What the......Second Place????????

We just got home from our neighborhood trunk or treat and got second place for our display. That contest was totally rigged. Not one display there was better than ours. (If I do say so myself!) And, I can't offer proof of that because I....um....forgot my camera. But I'll tell you all about it. It was Emily's idea. And what a great idea! She thought we should have a haunted dinner. So, we used our two skeletons, black flowers, black candelabra, a torn, ratty looking tablecloth, and even a brain for their dinner. We found a brain mold and froze pink lemonade so it would look like a real brain for their dinner. It was a very romantic affair for two skeletons. We had purple and orange lights and dry ice. It could not have been more perfect. Well, they started before the sun set so you could really get the real affect of the lights, but it was still great. Who coulda beat that???? And so, there is our medal for second place. We will not rest until we get first place. We will spend the whole year planning. BUT--we will be ready and we will win first place in the Waterford Landing trunk or treat and we ShAlL rule the WORLD!!!!! Bahahahahah!!!!!!!! (Someone get my pills and straightjacket, I may need them soon.)

Pumpkin carving....

was not without its challenges. Sometimes those darn pumpkins just won't be carved the way we envision. Emily worked very hard to get her pumpkin just the way she wanted it. She carved and carved and, with a little help from Ethan, it turned out beautifully. When Emily was most frustrated with her pumpkin carving she drew a picture on the back of a dog that I just LoVe. And after Ethan helped her with her pumpkin she wrote a very lovely sentiment on her pumpkin that I'm sure she doesn't want anyone to see, but I had to have a picture of it. It just warms my heart when I can see them love each other. Ethan wanted to see Emily with her bonnet on this afternoon, so when she finally consented to put it on for him, he actually said "ahhh". Good times. Good times. Now it's John's turn to have a lovely moment. I'm gonna say.....don't hold your breath, he IS in the throes of puberty. He was not in the mood to carve tonight. Ethan was not in the mood to have his picture taken.

Emily's pumpkin is the cat. Ethan's pumpkin is the A&M thing. I actually dabbled with some paper mache pumpkins. It was really fun. Carving was a little precarious. I will have to make it a little thicker next time. Wondering how I can translate it into a Christmas project.

Little House on the Prairie

Emily has been reading these books for a while now. It really surprised me that a modern little girl would be interested in those books. I would think she would see them as dated. But she loves them. Even wants the whole set for her own. Not just to be borrowed from the library. You know, another piece of Emily trivia.....she won't watch the show on tv. We have seen it on a couple of times flipping through the channels and she absolutely won't watch it. Says it ruins the book. So, she is Laura Ingalls today at school for Halloween. John's mom made the costume for her. It's very cute! She even let me braid her hair today, which I could NoT believe. Really, I never get invited to fix her hair.

And Emily made those cupcakes all by herself. She is a very independent, assertive girl. Not afraid of a little extra work when she wants to get something done. I'm very proud of her.

FFA Way

John is home from his trip to Indiana with the FFA. He had a great time. He even bought me a shirt that says "My son went to the National FFA Convention in Indiana all I got was this lousy t-shirt". I love it! And it was the right size. What a great husband he is going to be. They all look so nice all dressed up. We got to watch some of the convention on the RFD channel. Rural Farm Something TV. Anyway, some of the speakers were really great and motivational. It's hard to believe they are all so young. So, he learned some things and did a whole lot of playing---and shopping. He went to Boston in September to a youth leadership conference sponsored by the Army. We encouraged him to buy a souvenir and he barely spent a dime. Well.....he was completely over all that when he went to Indiana. Completely. He was in the mood for shopping. Bought himself some shirts, an FFA hoodie, a new John Deere wallet, and presents for everyone at home. He succumbed to peer pressure and tried a blazing hot wing at Buffalo Wild Wings and it made him sick. Mrs. Bishop and Mrs. Blaha did such a great job taking care of them. Saturday they got up at 3am to make it to the airport in time for their flight. He looked tired and glad to be home. I'm glad he was glad to be home. It was good to have him home.

Just some lame thoughts.....

John is at the FFA National Convention this week. He is having a good time. They left last night. The word potential is in the title of every single session title. Infinite Potential, Maximizing our Infinite Potential, Empowering our Potential... It sounds like a speech I give on a regular basis. It goes something like this "you have so much potential, I know you can do anything, let's empower you so you can achieve your full potential"..... I should take this little gig on the road, I think. Kathy Jo Thompson, Professional Motivational Speaker. I do believe my kids would encourage me to keep my day job. I hope he is having a good time. He just texted his dad to report that he is eating at Cinnabon. wonder how many vegetables he will have while he is gone???

I just realized that there is only half a bottle of Diet Coke left in this house. That, my friends, is bad news.

It's raining. I think this will be good news to Ethan. I think he is wanting a little break from football practice today. They haven't cancelled it yet, though......we'll see. He has been sounding like an old man at night after practice. "Oh man, my hip really hurts." or this joint or that joint. It's pretty entertaining. We like to make fun of him.

