Halloween 2009 and Pumpkin Painting & Carving

The Art House in Flower Mound was offering free pumpkin painting. All you needed to do was show up with a pumpkin and they would provide the rest. So the kids and I decided to head over there on Monday October 19 so that we could partake in the fun :)

Little Miss made a rainbow striped pumpkin with antenna and Little Man made a globular painted pumpkin with LONG antenna that ended up falling off!

Messy --- Yes.... Super Fun --- You Bet!

As for our pumpkins, Ryan and I decided to go a different route with our carving this year. Little Miss and I both had the swine flu over the Halloween weekend. Since Trick or Treating was out for this year we decided that we couldn't hand out candy to unsuspecting healthy people either. So here is what we carved...

Needless to say... no one came to our door for treats :)

As for the costumes ... the kids did go to a costume birthday party the week before Halloween. Little Man wore his Batman costume and Little Miss was a Texas Tech cheerleader. Her actual costume was a Cleopatra but we were saving it for Halloween...

Little Man - Western Days

Western Days is a big deal at Little Man's new school! They go all out - petting zoo, picture taking area, campfire songs, stick horse races... the whole nine yards. Today was the day!

I volunteered to help out with the picture taking station and Ryan let the school borrow his roping dummy, chaps, bits and bridles, riding blankets, and saw horse.

Little Man had a blast going from station to station with his preschool class. His favourite stations were the petting zoo station and the stick horse race station. Nana even came up to school and followed his class around for a couple of rotations. He thought that was pretty cool.

After the kids went through all of the stations the room moms (of which I am one) brought the kids each a McDonald's Happy Meal. The kids really loved this special treat and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend most of the afternoon with my favourite little boy!!

Walking with the Dinosaurs

What an awesome show!!!

The kids have been talking about Walking with the Dinosaurs since we told them we bought tickets in August. Tonight was the night when I finally got to tell them, YES, we are going TONIGHT :)

"...a dazzling 10 million pound arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality set to captivate young and old alike. Marvel at the story of their 200 million year domination of life on earth. Watch them walk. Hear the roar. Be there as they fight for survival and supremacy. From the ripple of their skin to the glint in their eye, you will know the dinosaurs really have returned!"

The entire family went to the show tonight. Both sets of grandparents, my sister, and my family - we didn't want to miss it! It was an amazing show. The narration was fabulous and the scenery was breathtaking. The kids LOVED seeing the dinosaurs in their actual sizes, watching them interact and fight, and hearing their LOUD roars!!

This was truly a once in a lifetime show and we are so glad that we were able to go and see it!

Little Miss's Soccer Games

GO SUPERSTARS!

Little Miss's Team - the Superstars - have been learning a lot and doing great at their soccer games. And Coach Ryan has had a great time as their soccer coach.

I don't think we've actually won a game yet (they don't technically keep score) but we are certainly having a great time. I put off letting her play soccer because I didn't want us to get too busy but surprisingly we are really enjoying all of the practices and games this season!






Here are a couple of pictures from her last couple of games.

Little Miss's First Field Trip - Henrietta Apple Orchard

Today was Little Miss's First Field Trip :)

Her class has been studying apples and decided to take a field trip to the Henrietta Apple Orchard. I, of course, volunteered to chaperone the trip. I was assigned to keep 4 girls in my little group - we loaded onto the big yellow school bus and off we went!

Once we got there we watched a presentation on what life was like 100 years ago. They showed us how they harvested cotton, picked the cotton out of the plant, separated the cotton from the seed, and then spun the cotton into thread to be used to make cloth. It was very interesting. Then we learned about all of the apples and other crops that they grow on the orchard. We were then given a tour of the grounds and learned many fascinating things about earthworms, ponds, pecans, and of course, apples.

Great first field trip!!

Not-So-Scary Stories

So tonight we went to the Grapevine Library to see a Storyteller (Doryane Breedlove) tells us some Not-So-Scary Stories. You never know what kind of storyteller you're going to get when you find the information in a free publication but it looked like a lot of fun so we decided to try it out. Boy am I glad we did.

Doryane Breedlove was an EXCELLENT storyteller! The kids were totally absorbed in her stories. She told stories with music and skeleton stories where the kids used sticks to simulate the bones rubbing together. The kids favourite by far was the story of the Gunniwolf. Ms. Breedlove had the best voices and hand movements to go with this wonderful story. The kids LOVED it and retold it to each other in the car on the way home from the library.

I love a great storyteller!

Little Miss Turns 6!

Six years ago today Little Miss was born and our journey into parenthood began! Oh how time flies.

Little Miss turned 6 today and what a busy day it was :) We started out the morning with soccer team pictures at 8 am followed by a 9 am soccer game. The girls are really getting better at working as a team and passing the ball. Soccer game ended at 10 am and we were off to order pizza for Little Miss's birthday party!

Got home just in time. The entertainment for the party had just arrived - a rainbow pony! Little Miss was SOOOO excited. The pony was there for an hour and all of the girls loved riding and petting him (Little Man reminded us that the sparkly rainbow pony was in fact, a boy!). In between riding the pony, everyone played on the deck with their magical pony wands, swung on the swings, played on the swingset or built sand castles in the sandbox. These are my favourite kind of kid parties - play outside, ride the horse and I'll call you in for food when it arrives!

Pizza arrived at 11:50. We ate then the pony left and then it was time for cake. Little Miss picked out a cute little pony cake with a mountain background and 3 ponies on top. After cake we opened presents and then it was time for everyone to go home.

Little Miss had a blast at her party and loved being able to invite some of her new kindergarten friends.

Happy 6th Birthday my wonderful daughter!