Halloween 2010

On Friday our school had Storybook Character Dress Up day for Halloween.  My awesome 4th grade team chose to be nerds!  Definitely the best dressed team at BES!

 I only worked a half day because Randy & I took off  to College Station for our first Aggie football game in 4 years.  Sadly I have zero pictures of hanging out at the Trykoski ranch, going to Midnight Yell, an awesome Aggie football game where we beat Tech, or watching the World Series at some horrible Mexican food restaurant in Huntsville because Randy wanted to bring his little camera instead.  Then just as we took the first picture, the battery died.  Yes, that is why I am never in the pictures, because if you want a job done right, you do it yourself!  But we did have a great time!  Then we woke up Sunday morning, had some pancakes & bacon cooked by Greg, Yummy, and then headed home for Trick or Treating!

 Having Halloween on Sunday made me antsy to get started.  Usually I am rushing home from work and trying to hurry through dinner.  This night we grabbed quarter corn dogs from Sonic and we dressed & were ready to go by 6:30.  Except that Randy wouldn't let us go until it got dark.  I thought that since the Ranger game started at 7:00, that gave us an excuse to start early, but Randy still was not buying it. 

 It took alot of convincing to get Alex to understand that she did not need to bring a purse & a backpack trick or treating.  Her bucket was all she would need!

Riley was the transfomer, Bumble Bee and didn't need any coaching on what to bring!

 First stop of many.  Sadly I think they were more excited about riding in the gator than actually trick or treating, but then again they had trick or treated at Trunk or Treat and Boo at the Zoo already!

One last photo as the night wore on.  Trick or treating was a success, but I wish we had more than 4 kids trick or treat at our own house.  I have a ridiculous amount of candy left over!!!

Trunk or Treat

On Sunday, Oct. 24, which also happens to be my birthday, our church had Trunk or Treat.  So for the first time this year, we had a Bumblebee Transformer & a ladybug.  Our Sunday School class' theme was Western Nashville Star.  Sadly I have no pictures of me all dressed up, because of course I was the one taking the pictures, like always. But I do have pictures of the kids posing on the saddle!

Here is Riley trying to rope our hay steer!  For trunk or treat, each class picks a theme to all dress up like and then some have theme related games to go along with it.

Where's Waldo?

 Our photo spot

 Alex riding the "horse" at the Western Trunk!

As I was getting all dressed up in my boots & hat, Randy came in & asked if he just had to be a Nashville Star.  I stupidly just answered "yes."  Little did I know that that meant he was coming as Larry the Cable Guy.   Although I think he looks pretty normal to me!

Oh & the best part of Trunk or Treat is all the candy!

BES in the Homecoming Parade

Last week was a super busy week for Bluebonnet Elementary.  We started the week off by participating in the Fossil Ridge Homecoming Parade.  As a teacher, I have never done this, but Riley thought it would be fun.  This year the theme was "Once Upon a Time".  So we told all our students (all 10 of them) to dress as a princess or prince charming.  I really wasn't sure what I was going to have Riley wear.  Alex has lots of princess dresses, but boys don't really have Prince Charming outfits. 

Then while borrowing a sit-n-stand stroller from my friend Jenn, the perfect costume appeared.  Jenn & I were standing there just talking and the subject of Halloween costumes came up.  I mentioned that I didn't know what Riley was going to wear to school, because he wants to be a transformer and you can't wear a mask to school.  She suggested I borrow this knight costume.  I LOVED the idea!  Plus every prince charming is actually a knight in shining armor, right?

 My knight in shining armor!

Then my little knight with his princess!

 Our BES "Prince Charming" and "Princess"

The group standing around and waiting.  They told us to be there at 4:30.  So we rushed over while snacking on Sonic Cheese Sticks & a coke.  I knew it would be a while till dinner, so I wanted to get the kids a snack.  I should have brought the snack to our waiting place.  Because we waited for an hour and a half for the parade to begin.  Poor Alex was so done, before we got started.

 One of my awesome teammates painted these signs!  I loved it.  The car was Carol's corvette that she & her husband drove in the parade.  With the exception of listening to the princess music (they are parents of 3 boys!), I think they loved it and the car was a beauty!

