, he is going to write I A N on the board as he says to remember Integrity, Awesome and Nice)


Good morning Ms. Ray and fellow students.

Thank you for allowing me to talk to you about why I would be a good president. I think a good president should be about four feet tall, fast and nice. Ha ha! Just kidding! I really think that presidents should have Integrity, which means doing what is right even though it is hard to do it. Presidents should be Awesome. Each one of us is awesome in our own way. Finally, I think presidents should be Nice. I am friends with a lot of people but, I will not do your class work for you. I have been selected to face two great candidates but remember Integrity, Awesome and Nice. Thank you for your time and VOTE FOR IAN!

Great work Ian! Good Luck!!

Okay, Okay, Okay. We are finally updated!

We have been back in Fort Myers for 15 months.
Of course we were happy to be back home but the
truth is, the move back was so much more stressful
than the move to NM. We made good friends in our
brief stay in Rio Rancho and hope some day to see them
again. It has taken all 15 months to really feel settled and
so I took some time this weekend to sort out pictures to
catch you up on our activities and accomplishments. Plus,
now my family will stop nagging me. :)

So, get a drink, a snack, use the restroom and change into
some comfy clothes because I added A LOT of pictures!


Where we've been...
A typical morning view on from our neighborhood
in New Mexico. Gives you a sense of peace and awe.


Where we are now...
A far cry from the browns of NM. This
flower went crazy in our little pond on
the porch. We finally transplanted it
in Marjory and David's pond.


Jenna loves her new jewelry from
The Berry Family.


My boys. Ian and I are at odds over his hair. He
wants it long and I want it short. The battle
begins!


Ian has gotten into cars lately. Our neighbor Don
is selling his 1973 Corvette Stingray. Ian wanted
to know how many chores he would have to do in
order to buy it from him. Don, being the great guy
that he is, picked Ian up and took him for a ride.
A very cool moment for Ian (and John).

Jenna May is 6!

Our baby girl really isn't a baby any more! :(
Jenna's birthday always seems to sneak up on us.
I think because we are bustling about getting ready
for school to start and then, all of a sudden, it is
Sept 9 already.
This year we decided to have her party at Michael's
craft store and it was AWESOME! I think the secret
to the success was the help that the other Mom's
gave me and the party attendant. I was a little
nervous, 9 kids, with paint and glitter...it was either
going to be a great time or a giant mess. Thankfully,
it was a great time!


Party People in the House!
Back Row: Chelsea, Joshua, Ian, Michael, Sophia
Front Row: Morgan, Elizabeth, Jenna, Colsen
Missing: Lindsey, who was sick with the flu.
(she was missed and thankfully she is feeling better!)
Lindsey, Jenna, Colsen and Elizabeth were in
Pre-K together so it was fun to compare kindergarten
experiences.

Hard at work decorating our treasure boxes.
We had all kinds of paints, glitter paint and stickers
to use to decorate the boxes. It was neat how no
two boxes looked the same.


Jenna's box.

Chelsea's box.

Colsen (also know as Jenna's boyfriend) and

his box.

Elizabeth's box. I loved her

colors!

Ian's funky box.

Joshua and his "dark" box.

Rock on Michael!

Well done Morgan!

Sophia was proud of her box!

Don't you love her smile!

After we were done with boxes,

we decorated cupcakes. Here is

Elizabeth adding just the right

amount of pink icing to hers.

We had cupcake candles for Jenna's

cupcake. Thank goodness she only

turned 6 because there wasn't

much room left for any more candles.

Pooped out after all of that hard work! Or not,

she is quite the camera ham. She does anything

but give a nice smile when the camera comes out.

Jenna, as usual, enjoyed being the center of attention.

I believe she was saying "oh yeah, oh yeah!"

She received many wonderful gifts,

but her favorite was Ponita. Our kids often choose

the obvious when they name thier stuffed animals. We

have several Blackey, Brownie, Beary, Giraffey,

and Snakeys in our house. We were impressed

with Ponita!

We hope you had a wonderful birthday Jenna! We know

how much you enjoyed seeing some of your Pre-K buddies

again. We love you little Jenna Bean.