Trick or Treat!

That time of year again, where the kids dress up, their school's host parties and this mama does her darnedest to make it to two parties and through trick or treating with a big smile on my face. 

Thankfully I have a pretty awesome coworker who picked up my slack this afternoon...on his birthday nonetheless! It allowed me to dash out of the office around 12:30 and head to Regan's class. 

I arrived just as the kiddos were getting into costume for the parade. The shape of the school creates a natural indoor parade route and all the kids line up along the hallways and one class follows the next.

Aren't they so cute! 

From there, four of us parents supervised 'stations' for the next hour; I was tasked with candy corn relay. Other stations were cupcake decorating, bowling with pumpkins (that was a LOUD bang against the wall with each throw) and Halloween bingo. The kids love holiday parties and I love helping out! Getting to know all 21 classmates makes me feel like I know so much more about Regan's day. Her teacher and student teacher are wonderful and I remind them constantly how impressed I am not only with their teaching ability but their incredible patience. 

Just as Regan's party wound down, we dashed out the door and raced a few miles north where Sidney was waiting (tears welling in her eyes) for us to arrive. Ryan beat us there and she thought that meant I was a 'no-show'. Oh my sweet mama's girl....how I love her drama. She spotted me walk into her room and flew across the table into my arms. I love those warm welcomes! 

Their new 'treat' policy means no more cupcakes and cookies and candy. I thank them for this policy. Instead, the kids snacked on fruit kabobs, yogurt and granola bars. In all honesty, they had just as much fun with those "treats". 

Our little ham then shined in front of a group of parents as she sang the months of the year while doing the Macarena Dance. Man alive that is cute. She has been practicing hard and sometimes I just ask her to sing/dance so I can watch her talent. 

Finally after an early dinner, it was time to head out trick or treating. Leigha joined me once again and I'm sure glad to have her with! It makes the walk much more enjoyable, because frankly, the girls don't so much need my help anymore climbing the stairs or remembering to say "thank you". They just bounce from one house to the next, or stumble...only two falls (one each), and one with any substantial blood. After all, it is dark outside! 

 Here are Ryan, Sheri and Hope's masterpieces! Me and the girls have the sole job of cleaning out the guts, the rest was up to them. Don't they look awesome!? 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! 

Star of the Week

Sweet Sidney is our star of the week! Well, technically she is a star to us every week, but this week she gets to shine at school too. 

We brought in all sorts of pictures, wrote a letter about her and she filled in an "all about me" poster.
I think she's most excited about "doing the calendar". I don't really know what that entails, but I sense she gets to lead the class in saying the day/month/year. Whatever it is, she is sooo very proud of herself! 

Happy Star of the Week Sidney! 

Big day with the MN Vikings

Earlier this month, we received one of those mass-generated phone calls from Regan's school. They come about once/month, reminding us parents about upcoming school events, safety reminders in the parking lot, conferences, you know the drill. This particular phone call caught my attention quickly as it went something like this: "....and at the end of the month, we will be getting a visit from FOUR Minnesota Vikings players to talk to us about bullying". 

It wasn't the bullying that really caught my attention, though I do believe it is a very very important topic, and I'm incredibly happy to know her school takes this issue seriously. 

I have to be honest, it was the fact that FOUR Minnesota Vikings were coming to her school to deliver the message that grabbed my attention. 

I was so excited for her! Keep in mind, we like us some football in this house. 

So today was the big day. I have spent many nights talking to her about bullying (we don't seem to have this issue and I'd like to keep it that way), so she knew what the topic was about. Then we decked her out in Vikings gear and sent her off. 

She came home telling us all about the players, who was big and tall and one that seemed to be "a lot smaller" than the others. I think she was pretty star-struck too. Then she showed me her autographs! 

Needless to say, I think Joe Webb, Harrison Smith, Robert Blanton and Jamarca Sanford made an impact on her. She got the message about bullying and I'm happy her school found a very creative way to deliver this message. 

Weekend with Hope

It's hard to believe my oldest Godchild, Hope, will be graduating from high school this spring!

Every year for the last 10+ years, she has come to spend time with me in the 'big city'. As we drove around on Saturday, we reminisced about things we had done over the many years: swimming pools, lakes, movies, games and all the fun in between. I remember one specific year where Ryan got in on the fun and took her to Target to buy her a slip n slide....not sure who was more excited that year :) 

One particular place we frequented again this year was Minihaha Falls. We came home and found the similar pictures of her at this exact location (I'll get around to scanning and uploading them soon).

 Of course now when we go on various outings, we have two more cuties in tow....

And they adore Hope as much as I do. Both arguing over who gets to sit by her at meals and then in the mornings, asking over and over again "when do teenagers wake up?!"..... :) 

Regan had a slight mishap at the park, not entirely paying attention to her surroundings and walked directly into the water. Need I remind you: it. was. cold. 

She was fine, just a bit embarrassed.  