Once the parade started, Alex was all smiles.  She had so much fun & so did Riley.  The only bad thing was I had to carry Alex most of the way.  The procession just moved too fast for her to keep up with it. She tried a couple of times, but her legs are just not that long.  I was exhausted by the time we finished, but the kids were so excited.  Luckily Nana & Gampa had come to watch, so I called them and had them meet us at Fossil Ridge HS, so that we did not have to walk back to Chisolm Trail. 

Pumpkin Patch

A couple of weekends ago, we braved the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch on a Saturday.  Every year around this time, I am reminded of how much I enjoyed being off on maternity leave part of September & all of October.  Alex got taken to many places early on, because Riley & I could enjoy them without the crowds on a weekday.  Oh well, that is the life of a working mom!  The pumpkin patch was crowded as usual and Alex was determined not to smile for any pictures.  At least I can always count on a few good smiles from Riley.  As we pulled into the patch parking lot, Riley immediately requested that we get their faces painted first.  I agreed since this usually makes for some really cute pictures.  Besides that they don't charge for these, just tips.  I can afford that!  I let each child pick out their picture.  Riley wanted the mummy.

 Alex wanted the pumpkin.  She really was happy about it.  Although this picture reminds me of those pictures of the poor kids in Africa who are asking you to send money. Just look at those eyes.

 Then this is another must each year at the pumpkin patch.

I tried hard to get lots of poses with some smiles, but never for the camera.  In general, Alex just wanted a nap!

 Finally I gave up on pictures and we headed over to the many bounce houses.  Look I found a SMILE!  Too bad, it was behind the bounce house screen!

 Riley loved the bounce house slide, although he insisted on going down sideways or end over end.

Too bad the smiles didn't last once I made everyone get out of the bounce houses, but they still had lots of fun!  Oh and slept well on the way home!

State Fair of Texas

Saturday morning Riley had an 8:00 soccer game, so afterward we headed out to the State Fair.  Apparantly half of Dallas/Fort Worth had the same idea.  It took us 2 hours to get there & then all the official lots were full.  My dad ended up dropping us off & then going to find a spot in a lot in a not so good neighborhood.  This may have been bad in the daylight, but it was downright creepy after dark.  We walked really quickly and really closely to the car after instructing the kids to get in the car as quickly as possible and lock the doors.

Our first stop, per Riley's request, was the farmer's patch.  Last year Alex slept peacefully in the stroller while Riley played farmer.  This year Alex got to participate.  She loved to follow in her brother's footsteps. 

 

Our precious little farmers with Nana & Gampa

 Scenic picture on the tractor

This is a great little exhibit.  They start off by getting their aprons & baskets.  Then they grab a baggie full of "feed" or corn. First stop is to pick some peaches & "water" the trees.  After that they planted some seeds.  Then it is off to feed the chickens and gather some eggs.  Up next is milking the cow.  If that isn't enough they ride the tractor around to drop off more feed for the animals.  Finally they take all that they have gathered to market.  Each child gets a fake dollar bill for their goods.  The best part is when they take their dollar to the store and get to buy a snack.  They had a choice of several kinds of chips, trail mix, cookies, or other snack food.  Riley chose a trail mix that we had to make sure that Riley didn't share with Alex since it had peanuts in it.  Alex really wanted the cheetos.  I made her choose something different because I didn't want her to get it all over her white Halloween tshirt.

I should have just let her have the cheetos.  Because our second stop was the food pavilion.  I LOVE that place.  We tried dozens of food samples, from juices to barbeque sauce to quesadillas and washed it all down with a chocolate milk from the Borden area.  The kids are able to pet Elsie the cow & Beauregard her baby.  Riley loved it, but Alex was a little scared.  But Alex LOVED the chocolate milk, she had it all over her shirt!  By the time we left this pavilion Alex was filthy.  So much for looking cute in pictures all day. 

On our way out, we saw that Jay Novacek was there signing autographs.  So Dad got in the line and took his picture with him.  I was a little amazed at how short he was.  He's not really that short, I just always think of professional football players as being really big guys, not just normal size.

Then we did some shopping.  I bought a necklace & earrings, a new scentsy fragrance, and had my rings cleaned while Mom & Dad had their tennis shoes cleaned.

