Happy Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone. Maddie and Greyson had such a great night! In our house, Halloween starts long before October arrives. Over the past months we have perused, pondered, and debated dozens of costume possibilities. This year Greyson considered a variety of superheros but ultimately settled on a spider. A simple black sweat suit, some black socks, and some batting made up most of the costume. But it was the web drawn with white fabric paint that made it special for Greyson. We even added some plastic insects!

Maddie really never wavered on her choice. Last year she had a difficult time deciding between a cat and a butterfly. She chose to be a cat and reserved the butterfly for this year. There were a few other considerations, a lion, a dog, animals mostly. But they were fleeting and in the end she stuck with the butterfly. The original costume was much different from what she actually wore. The wings were made out of foam and were covered with felt. They were pretty but looked heavy and not very butterfly-like. Then I discovered a pattern using wings made out of wire and showed it to Kjell. Earlier that evening Kjell's brother had come by and mentioned he had been welding. Within minutes of seeing the wings, Kjell had grabbed some wire and dashed off to Johnce's house. When he returned he had a frame of perfectly formed butterfly wings. With some old fabric and felt we transformed them into Monarch wings. A quick alteration to last year's cat suit and her costume was complete. Well, nearly. We added some butterfly eyes and jewels to complete the look.

Halloween night we hosted a spaghetti supper for a couple of our neighbors and their kids. After dinner the kids got dressed and head out for trick-or-treating. The moms walked with the little tricksters while the boys manned the bonfire and dished out the treats. The weather was cold but not nearly as cold as last year and we actually made it around the corner to a couple of other streets in the neighborhood. The kids literally ran from house to house trying to be the first to reach the doorbell. It was quite a night and the kids are already talking about what they want to be next year.

Riley, Cooper, Sam, Cody, Greyson, & Maddie

a new page

OK. So it's 11:06 pm and I'm staring at the computer trying to get inspired to write my first blog page. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a night owl and that this is not an unusually late hour for me to begin a project. And anyone who knows me also knows that I'm not usually short on words. But right now, I'm not having much luck coming up with anything. To make matters worse I'm feeling somewhat distracted. . . Maddie just trotted downstairs and announced that she's "not tired". This I actually believe since she had a nap today, the first nap she's taken in a very long time. It's been a full week with near daily trips to the pool and long evenings spent outside playing with friends. Today we spent a couple of hours at the bowling alley. I figured the kids could use some extra sleep and when we returned from the bowling alley I insisted that they "take a rest"--the more kid-friendly version of "take a nap". Greyson slept for two and a half hours and Maddie was down for nearly an hour and a half. Naturally, when it came time for bed this evening neither one of them was sleepy. Nevertheless, teeth were brushed, stories read, and lights were eventually turned off. Still, you can't convince a seven year old she's sleepy by mere trickery. Thus the announcement of "not tired". Lacking the energy to protest I told her to camp out on the couch, which she did, and now she's asleep. Ordinarily that would be a good thing but since she's about 60 pounds and her bedroom is on the second floor. . . you get my point.
Getting back to the bowling, Maddie had a really good day and bowled 107 on her second game. She was delighted to set this new personal best. And compared to my dismal score of 55 her achievement seemed even better. As I tucked her in tonight I asked her if she had fun at the bowling alley. She said she had and that she couldn't believe her score. "You beat the pants off me!" I said. To which she replied, "Mom, you really ought to think about using bumpers next time." Unfortunately, I think she's right.
OK. So, I guess I've come up with enough to post my first blog page. Originally I felt like I needed to explain my reasons for starting a blog. But maybe now it's evident. It's really just a way for me to share the daily events in my life with friends and family. For years I've been sending out "group emails" every few months with a condensed version of what's been happening in our lives. But I hate to condense--remember the part about me not being short on words. Now I don't have to worry about my emails being too long or loading too many pictures that might cause someone's mailbox to crash. More is better! I hope you agree.