Happy Halloween

We have been really celebrating Halloween!  First Katelyn had a Halloween party for preschool.  She wanted her hair down her back.  She also got to wear makeup to be a princess.  

 Elyse was so happy after I did her hair for the Trunk or Treat.  What a sweetheart!

 Our sweet bumblebee all ready for the Trunk or Treat.

 On our way to the party.

 The girls both thought looked pretty spiffy.  When I would turn around, they were all smiles!

 We had the Trunk or Treat at the church.  Katelyn kept asking when Santa was coming out.  I told her that it wasn't the Christmas party.  She then pointed to a kid dressed like a sorcerer with a big white beard and said "Santa!"

 Katelyn during the costume parade!

 I put Elyse on the stage next to her.  Katelyn walked by a few times.  She thought everyone had come to see her.  

 We did our traditional Halloween feast.  We had dinner in a pumpkin,

 shrunken heads in apple cider,

 candy filled witch's broomsticks,

and spider web chip dip.  We also had bone rolls, mummy toes and graveyard cake, but I forgot to take pictures of them.  Too bad.  But it was very fun, as usual.   

 Halloween is pretty fun.  

Hope your Halloween is Spooktacular!  

You Are My Sunshine!

This is my favorite.  I love that the girls love to sing.  Especially this song.  My mom sang it to me and it made me feel special and loved.  Now I can sing it to my girls, because the are special and loved!

We have a You Are My Sunshine book that Katelyn took to music class for a bring a song book to class assignment.  I was so proud of her as she sang the book to the class.  She seems so old sometimes, and I am glad to be able to watch her learn and grow.  

Speaking of growing, these little guys are.  It is a science project I did with Katelyn's preschool when it was my turn to teach.  You put kidney beans and corn in a cup with a wet paper towel.  And they grow and grow and grow.  We took these pictures 2 days ago, and today they are another 4 inches taller.  We have enjoyed watching them.  Hopefully that means that next year I might be able to keep my hanging baskets alive!

Serpent Mounds

Devin took school off today, so we drove about 2 hours from here to a historical site called the Serpent Mound.  It is a mound in the shape of a snake.  They believe it was from a civilization that live in Ohio about 1000 years ago.  There is nothing buried in the mound, but archaeologist don't know who built them or what they were for.  It was a pretty cool historical (or as Devin would say, hysterical) site.

The girls and I the way up a platform that was built in 1900.  We are trusting...

 Devin taking a picture of the mound from said platform.   The little specks are Katelyn, Elyse and me.  The mound stretched about a quarter mile, zigzagging back and forth and them coiling on the end.  Each zigzag lined up with a different seasons moon rise/set or sun rise/set. 

We had a lot of fun.  We love personal days from school!

Pumpkin Patch

One day this week, Devin got done with school early, so we picked him up and went to a local pumpkin patch.  We had a lot of fun. 

This little piggy went to the pumpkin patch. 

 Cutest farmer ever!

Katelyn searching for that perfect pumpkin.  

 She thought the perfect pumpkin would be cleaner.  She kept rejecting the pumpkins we chose because they were too dirty.  At one point she found a pumpkin that she liked.  She yelled, "This is it..." then she lifted it up and saw the dirty underside and sighed, "...nope!"  We eventually convince her that she could wash one when we got home.  

Katelyn going down the slide in the Fun Barn.  The straw at the bottom was so deep that she sunk when she landed.  I caught her every time she went down after this one.  Elyse was fearless.  She loved this slide.  I didn't get a movie because I couldn't film and catch her too!

 Look how big they are getting!

Drivin' the tractor.

We spent most of our time at the Straw Caves.  There were tunnels made of straw bails with wood slats on top and then large opening that Katelyn loved running around it.  There were older kids in the cave playing tag.  Katelyn thought she was playing too.  Whenever an older kid came around the corner, she squealed and ran the other direction!

  

Elyse outside the cave just itching to be with Katelyn.

So Katelyn came and got her and they went through together.  Katelyn held her hand as they walked through the tunnels.  

She was so proud to be the big sister.  She said to the older girls, "This is my little sister!" (They didn't really care.  But Katelyn was sure they were at the pumpkin patch to see her.)

As they were walking down the tunnels, Katelyn said to Elyse, "Don't worry.  We'll make it.  I promise we'll make it!"  It was so sweet.  Shortly after that declaration, Katelyn let go of Elyse's hand and left her to fend for herself.  Katelyn came out of the tunnel alone, and we lifted Elyse over the bails.  They both had a blast! 

Fall in Ohio

We have been having a lot of fun lately.  The weather has been awesome.  Yesterday it was 78 degrees.  So we are taking advantage of the Indian summer before the cold sets in.

One of my favorite of Elyse's shirts.  

 Katelyn tried on her new coat.  Then she laid down on Elyse, but Elyse didn't care.  They both just laid there.  

 One morning after breakfast.  

 But she cleaned up nicely.

 We went for a walk at Prairie Oaks Metro Park.  The girls had a ton of fun.  There were a bunch of boulders to climb on.  

 Giving Elyse a smooch.  

 Posing.  Pretty cute. 

 Dancing on the rock.  Elyse put the little rock by Katelyn shoe and is bending for another.  She thought stacking the rocks was so fun.  

 Elyse on Pride Rock. "It's the circle of life..."

Half way on our walk, we crossed a little creek.  The girls found sticks and splashed them in the water for about 15 minutes.  They'd have stayed there all night.   

Elyse was so sad leaving the bridge.  She was hitting Devin on the head.  That is why he is ducking and grimacing.  

But he did as the primary song suggests- he quickly turned her frown upside down.  It distracted her enough that we were able to enjoy the rest of our walk.   

Fall is really the best time of year in Ohio.  We love it.  Especially after a hot summer like this last one.  We love to open our windows at night and turn off the air conditioning.  And the girls love all the time we spend outside.