I am anxious to see the lake all the way up. Our dock is looking pretty good. We were only two feet low the other day, which doesn't sound bad, does it? I would think the water would be pretty close to the shore line at "only two feet low", but nope. It's still about ten or twelve feet from the shore line. Maybe we will get lots of good, drizzly rain today to help out. Except that I don't want Ethan's game cancelled tomorrow. It will be the first one I will get to go to this season. They have been on Tuesdays and I have a class on Tuesday evenings. So, finally one on a Thursday. Hopefully, they won't have to cancel.

I am supposed to writing a paper, but I don't want to. Listen, evidenced based treatment of community acquired pneumonia is a wonderful thing. Writing a paper on evidence based treatment of community acquired pneumonia is NoT. Just not. I am making all kinds of excuses to avoid it. Like.....I need to update my blog. It sounds very convincing, doesn't it?

Emily has dance tonight. Another good reason not to write my paper. She loves dance. She had an awards ceremony last night. That I did not get to go to because it was Tuesday and if you'll recall, I have a class on Tuesday evenings. She made perfect scores on her SOL tests last year and they celebrated yesterday by taking all the kids who made perfect scores out for pizza before the awards ceremony. John did not even get to go. We need more hands. Actually, what we need is more drivers. I can't wait for John to be able to drive. (Ethan and Emily are another story) Anyway, John had to take John to the airport, pick up Ethan from football practice, and try to make it Emily's ceremony. Wow! What a dad! Sadly, he got to the school just as the kids were walking out of the auditorium. Poor Emily! We ARE SO proud of her! Perfect scores on BOTH tests. Cute, smart, and funny! How often do you get all that in one person??

Our 20th anniversary is coming up on the 27th. Not sure what we are going to do to celebrate. It seems like a really big deal, but we are soooo busy. I think we will go to DC and do something fun. 20 years?!?!?! It doesn't seem possible. What a great time we have had together. Well, I won't get too neck deep into that right now. That should be it's own post, shouldn't it.

Alright, alright....I will go back to paper writing. Love to all.

Mwahahahaha........

Picture #1--what Halloween usually looks like in our house.

We have added some new additions this year. I decided to go with a little darker theme this year, but couldn't bring myself to do really scary. It's just not in me....I'm a wimp. Even my skeletons look like they are laughing instead of trying to scare visitors. I made the Happy Halloween blocks out of left over wood from the dock. Who's clever? It's me! They have glow in the dark paint on them so they are are really fun at night. And, sadly, you can see, in the background, that I have decided to repaint all the trim in the foyer and the piano room. I painted it brown, not even a whole year ago. Thought I loved it. What was I thinking??? That may be the REAL fright scene in our house. How long is it going to take me to sand all that and repaint it white????? John really wants to know.

Here's another scary thought--I have, actually, put sutures into a REAL person. Not just pig's feet. I was very proud. I thought they looked very nice. School is going well for me. Hard to believe they are going to turn me loose in May to do this all by myself. I don't feel smart enough. John is leaving Tuesday for an FFA conference. Be home on the 23rd. We will miss him. I DOUBT he will miss us. The kids are doing well in school. John is doing well at work. We are sooooo boring! Surely there is something exciting going on here.......John is going to put new outlets in on the front porch for me to keep me from burning the house down with my 16 extension cords all plugged into one outlet. Hopefully, hopefully, that will be boring as well, right? And.....I think that's it for now......y'all stay out of jail and have a wonderful day!

Youth Leadership Camp in Boston

I don't know when John grew up, but it must have happened when I wasn't looking. It seems like just yesterday, he was following his dad around the yard with a bubble mower. They were all sent to a YMCA summer camp this year by the Army and John was chosen by their camp counselors to go to a leadership training conference in Boston in September. He flew on a plane all by himself. Stayed in a hotel room without an adult. He did just fine and had a great time. I think these opportunities are good for all of us. It was good for him to go away and know he can have fun away from home. I learned that he is

smart enough to take care of himself and that I will not fall to pieces when my kids all leave home. Although, I do plan to have several small dogs that I can dress in doll's clothes. or maybe cats.... Anyway, back to John's trip. They did some sight seeing. They went to the JFK Library and a walking tour of historical Boston. Part of the conference included some photography classes. You'd think he could come home with some pictures of himself, right? Nope. Not one. He took some great pictures....and some 14 year old boy pictures. What a great kid! I'm so lucky to get to be his mom.

The curse is over.....

........the water is returning. Still not perfect, but getting better. If you stand on the dock and look at the water at just the right angle you can fool yourself into thinking the water is right up to the top of the dock where it should be.

Cold here today. Good grief!! I do like fall and spring. Perfect temps of 70s and 80s. It feels like we have gone straight from 90 to 60. It is supposed to be in the 70s at the end of the week. I will be looking forward to it.

Got Halloween decorations spread out all over the living room floor. I am feeling extra spooky this year. Don't know how I am going to fit that in with all the happy pumpkins and ghosts I already have. We shall see.......