Basement Progress

In August, Paul pulled all the necessary permits and got busy on the basement. It's coming along nicely, and he hopes to be done sometime in January or early February. So far, the only thing he hasn't done himself is install the fireplace. We do have to send out a little thanks to some friends and family for helping hang drywall, so Jamie, Jeremie, and Garett - Thanks!! We very much appreciate the help! The drywall hanging, mudding, and taping is totally done now (thank goodness!) and Paul is in the basement as I type this, sanding the joints to prepare for ceiling and wall texturing, then paint. Here is a bit of the pictorial progress so far:

Halloween!

On Halloween evening, all our neighbors got together to roast hotdogs and play games. The kids enjoyed "wrap the mummy" and "pin the heart on the skeleton" before heading out to trick or treat the neighborhood. Christal and Mitch came for the weekend and Preston was thrilled to have his friend Triston the Pirate here, as well as Aunt Shelly who came down from Lawrence for the festivities. Bruce and Rachel and their kids went with us also, so we had quite a little group! The weather was perfect and the only time I can ever remember trick or treating in short-sleeves and flip-flops! The kids were pretty tired after all the parties and we only made it down 4 cul-de-sacs, but all the kids ended up with nearly half a Walmart sack full of candy. A pretty successful Halloween, I'd say - and I think my waistline would agree! ;)

Preston's Halloween Party

Preston had his class party in the afternoon and Daddy was working from home, so the whole family got to be there. It was such a fun party and he got to do a lot of neat activities such as peeling an apple with a special apple peeler at my station (of course he wouldn't eat it, so the girls did!); making a spider out of crackers, PB, and pretzels; making a scary hand out of candy corn, popcorn, and clear gloves; and sticking his hand in covered boxes to identify the creepy contents, such as "fingers of a second grader" - hotdogs!

Kellyn's Halloween Party

Our little Sleeping Beauty had a great Kindergarten Halloween party! The kids rotated thru several stations and got to make caramel apples and photo frames, and play musical pumpkins and pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

On Monday the 20th, I went with Kellyn on her kindergarten field trip to the Applejack Pumpkin Patch. I even got to ride the bus with her! I haven't been on a school bus in years - the smell brings back so many memories! ;) There were plenty of activities to do, including a big slide, trike riding, zip line, duck racing, corn crib, mini petting zoo, a barrel train, and others. We rode the hayrack out to the patch and picked our own pumpkins before heading back to school. The day was a little chilly with a strong north wind; much better than the rain that had postponed the trip the previous week. But the kids all had a blast which is all that really matters!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!

On Saturday, October 18th, we met Mitch and Christal in Norman, OK for the OU/KU football game. Unfortunately, KU lost, but we still had a great time and the weather was perfect - almost hot! Since it was an afternoon game and the kids were spending the weekend with Nana and Papa, we took advantage of the mini-vacation and stayed in Bricktown in OKC for the night!

Paul and Mitch - the rival fans (looks like they're holding hands!) the marching band before the game

some of the action

Paul and the scoreboard

Mitch, Christal, me, and Paul

(the always lovely) Christal and me getting ready to go to dinner

Mitch and Christal

Paul and me

2nd Annual Neighborhood Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

On October 11th (my parents' 33rd anniversary!), we went to Walter's Pumpkin Patch. It was a perfect day, almost too warm in fact! We started off doing the many activities including the underground slides, bouncer, mazes, trikes, and paddleboats. We watched the Pumpgun Cannon shoot pumpkins half a mile, then went to our own personal firepit to roast hotdogs before heading home. I don't have the picture of our whole group yet, but here are the ones I took:

Dog Party!

Mitzi's 1st birthday was October 7th, so the kids talked me into baking some cupcakes and having the neighbor kids over for a little party!

cheese before cake!
more cheese!

the boys played a little playstation

the birthday girl!!