A Hauntingly Happy Halloween

October 31st was a chilling success! The weather was cool, but dry and the moon was eerily full. Peyton made a last minute change to her outfit - she went from Peter Pan to Minnie Mouse! Boy did she pull it off!!!! Kali was a "runway diva" - it was a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of thing. She looked about 20 years old and Jimmy had a fit (he just can't seem to accept that his little lady is growing up). Thank God that didn't affect the candy haul, it was massive! Just what we all need-25 lbs of refined sugar! Oh well, Halloween only comes once a year and we made the best of it!

Happy Birthday, Dear Peyton!!!!

Peyton's "Peter Pan, Pirates and Pixies" Party was full of magic and pixie dust! She had most of her preschool class with her, Miss Trish and Miss Mel (her preschool teachers) performed their Show and Tell Time and she was surrounded by people who love her! We had plenty of food, 2 cakes and a Tinkerbell pinata full of candy! Does it get better than that?

Running away to join the circus.....

The Oliver family spent an evening at "The Greatest Show on Earth"! The front row tickets were Peyton's birthday present and she had a wonderful time! We even got to ride in a parade with our "Bello, the clown" hats. It was great fun! The girls tried their hands at being clowns! They fit right into the show! The circus action was right in front of us, the animals were so close we could smell them!?!? Of course, through all the excitement, Peyton's favorite part was the giant snow cone in her horse cup! She devoured the entire thing in record time! It was a great evening of family fun!

Kali's Tae Kwon Do Party

Kali breaking a board with her knife strike!

Kali and 15 of her friends had a blast on Saturday afternoon at her 9th birthday party. They did a tae kwon do class with Kali's teacher, Master Jeun, broke some boards and then stuffed themselves full of pizza and cake! Fun was had by all! Kali truly enjoyed herself, she loves martial arts. She was so happy to share her new-found passion with her friends.

pumpkin pandemonium

Well, October is definitely our favorite time of the year. All things pumpkin - that's what makes the world go round! 1st we went to a local farm for apple cider and a 3 acre corn maze. The girls found all 7 pumpkins that were hidden along the way. Then we just enjoyed the 80 degree Indian summer, picked out a couple of pumpkins and relaxed in the giant swing. Of course, reality set in , the weather turned cold and Peyton had a field trip to another farm. We wandered the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect gourd, enjoyed a hay ride and made friends with the baby cows! Peyton was enamored with the calves, or maybe it was the other way around!?!? Either way, it was love at 1st sight.



Of course, no trip to a pumpkin patch is complete with out the carving ritual. We hunkered down, armed with all our special tools and made three masterpieces. Peyton chose a ghost design, Kali asked Jimmy to carve a witch - he did a stellar job - and Kali carved her own mini. I was busy roasting pumpkin seeds and they were well worth the wait - yummy!!!

Nifty at Ninety

Can you believe my Grandma is 90! We had such a great time at her party. It was a blast! She was so happy, she couldn't get over "all the fuss." Jimmy and I put together a playlist with 90 of her favorite songs - polka, Lawrence Welk, Andrew Sisters, Bing Crosby, etc.... I also made 7 poster size photo collages for her. She was delighted to explain the pictures to all her guests. Her mind is as sharp as a tack! Of course, it was bittersweet. My Grandpa, my Mom and Patrick were partying in heaven. Wish they could of been there. Happy 90th Mick!

School Time

Well, it's official... Peyton is a preschooler. She loves it! She's the only kid who doesn't want to leave at the end of the day. She had a serious melt down at orientation when it was time to go home. She quickly recovered and today her pick up went smoothly, with only a statement of dismay that school time was over. I'm glad both my kids love school - it makes mornings at 730 Hampton Ridge Dr so pleasant.

Kali started her 3rd grade year without incident. Once again, she is the only kid on her bus. She can't be any happier about that. She added tumbling classes to her repertoire this fall. So between dance, tae kwon do, swimming and tumbling we are hopping every day of the week. Add that to Peyton's dance, swimming, and Kindermusik and I need an engineer to figure out my schedule.

Ain't life grand?