Happy Halloween!

Tigress (from Kung Fu Panda), a pirate, and a jack-o-lantern

We actually had two events to attend this year! First, our church hosted a fall festival that involved a petting zoo, crafts, games snacks, a glow-in-the-dark dance party, trick or treating through the pre-k classrooms, and of course several hundred adorable kids in costumes. The girls had a fantastic time and came home with quite a haul of candy. The second event at our local Y was a bit of a letdown. For the girls Halloween is all about the candy and the costumes. There were a few fun games, but no candy. A costume contest had been advertised, and Monkey and Bug were pretty excited about participating. Then the powers that be cut off the contest at 8 years olds. Tears were shed. We assured them that we thought it was ridiculous and that they were very cute.

Visit to Grandma & Granddad's House
It was a short visit--a mere 36 hours--but we crammed in a lot of fun! We arrived Friday night, and most of us spent a lazy Saturday morning. I chatted with Grandma and worked on cross-stitch while the girls played in the basement. Meanwhile, Daddy went bow hunting (he saw several deer but didn't have a good shot on any of them). We reconvened for lunch at the second annual food truck rodeo downtown. We had about 20 food trucks to choose from and live music to listen to. So much good food! After lunch, the girls walked down the riverwalk trail with Granddad to check out the new exhibit at the science center. The exhibits theme was how things move over land, sea, and air. Topics included engines, aerodynamics, gravity, air pressure, friction and hands-on exhibits let them do things like experiment with pulleys and ride a hover craft. They arrived home in time to join Grandma and I for a Christmas card making party (a friend of hers sells crafting supplies). We each got to make four beautiful cards and had a great time playing stamps, embossing, and die cutting. That night we braved a mild drizzle to cook out dinner in the fire pit. Everybody loves s'mores! The next morning we saw them off to church and headed home. Whew!