Trick Or Treat

Well, another successful Halloween Night! The temperature was just a little chilly. Thank you Uncle Tighe and Auntie Kathy for Tinker Bell and the Devils' costumes. Thank you Debbie for Mickey Mouse. Everyone looked great!

Pumpkin Carving

It was an early dismissal day on Halloween, so we carved our pumpkins after school. Everyone did a great job! Grandma Jane toasted pumpkin seeds.

Sarah and Samantha's Halloween Parade

The girls' new school had a Halloween Parade. Grandma Jane, Abby, Andrew, and I had front row seats to view all of the costumes. Samantha was dressed as a devil and Sarah as a witch.

Abby's PreSchool Halloween Parade

Abby's PreSchool had a Halloween Parade. They were adorable. They sang some songs, too.

Abby's Girls Only Halloween Party

Abby was invited to a Girls Only Halloween Party by our friends the Kirbys. This year Abby wanted to be Tinker Bell. She had a wonderful time with some one on one attention from Mommy. She made a cat out of a canning jar, a Halloween sign, decorated a pumpkin, and participated in a Halloween parade in the rain. Thank you Sydney and Katelyn for a great Halloween Party!

Happy Anniversary x2!

On October 19th, Chris and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been 12 years. Chris got me a dozen roses and we enjoyed an evening out to dinner at PF Chang's...yum!

On October 23rd, I celebrated a very important anniversary. 5 Years since my melanoma surgery. This is a very big deal. I have had NO other spots and continue to see my dermatologist every 6 months (up from every 3-4 months). I still have minimal swelling in my left ankle from my lymph node dissection, but it's not so bad.


I feel very fortunate for my health and my family.

The Science Projects

It's really quite simple. It's a game of payback. I've assigned such assignments, when I used to teach, now my own children have to complete them.

It was the old Planet Diorama. Of course, Abby wanted to make one, too. Even Marina from next door came over to make one, too. It was so funny seeing them lined up along the driveway, painting their Styrofoam planets.

Two A's were earned for all that hard work. :-)

OUCH!!

On Monday night, Andrew decided to fall off Abby's bed. There was blood coming out of his mouth and nose. I was able to get his mouth to stop bleeding and the crying to stop, too...the magic of a popsicle for both things. We ended up visiting Daddy at Nighttime Pediatrics for the nose. He's fine...we got home and he ran to his bed and started jumping. You know, we've read Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, but I don't think he get's the moral of the story.

On Tuesday, right before giving a presentation at a school, the school nurse calls from the twins' school. Samantha touched a light bulb, that was off, after a science demonstration. She's fine, too. She now has 2 blisters on her fingers.

Stay tuned...I'm sure Abby and Sarah can manage to get in on this action, soon!!

The Corn Maze

On Sunday, Sarah and Samantha decided to go swimming in Danielle and Amanda's new pool, so Chris & I took Abby and Andrew to the local corn maze http://mdsunrisefarm.com/corn_maze/. We had a great time. It took about 40 minutes to get all the way through the maze (without a map). After the maze, we took a really long hay ride all over the Dairy Farm (used to be the Naval Academy Dairy Farm).

Late Night Picnic

Saturdays are pretty busy on Iron Corner Ct. Many families have sports events for their children. What a beautiful October day it was on Saturday. All of the kids played outside after the soccer games. Around 7 pm, we decided to cook a couple of pizzas, cut up a cantaloupe, and grab some juice boxes. We brought out chairs, a blanket and a table to set up a picnic underneath the street light in front of the neighbor's house. 3 families having a picnic in the street. The sky was so clear. What a wonderful fall evening.....then it got really cold around 9, so we all went in! :-)

Our Soccer Star...Abby Scores 2 Goals

It has finally happened. One of our children scored not 1, but 2 goals in her soccer game. OK, so one was in the correct goal and the other was for the other team. Oh well! We are so proud! Can you believe I missed the photo op on that one?!

CHA Fall Festival

Our church, Church of the Holy Apostles, has an annual Fall Festival in October. Not only did I brave this event, by myself, with my 4 children, I took an additional 2 for the fun of it. Ha Ha! It really was very easy. Everyone had a buddy to go around with, not to mention the wonderful friends at church (Thanks Joyce, Mike, Julie & Patrick). The kids enjoyed the pumpkin painting, Old Time Car Rides in Fr. Kevin's car, Moon Bounce, Slide, Pinata, Face Painting, Eating (Andrew's favorite event), cotton candy (Abby's only meal for the evening...who told her about the cotton candy?), popcorn, snow cones, along with a good old cookout.

Samantha and Abby's 1st Game of the Season

Last week was a rain out. So the first game ended up on Saturday, October 4. Abby's game was at 9 am. They split her team in half and they played each other. Here are a few things about Mini-Striker Soccer:

-No goalies

-No scores

-3 vs. 3, except when teammates finally decide they want to play, then it's 5 vs. 6 by the end of the game

-It's OK to cry

-Don't want to play in the game?, that's fine (even if your parents freak out...don't worry, Abby played twice, but some parents weren't so lucky)

-It's OK to score a goal in the other team's net

-Cheer for everyone

-It's OK to hang out in the goal with a boy, while the rest of the game is going on at the other end of the field (Yes, I am talking about Abby this time).

All in all, she did a great job and had fun!! Thank goodness the games are only about 30 minutes.

Samantha's game wasn't until 11:15. Samantha's team played another green team, so they had to wear the fashionable yellow Pennies. They lost 4-0, but they really tried hard. Samantha even played some offense for the first time in I don't know how many years. Great Effort, Samantha!!

The Conspiracy

They are truly partners in crime. Chris had turned on the shower, then walked away to grab something. In a matter of seconds, Abby and Andrew entered the bathroom and locked the door. By the time Chris got the key to open the door, Andrew was in the shower...fully clothed. He was soaked!!! I am sure, if he could talk, he would tell us that Abby locked the door and told him to get in the shower. :-) Aren't big sisters great?!

Abby (& Andrew's) 1st Field Trip

Abby had her 1st school field trip today. We (Abby, Andrew, and I) went to Green Meadows Farm in Jessup, Maryland. We took a hayride, saw a farm animal show, pet pigs, sheep, lamb, goats; chased geese; saw cows, turkeys, chicken, a Brahman Steer, a Clydesdale and much, much more. I held a less than 1 day old piglet for the preschool class to pet. It was SO cute, but very noisy. We ended the trip in the "pumpkin patch" where the kids picked a pumpkin. Fall is officially here!