Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

Coach Beiste & Sue Sylvester from the TV show Glee.
Oma made sure to insult everyone at the party at least once.
One person who didn't know Jill actually looked a little put off and finally said to Jill. "I don't know if your being in character or not?"  Love it!

Dawn came over to watch the Duck game and carve pumpkins.
Always a good gooey time!
They turned out GREAT!
 
I told my co-workers I would put a dress on and
come to work in drag.

Some one actually said I looked a little like
Mrs. Doubtfire.

Great, a man dressed as a woman, this gives
me great confidence of who I am.







Little Devil and Pumpkin Head
We had fun creating these outfits this year.
I think the kids appreciate the second hand store a little more this year seeing the quality and creativity we can come up with.
We lit the inside of Cole's head with glow sticks.

Oma was VERY happy with the haul.
I mean the kids were really excited about the load of candy this year!

WAY FUNNY!
Cole DID get a ROCK!

Happy Halloween from the BS Family.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

October Activities

Collage GAME DAY!
Tracy asked Cole to join her for Collage Game Day in the VERY early A.M.
They were able to stand at the side of the stages, right on the front fences and had an awesome view of all the morning activities.
Cole and Tracy are still quite chatty about that morning and I believe she has made a permanent Game Day Junky out of Cole.

Flag Football
Cole's team came a long way this season and all the boys had fun.
(A statement like that usually means they didn't have many wins right?
That would be the correct understanding here as well.)
For the last game Cole made his first catch and advanced the ball a couple yards.  He returned a punt about 25 yards and almost scored a touch down on the play. AWESOME ending to his first season.
(Now Mom has to contemplate tackle football next year as Cole pushes hard with good arguments and the standard begging, dang it...I mean yeah!?)

Circus Arts
Jo is really having a blast with this class and practically runs out the house to get there.  She graduated from the beginning class to the intermediate level and has more time on the Silks each class, which is her favorite part.

Jo learning the Bat Hang which she has now done on her own successfully. Her homework  from this class is 30 sit ups, 30 push ups each day. (Jo has started to do them without a parent reminder, which means this is very important to her.)

We sure love the joy that comes out of her when she is on the Silks!

Sushi - Home Style
Jo has been asking to eat sushi for days, well wait, let me start over here.  Jo asks for sushi all the time and would never turn it down if offered.  However her asking ramped up a bit so we had home-rolled sushi one night.

Of course Karly (daughter from another Mother) was with us and though she does not like sushi she managed to create rolls for herself that she did like.  Hmmm, we might have had a child's mind grow a little bit more.






PUMPKINS
Back out to the pumpkin patch this time to pick our favorite gourd. (and yes, that daughter from the other Mother is with us)
GREAT day and it quickly became too warm for jackets.
We were also joined by the Young Belmont's.
They all look happy...well, two out of three.  One just seems embarrassed that she must pose with the other two.

Walnut Farming
Our tree is very happy this year and quite giving.  So we are trying to be walnut farmers and not just toss them in the yard debris.
Jo and I built three stack-able drying screens.
This bunch of nuts is only one day of collecting, we have MANY more at this point.  Glad we only have one tree.

First Perm
Jo asked to have a perm and after much education about what a perm will mean she still said yes.
WOW!  She is LOVING her hair!
And we LOVE a smiling Jo any day!

Our Strawberry Tree
I didn't think it got warm enough, long enough this summer for our tree to produce any of it's prickly fruit.  There are tons of very small flowers and just as many happy bees but I wanted to show that it did pop a few berries out.

This strawberry has since been picked and given too a friend for her first taste of this fruit.  Yeah!  I love this tree.

Monday, October 24, 2011

School Photos + Sports

4th Graders

Monday, October 10, 2011

Pianist Jo E.


Friday, October 07, 2011

Corn Maze

Spent a nice chilly afternoon with the B side of the family.  A light meal and then playing in the Corn Maze.  Grandparents are heading south for the winter and this was a nice fun way to say farewell until the holidays roll around.

The group who dared enter the headless horseman!
Aunt Tricia, Gma Marie & Mom
Cole, Jo, Cousins Hannah & Derian

The kids ran right away out of sight and as we came around each corner we found them like this!
And this.
It was quite fun to see how they were going to be posed next.
Lots of screams and jumping out trying to scare each other.

I asked for a group photo.
At least the kids behaved this time!

The hay was so thick, due to the maze opening just that day, the kids had trouble jumping out of it.
But they had fun trying different jumps over and over again for our photo taking pleasure.

We, of course, do the maze during the day so it's not haunted.  Other than us of course.  But before we got out, they started setting up for the evening haunt and this interesting bladder was blown up that we had to slide through.
A little claustrophobic in this!  I keep thinking I will be able to handle this maze at night with the kids when they finally want to try the haunting.  It's going to take more courage than I have, I'm afraid.

And then the rain came, so one last quick snap shot...
We all hugged goodbye and went our separate ways.

Very fun!
We will be heading back to go for our hay ride and pumpkin picking up and maybe a few other fun things weather permitting.

Saturday, October 01, 2011

September Wrap Up

Jo, what do we say about Jo.  She is unique and hilarious!  Her sense of humor and imagination are so wonderful and sometimes gross.
"Look Mom, I can pick my nose with my toes"
In our house you have to unload the dishwasher with tongs so as not to get finger print the clean dishes. (not really) But this is how she unloaded it this day.  Took a while but she had fun.

Saturday Market w/ Lori
We have not been to the market for quite a some time but our friend Lori was going to perform and so it was a must attend!
Really enjoyed listening and watching her sing and strum.  She is so talented.  I'm hoping she will do more around town so we can enjoy her original music again and again.

Our neighborhood Finch?
No, this Sharp Shinned Hawk (we think) landed on our fence when Oma and Jo could enjoy it for a couple minutes.  Probably hunting the dog next door?

Duck Football, Friends & Fire Pit
Now this is a GREAT way to watch a football game!
Pulled one of our tv's outside, lit the fire pit, tiki torches, food and drinks and watched the Ducks in our back yard.  Very enjoyable and are already planning next summer Movie nights!

UO Science
We took the kids to the science department at the UO for activities.
WOW! The hands on activities they provided were awesome!
Gloving up to experiment with chemicals.
What happened when they mixed?  Hot, Cold, bubbles?

Genetics
Pick two parents and create a child.
On the back of the cards were descriptors that the kids had to chart and then create what the Monster Baby would look like.
Their first child!

Derian & Volleyball Season
Derian has gotten very good at setting and serving.
It was a lot of fun to watch her play.  Might be the only game we see this season but it sure is worth it.

Self Portrait by Jo
"This is me going down a waterfall and I will land in the water on top of the pile of leaves."
LOVE her art!