And then since it's October, and the weekend before Halloween, we got Hope in on the action of carving pumpkins. She took a shot at one of the crafty-fancy carvings and did a whopper of a job! I think I'll let her high school workshop teacher know that she has fulfilled her home work for the weekend. Wowzas did she work hard (those pics will come too).

Thanks again for coming to stay with us Hope! 

We love you!

Halloween fun

The girls and I made a quick Halloween craft this morning, thanks to Pinterest. They thought it was super cute to glue a bunch of cotton balls to their 'ghost' and then add some shapes for a face. I thought it made for a cute home made decoration. 

 After our morning art class, we headed to Camp Spooky to hang out with Hudson, Paxton and Harlow on some wild rides :) It was a gorgeous afternoon, pushing 70 and sunny. What more can we ask for?!

Look closely and you'll see Sidney with Paxton and Hudson with Regan flying around Snoopy.

Regan the pumpkin

 We walked half way around the park to find a stand with the beloved dippin' dots. The kids go ga-ga for these things. Sidney was so excited she forgot how to use her spoon!

We had 4 stroller seats and 4 adults, so there was a lot of musical strollers happening. I liked the view I got when I took over this stroller: hello sweet baby girl!

I know the girls look forward to this pre-Halloween event every year. Not only do they love putting on their costumes again (which were shed given the warm temps), but they also look forward to spending a day with Hudson and Paxton going on ride after ride until we are all dizzy and green.

Thanks for a great time! 

Double Dorothys!

The girls get excited each year for Halloween, as I suppose do most children. They spent countless hours tossing around ideas of "what to be". Regan was pretty solid on her "Dorothy" costume, but Sidney changed ideas every time she was asked. Once she saw the Dorothy dress, she too fell in love and couldn't resist. 

So we have two Dorothys...and two Todos for Halloween. 

This afternoon we participated in an annual Halloween event, and on the way. 

 Sidney fell asleep. 

Poor girl caught a cold....look closely at how I found her as I was about to take her out of her seat: 

She woke up and the two had a great time, heading down the trail to various "tricks" so they could earn their "treats". A few scares on Sidney's part with costumed volunteers that she wasn't eager too get close to. But she braved it, sticking close to big sissy so they could have a bag full of candy at the end. 

 Happy (early) Halloween! 

AG Experiences

Ben/Jon came up with an incredible birthday gift for Sidney. I have always agreed that "doing" presents are so much more valuable than "material" gifts. And seeing that they live so far away, making shipment expensive, they mailed her a gift card to the wonderful American Girl doll store and requested that I take the girls (and their dolls) for lunch. So today we set out to the mall, and both Regan and Sidney were over the moon excited! 

They prepped their dolls the night before, getting them all dressed and ready for the big day and then picked out skirts and tights for themselves. 

 Once in the bistro, they grabbed chairs for their dolls and we set right up to the table and got busy ordering family friendly (though not super great tasting) dishes. Even the dolls were served a plate and drink. I caught both girls "feeding" their dolls throughout our meal. It was priceless!

 Ben/Jon were so generous that both girls had enough money left over to get their dolls ears pierced too! Boy are they excited to have earrings to switch out as often as we change their clothes. Sidney's only frustration was that she doesn't yet have her ears pierced. But when I offered today, she did exactly as I predicted "well, maybe when I'm 5". 

Sure kiddo, maybe. :) 

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU BEN/JON FOR THE WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY EXPERIENCE! 

weekly dinner

With the plethora of activities, homework, play dates and responsibilities at work, we haven't been able to see Leigha (or Logan) as much as we would like. So when the girls found out that Leigha was joining us for dinner earlier this week, they squealed with delight. And then the doorbell rang and they squealed even louder. 

She's pretty great when it comes to playing games with the girls, and Twister was the game of choice on this night :) That game makes me laugh. 

And she's super great at snuggling with the girls before bed. 

Mystery girls weekend

This weekend it was my turn for a "first". It was the first time I left my family for TWO nights. And as much as I was dreading leaving them, I knew I was going to have a wonderful time. 

I had no idea what the weekend had in store, only our fearless leader knew. This is something called 'Mystery Weekend'. Chrissy planned a great get-a-way, but it was a complete secret. We were given a packing list, and one that had us pretty puzzled when we read things like "super hero costume" or "one garbage bag". 

And then we arrived at this place in SE Minnesota. Though in it's 1970's interior design, it was perfect. 

After a night of pedicures, games and loads of laughing around the kitchen table, we were told to be awake and ready to go at 9:45am. 

In super hero costumes. 

What?! At 9:45....AM!!! 

Turns out, we were creating and then entering a pumpkin derby....while in costume.  

Yes, you read that right, check out the photo below. We crafted two pumpkins including axles/wheels and decorating and then let them sail down the track in a race. 

 Thankfully we were able to change out of our (very cold) Super Hero costumes before heading out onto the river in kayaks. For two and a half hours we paddled (in the misting fog...hence our garb), and chatted while taking in all the incredible scenery. I'm telling you, Chrissy knows how to plan a great weekend!