 After all this shopping we were discussing the things we wanted to do before leaving.  I mentioned that we are always trying to be so good about not spending money, but I thought we should try one of the fried foods, and let Riley try out the midway.  While standing there, this man walks up and hands me a handful of tickets.  He told me they were on their way out and I could have them.  He handed me 46 tickets, which is $23 worth of tickets.  I was so surprised.  Then I knew that we had to splurge!  So we headed off for our dinner of Fried Frito Pies and cokes.

 Here is Alex enjoying her bite.  They looked disgusting, but so does most fried food.  They actually tasted more like nachos, but pretty good all the same.  Nothing will ever beat the Fletcher's Corny Dogs though!

Following dinner, we watched the parade.  Alex and Riley loved it.  They were both so mesmerized.  I can't wait for Alex to see the Light parade at Disney, she is going to LOVE IT!  As this float passed with the ladybug and all the pink, Alex's face lit up and she said, "Mine!"  Still claiming everything pink as her own.

 Finally we headed over to the Midway to one final ride.  We wandered around forever in the over stimulation land until we found the kids area.  Riley & Alex together picked out this really fun little ladybug ride.  Unfortunately you had to be 36 inches and Alex was only 33.  She was very sad and didn't understand why she couldn't ride the ladybug ride. After all it was her birthday party that was ladybug themed!

It turns out the ride really went a little too fast for her, but Riley and I had lots of fun and laughed the entire time.

But I decided that it was important that we find something for Alex to ride.  So we had to go buy $3 worth more of tickets, but both kids were able to ride this ride.

Riley did a really good job of helping Alex get on the ride.  The first ride without mommy was a huge success. They loved it.  Alex never stopped smiling.  Oh my little daredevil.

Overall the fair was a complete success.  We left with two happy, but very exhausted children.  And at least the car was still in one piece where we left it.

Riding Bikes

A couple of weekends ago, we had some spare time & Alex wanted to go ride "bock".  But first she had to grab her purse & backpack.  Only my girly girl! 

She still has not quite grasped the concept of pedaling.  But she loves to ride while I push!

 Then we all headed over to the swingset.  I am so delighted with how the kids are enjoying the swingset.  Riley never spent much time playing on it, until Alex came along.  Now it is a staple in our lives.  At least we are getting our money's worth.

 Alex loves to slide, almost as much as she loves to swing, but not without her purse!  She is just such a girl!  She is really beginning to make us laugh with the things she says.  She still does not talk all that much, but she can clearly say, "No, I'm done, & I balk- I walk.  She is getting more & more independent and is a bit fascinated with all things pink.  In fact she is pretty sure that everything pink is "MINE!" 

   Last week was Grandparent's Day at school and of course this coincided with our school's book fair.  Riley managed to con Nana & Gampa out of 3 big books and they bought one for Alex too.  It was a pink book that looked like a purse and all about the alphabet.  As soon as Alex saw it she grabbed it and yelled, "Mine!"  I don't know what she will do when she reaches school age and realizes that everything pink is not hers.

Riley's new soccer season

This season Riley has moved up a league in YMCA soccer.  This has been a major adjustment for all of us.  Our first shock was to find out we would be practicing 2 x's a week for 1 hour 15 min each time.   That is a bit much for a 5 year old in my opinion.  Plus it makes it really hard to try to get him in bed by 8, when we don't finish practice until 7:15!

Our second major adjustment is that he played his first game and didn't score a single goal.  In the age group, the kids have to play positions.  Most of the kids didn't really understand, so they just kind of stood around.  At the beginning of the game, Riley was playing defense, so he was afraid to cross the midfield line.  He just didn't understand when he could go get the ball.  It was really frustrating.  Plus this season, all the kids want to play, so he only played about half the game instead of playing majority of the game. 

I felt bad too because Richard, Karyn, & Ryan had to come to the game.  It was the first game that Ryan & Grandma Karyn had seen him play.  I really wanted to show how good he was, but they just didn't get the chance.  If Riley does not learn how to work the positions, then he will never get to use his speed to really shine on the field.

Last week, the game was rained out, so Saturday will be his 2nd chance to see how he will adjust.