Halloween!!!!

What a busy day!!! A couple of other Moms and I decided to put on a Fall Festival at Stevens School today. It was a huge success! We were all so glad to see the kids having fun. I am blessed to have two Teachers who share their students with me. We set up four stations......Pumpkin Painting, Sticker Fun, Playdoh, and Fall Cookie Decorating.

Little Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Painting

We rotated the 40 kids between each station. Then George brought up pizza and all the kids had lunch in the classroom. I was surprised at how much Parent participation we had. Over 20 parents sent in goodies for the treat bags, and 8 moms came in to help. It was great fun. I brought in hay bales and set them up with a scarecrow and all 40 pumpkins to make a small pumpkin patch. Each child chose his/her own pumpkin out of the patch and then they painted them. (Thanks to my friend Heather for giving me the idea) The day was flawless.

Around 1pm I left Stevens school for Amanda Lily's preschool. They had a small class party with treats and then trick or treated around the school. It was low key, but fun for everyone.

Pete and Heather brought Sophie by for a photo opp of the cousins. I was so glad that they did. I'm amazed at how much Steven and Sophia look alike! Every time I see her, it takes me back to when Steven was her age. She is such a sweet girl. I am waiting for photos from Heather to post. Pete took some good ones.

To finish the night off, Pam came over with Caleb and Druw for Trick or Treating. The kids had a great time. We even went over to the church festival for a Hayride. Lastly, we headed up to the restaurant to have dinner with George. It was his shift this Halloween, so I wanted him to see the kids in their costumes. Wheeeeeew. What a day. I hit the pillow pretty hard.

Snaggle Tooth Boy

Steven lost his front tooth the other night. It had been hanging by a thread for some time, so we knew it would be any day. His dad and sister cheered him on in the bathroom as he snatched it out. I left the room immediately upon entering to see what all the hoopla was about. I just couldn't stomach it! Amanda Lily was cheering "go Steven go, go Steven go" George said it only took 3 tugs for it to come out. Steven came downstairs to show me and exclaimed "Mommy, tonight was the night" he was so excited. I think he was mostly excited about the tooth fairy coming. She always sprinkles confetti "fairy dust" in his room and that really gets him excited. She also leaves allot more $$$ for the front teeth. I tell you, she must have won the lottery since I was a kid, because I was lucky to get $.25 for each tooth. Anyways, if any of you happen to see my son, he is so proud of his lost tooth, so be prepared to see a gummy smile!!

We are hoping he will lose the other in time for Christmas so that he can sing the infamous "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" We will see.

Also, the song in the background is my current favorite. I thought you Mom's would appreciate it. It is by the artist Plumb. If you girls have a minute to listen, do. It will strike a chord with you all I am sure. (:

Halloween Party

This past weekend, we had a Halloween Party. It was so much fun. All of the kids came dressed up, and decorated pumpkins. I had lots of treats and just a few spooky tricks. Amanda Lily LOVED helping plan and prepare the party. She shopped with me at Target for the spooky stuff and just laughed at the gross stuff. We had a blast. All of you who know me, know that I really enjoy having parties. I love every aspect of them. From the invitation to the favor. It just is great fun for me to put things together for others and see how they enjoy themselves. We all had a wonderful time. I was very pleased with the way everything turned out. After the party was over, my Aunts and Mom helped with clean up, then we went out to chat on the lanai. The air was so nice.....it was around 10pm. The three of them had me laughing so hard I cried. They are such fun to be with.

My Mother made the kids costumes from scratch. She is so creative. She made Amanda Lily into "Dorothy" from some fabric we bought at JoAnn's. I asked her to make it a little big so that she could get some good playtime out of it. I also prefer longer length dresses on her. Anyways, it turned out to be ADORABLE. Amanda Lily loved it so much she wanted to sleep in it!

She made Steven's costume from a large box I had George save from the restaurant. His Amtrak train even has lights. She has been in town the past 10 days, and we have really enjoyed having her. She has that "Nana" way of making the kids feel special.

So, here are all the photos to show the fun times we had. I hope you all are making the most of this Fall Season.