 And what girls weekend is complete without a night out on the town!? I let go complete control of any plans/itinerary for the weekend and let's just say it was the most amazing experience. I did what I was told, was in the complete dark of what was to happen next and never once had to make any decision. 

It. Was. Awesome!

And what does a daddy and his two daughter's do when mommy is away? (besides Regan's multiple melt downs of "I miss mommy")

They go to a school-related party, a birthday party and of course....

eat out for nearly every meal! 

Looks like they too had a fun weekend and everyone was excited to reunite this afternoon.

 We got to end the weekend dogsitting for THE best dog around!! 

Thanks to Maddi, we were able to spend several hours walking, playing and snuggling with Nala! 

Thanks for an amazing weekend!

Girl time

It's close week for the accountant of the family. And that means he has many late nights at the office and/or evenings/nights working from home. So for me and the girls, it means GIRL TIME! Regan and Sidney's extra-curricular activities have us running 3 nights/week to dance, gymnastics and religion classes. It's busy. But we try to make the best of it: picnic dinners, singing in the car, playtime at playgrounds and extra snuggles at night. It's not always easy, I will admit it. Getting them to hunker down, eat quickly or change clothes without whining is not always an easy feat. And last night, I crashed before 9pm on the couch. Because I was just that tired. 

The things we do for our children! 

 

"AG Doll"

The girls love their "AG dolls", or American Girl dolls as the rest of us call them. They walk around daily saying "let's play with our AG dolls". Neither of the dolls have a name that has stuck, it changes on sometimes an hourly basis. But one thing is certain, they love these dolls to pieces! Today they each strolled their doll to a local park to get out and enjoy the fresh air. Sidney narrated the entire walk to her doll, pointing out all sorts of things. She really never stops talking that girl :)

Apple orchard

On this very frigid day, we headed west to a local apple orchard with some good friends. It was cold, fun, cold, entertaining and cold! Last year we wore sweatshirts to the orchard, this year, we had plenty of cold weather gear and still shivered. Thankfully we managed to keep moving which helped us stay warm and have loads of fun. 

 Ryan reminded me that there were likely many mice living under this hill of hay. As long as they stayed WAY under the hill, all was good. Sidney has decided that while hay hills are loads of fun in the moment, the itchy aftermath is no longer worth the fun in her mind. This mama agrees 100%.

 Being first in line at the train rides has its advantages....you get to pick the pink car :) 

 I think Regan will tell you that one of her most favorite things to do is sit atop this 7 foot train and just gaze at the world happening around her. She's a people watcher that girl, and sitting up high provides a great view. 

 We were minus a nap today, and in all honesty, while it makes going to bed easier, it makes for a L-O-N-G afternoon. So after a long tantrum of "nothing is right", Sidney was all smiles posing for me in front of a beautiful backdrop. 

 Happy fall!! 

Chair lifts Fall Colors 2012

We made the annual trek down the street to enjoy the chairlifts and the fall colors. It wasn't as nice as it was HERE, but the colors were spectacular, much better than they were HERE. 

The girls really enjoy this outing, which generally is the first weekend of October. So once the weather starts to get chilly, and the leaves start to change, we start fielding the "when can we ride the chairs up the hill?" questions. 

And today, was finally that day. 

 It was windy today, gusts of 20-30mph and temps in the mid 40's. We bundled up warm: winter jackets, hats, mittens and even a blanket for up at the top around the campfire. Brrrrr!
I'm not real certain it was smart to try to take a picture riding the lifts with cold fingers, amazingly I didn't drop the camera :) 

 I love this owl. She comes out to visit each year and I look forward to seeing her. Owls are so pretty and really quite an interesting sight. I'll never forget the first time Regan saw her head twist nearly 360 degrees. Her eyeballs about fell out of her head; it pretty much sums up how i feel about them.

 But the main reason I love love love this experience, is the colors. I love to soak in the beauty from the highest spot in the county. And today the colors were breath taking. From every side of the hill, we saw shades of yellow, red and orange. Beautiful

The girls played a few games, learned about various animal skins (heads attached...totally grosses us all out), including a squirrel. Regan had to tell the poor volunteer about our recent dead squirrel in our yard courtesy of the neighbors dog. 

But aren't they cute!

 Some friends met up with us, and they are ALL BOY! So we ventured into the woods on a nature hunt. Sidney was scared out of her mind, thinking a bear was going to get us. Poor girl. 

 And then the girls rolled and rolled and rolled to their hearts content. I'm pretty sure one of them rolled somewhere near or in geese poop, but I didn't want to spoil their fun so I just let them go. I know. GROSS! 

Because frankly, I was too busy soaking in more colors. 

We got to play a little game I discovered called "Where's Sidney?"

And ended the evening with s'mores around the campfire at the top of the hill. Another year of fall colors are falling quickly to the ground. I'm glad we were able to see and enjoy their beauty, despite knowing that snow is just around the corner.