Our Day Off

Today was teacher in-service day, so the kids and I didn't have school. Hooray! Ron took the day off, too, so we could all do something together.

We started with a couple games of bowling. I can't remember the last time the four of us went bowling together. We had a good time. The ball never went backwards this time, but we did manage to toss it into the alley beside us twice! Thankfully the people bowling beside us sucked, too, so they weren't terribly upset about the two gutter balls we gave them.

After we were done at the bowling alley, we went to the pumpkin patch. Are you convinced?

We actually went to Walmart and bought $3 pumpkins. The pumpkin patch was worth the money when the kids were younger, but it's just not the same now. The kids were ok with picking out big pumpkins at Walmart instead, but Ron did offer to put some hay in a shopping cart and push them around a little if that would make it more fun. They both declined. We carved our pumpkins when we got home.

Tyler was so picky about his this year! He was so upset that he couldn't draw a symmetrical pattern on the pumpkin, so he drew it on a piece of paper first and used that as a template. He still won't touch the guts. Danielle just dives in up to her elbows. After we were done with our pumpkins, we finished off the evening with cider and doughnuts.

Tyler's pumpkin has a little something in his teeth.

Mine, Tyler's, Ron's, & Danielle's

Danielle added a tail to her pumpkin cat.

We had a very nice day together...and we still have 2 weekend days left!! 

Afternoon Escape

I escaped to the park for a little while yesterday. The weather was so odd. It snowed yesterday morning, the sun was out periodically throughout the day, it sleeted, it snowed, it was windy and then it wasn't. While I was at the park I saw a frog in the water! I imagine the water was a little warmer than the air temp but his little froggy head was out of the water. Brr! Anyway, here are some pictures from my outing.

Fall leaves floating down the river.

Snow showers. I'm not sure they reached the ground, but it was really pretty watching them move across the sky.

I had the park to myself, which was exactly what I needed. Quiet.

Snow?

Yep! October 23 and we had snow this morning. I thought it was pretty. Ron sent this picture to me while I was at work this morning. I guess Danielle played in it for a few minutes before school started. I don't remember a time when the first snowfall was this early, but I also can't remember what I went in the other room to get, so that doesn't mean much. It didn't last long, but it was pretty.

Crafts

Last night for dinner we had fresh pineapple. The smell always reminds me of our vacation to Hawaii...and the long standing grudge Danielle is holding against Ron for eating the last of the fresh pineapple while she was playing in the sand. Last night we enjoyed our pineapple in the shape of pumpkins and ghosts. Why? Because I had a bad day and pineapple shapes are fun.

I decided I wanted to etch a pumpkin, so I got one to decorate for work. I like the way it turned out. I swore I wouldn't make another after spending the entire evening working on it last night, but I'm thinking I might like to try another. I found a template on line, printed it out, taped it to my pumpkin, and then cut the outline into the pumpkin. After the outline was there, I removed the template and shaved and scraped the pumpkin skin to make the design. After it was done, I wiped it off with bleach to try to better preserve it. I didn't have any Vaseline or I would have put a little of that on the design, too. Hopefully it will last until next Thursday.

Tyler decided he wasn't going to go trick-or-treating this year because he didn't want to dress up. We had a difficult time finding a decent costume last year, so I wasn't surprised. When we were at the costume store on Sunday looking for a cowgirl hat for Danielle, he saw a Minecraft sword he wanted. He didn't get it, but that prompted him to consider dressing up as a Minecraft character for Halloween. The call of free candy is so strong. He decided to be Steve. All he really needed was the head. Uncle Ron bought him a flashlight shaped like a Minecraft torch for his birthday that he is going to carry. He already has a blue shirt. So, we made the head last night and tonight. His costume cost about $5. I think it looks really cool, and he is pleased with it. We still need that cowgirl hat for Danielle, though.

This & That

Danielle made the travel basketball team and had her first practice last week. They will be practicing 2 hours a night, 2 nights a week for the next few months. Scrimmages start late November. Games are in December, January, & February. Practices for her travel softball team start this coming week. They will practice one night a week for the next few months. She will be a busy girl...which is exactly the way she likes it.

Ball handling drills.
It will be neat to see how much they've improved by the end of the season!

This Saturday was Danielle's last volleyball game. Here is a picture of the team. I am so glad we are done with volleyball. Practices were a joke. At the last practice Danielle attended, she got kicked in the head by someone who insisted on doing a cartwheel after each serve, tackled when she ran to get the ball, and just generally annoyed by all the fooling around & rolling around on the floor by everyone else. We did not attend the final practice because I was tired of wasting my time. Do I sound grumpy?