Greece

I am really into blogging right now, so I wanted to get as much posted as possible. Mom, the children, and I traveled to Greece this summer to visit family. George joined us after the first 2 weeks for a total stay of a month. It was a great trip. I am posting a slide show, because I took over 800 photos while we were there, and ended up with a little over 200 that were good. (Don't worry, I didn't blog all of the photos.) Our family in Greece will get to see the pics I took, and my American friends will get to see how beautiful it is over there. If any of you ever get a chance to travel abroad, I HIGHLY recommend Greece. The people there are so warm and hospitable to even complete strangers. They are allot like Southerners in that respect. There is always something going on. They are nightlife people. When Mom and I first arrived, my Father in Law's side of the family invited us to go out for dinner. We accepted the invite, and they said they would be at our house to meet us at 9:30pm. We ended up not getting home until 2:00am . Steven feel asleep in my lap at the restaurant. Amanda Lily was like the energizer bunny playing with her little cousin who had also come along. Keep in mind that this was just a restaurant we went to, not a bar. Most family places here are getting ready to close at the time we arrived for dinner. The entire sitting area was outside underneath huge trees with lights strung in rows. You guys can see it right? The kids were just running around, and no one looked at us like "control your kids lady" because their kids were running around too! George says the kids have allot more "freedom to be kids" over in Greece , and I really saw that on this year's trip. We adapted to all of the social norms easily. There is a 7 hour time difference, so we were already used to sleeping in the afternoon and staying up late into the night. On George's Moms side, there is allot to be said. Amanda has 5 brothers and sisters, and they each have kids for a total of 18 cousins. They all live within walking distance in Mystras. We were never bored, that's for sure! They all made sure we were taken care of. Uncle Yanni has a sheep farm. Steven has such a heart for animals, so we were at their house alot. Amanda Lily spent the night at each house. Allot of the girls are in their early 20's, so they all doted on the kids in a BIG way. Once George arrived, we took Mom to visit the Parthenon and Acropolis in Athens. She hadn't gotten a chance to go the previous two times she visited, so I promised her that we would do it. Well, she ended up almost having a heat stroke. Seriously, it is like hiking up a mountain to get to the thing. I have no idea how the ancient Greeks got all that heavy marble to the top of that mountain. It is really amazing. George's bloodline is from Sparta, and his parents house is sitting in the valley of the ancient village "Mystras" The Byzantine Castle you see in some of the photos is literally the view from my In Laws veranda. There are also photos of the ancient city that comes sprawling down the mountainside. Also, there is a Monastery that is still used today by Monks. I think it is the only "working" part of the ancient city. I could go on and on. When it was time to leave, we all got up and went over to YaYa's (Grandma's) to say goodbye. It was 5:30 in the morning, and they were all there. All the uncles, aunts, cousins, drinking coffee and crying that we were leaving. I had told George that I was going to try my best not to get emotional, because I didn't want to upset the kids before that big 24 hour trip. Well, when his Uncle Yanni picked up Steven, put him in a big bear hug, and started crying, I was like, OK forget it. Steven started crying too, and I couldn't bear to see the little sweet in his heartbreak. He had really made a connection with his family this summer. Waterworks all around. We were all so sad to leave. But, we know there is always next summer when we go to visit again, and have a Christening for our newest addition, Sophia. Who's coming with me???? (:

Patio Work

My sister in law, Heather, recently redecorated her lanai. "It's like adding another room to your house" she said. I had gone over to her house to see what all the hype was about, and was totally inspired by the work she had done. I am sharing these photos mainly for her, as she is very busy with little Sophia. Also, I thought Aunt Shawn would enjoy seeing my kitchen herbs are still out there.( I actually use them quite a bit.) And, I am hoping to entice my friend Heather to come over and sit in those comfy rocking chairs with me while the kids play out back. (:

Who knows, maybe I'll pass on the inspiration, and someone else will have another room to enjoy these fall evenings. I will warn you though, concrete stain is a smelly thing. I had to take breaks to keep from getting a headache from them fumes!

ps....Jennifer, do you see what I see????? I can't keep away from those birds. lol

Pumpkin Patch

Every year, our church has a pumpkin patch. This past Thursday, the pumpkins were delivered. Our Wednesday night club, Awana Cubbies and Sparks, asked that we bring the kids out to help unload over 1000 pumkins and ghourds. I thought it was a great chance to teach the kids about teamwork, and also, who doesn't like a pumpkin? It was organized that the adults lined up in one line, and the small children another. They literally tossed the large pumpkins down the adult line, and the smaller ones down the kids line. I have a TON of photos to share. Those of you who are close to me know I am a shutterbug big time. I usually like to let the photos tell the stories.

It was a fun time. We didn't select our pumpkins just yet, we'll probably pick out a couple on a Sunday after church. I'll take photos of that as well, and share them later.