Today we went to the park to look at the winners of the photo contest. Danielle and I did not win. Some of the winning photos were really good, some were not. The winning photo in the kids' category was not stunning. The guy monitoring the photos told Danielle he had overheard several people commenting on her photo, and we could see entry forms in the fan favorite jar with her picture # on it, so she left feeling pretty good about herself.

While we were at the park I convinced the kids to let me get an updated picture of them. We decided a family picture wouldn't kill us either. How did the kids grow up so quickly...and how did I get so old?! :)

Ron's Pens

Ron participated in a local craft show today. He set up a table and showed off his beautiful pens. He sold 3, which is what he was hoping for and really very good considering how much his pens cost. Here are some pictures I took today of his pens. He really is so very talented.

 

 

 

One of the Many Things I Love About This Kid

Whatever she decides to do, she gives it 100%.

Travel basketball try-outs are tomorrow so she's spent the past several evenings practicing. She is a little rusty, but that won't stop her from trying.


Practiced her dribbling on a walk around the block.

Our Chipmunk

After Danielle and I dropped off our photos at the park, we decided to take a little walk while we were there. It turns out it really wasn't such a good day to be around trees unless you had a hard hat! It was windy, and walnuts and acorns were bouncing off the ground and picnic tables like hail! We had fun laughing and dodging the nutty rain. We decided not to walk a trail and instead gathered some nuts and acorns to take home to our chipmunks.

We picked up a couple dozen acorns and some walnuts and other nutty looking things and put them in a pile on the patio when we got home. Within 15 minutes the chipmunk was out raiding the pile. He was so fun to watch. If he couldn't fit the nut in his cheeks, he bit it and carried it in. He had a hard time fitting one of them into his hole (one entrance is at the edge of our patio under our family room window). We watched him go in first and then pull the giant nut in. He tugged and tugged until it finally rolled down.



He couldn't fit the smaller walnut in his mouth, so I'm not sure why he thought he could fit this one in there!

This & That

Although Danielle's volleyball team has not improved this season, Danielle has. Her personal goal this year was to learn to serve overhand. Ideally they are suppose to be behind the blue tape, but they can move forward a little if they need to. Some of the girls stand much closer...and it still doesn't help. I cut this video off after 2 points, but she personally scored 6 in a row here. She served for 5 points (her serves weren't returned) and then she volleyed the ball back over when the other team served.

Both kids were invited over to their friends' houses after school yesterday, so Ron and I found ourselves unexpectedly alone for the evening. I have to admit that I almost shed a tear! We went out for dinner and then went to the store. (That's how old people let loose, you know.) While we were at the store, we saw this zebra striped nightgown. Danielle recently picked out zebra bedding for her bed and had talked about needing a zebra nightgown. We amused ourselves buy buying it for her and "hiding" it on her bed. She didn't see it at first, but thought it was pretty funny when she found it.

I found this meadow katydid on my shepherd's hook the other day. I thought it was pretty cool looking. I found another one after dark, but it was more like the typical leaf shaped ones. I think that's what's making all the noise in our trees at night, too. I couldn't find "our" praying mantises today, so I think they may have moved on. They were entertaining.

I haven't been very diligent about keeping my bird feeders full lately. When I filled them the other evening, our 2 resident chipmunks were pretty sure I put the food out just for them. It was nice of me to help stock their cupboards for the winter. They are probably doing terrible things to the ground under our patio, but they are so cute to watch.

Danielle and I have our entries ready for the metroparks' photo contest. Her picture is the 5x7 in the middle. We're going to take them in tomorrow. I can tell I've improved over the past year, which makes me happy. Even if I don't win, it's fun to see my pictures posted in a forum where lots of people can enjoy them. I do hope Danielle wins. It would mean a lot to her, although when Tyler told her he thought I took the picture, she felt pretty good already.

It's a Girl

Well, at least one of our praying mantises is a girl. Today we were lucky enough to see it finishing up with its egg case. If the case survives the winter (it should) we will bring the branch inside this spring so we can watch them hatch. Since there are approximately 200 nymphs in a case, we'll be sure to put the case in something sealed! We won't be able to keep them for long, though, because they eat each other.

The other mantis is still hanging out here, too. Tyler watched it catch a ladybug today. By the time I ran in to get my camera and got back out, it had already eaten a hole in it. Our presence didn't seem to hinder his (her?) appetite!

 

Those 3 little dots between the antenna are simple eyes. The 2 big ones on either side are compound eyes.