Happy Halloween 2010!

Halloween Bash #1

We were invited to attend a Halloween Bash at my dear friend Sheri's last night. A party at Sheri's? I'M THERE! I hadn't quite finished getting our costumes together, so there was some last-minute running around but we pulled it off!


James wanted to be Luigi from Mario Brothers. I lost his mustache (bad mommy) and when we got to Sheri's her daughter, Kameron, graciously offered to draw him one with eyeliner. He wasn't too keen on that idea, and wiped the one we had managed to draw on off immediately!

The picture below was one of my favorite moments of the evening--Kam tied donuts to a ribbon, and each participant had to eat their doughnut without using their hands. Guess who won? You know it! Moi! (Let's be happy that there aren't any pics of me swallowing the donut almost whole. YUCK!)


Here is my other favorite moment--Kam had us do a chain ghost storytelling game. James loved it! Almost every night we do a "made up story" before bed. One of us starts, and each takes a turn telling. This was a hit!!


And did you see Kam's hat? She was the Johnny Depp version of the Mad Hatter. AWESOME. Her costume was all put together by hand.

Here is a pic of another great moment (okay, the whole evening was filled with fabulous moments!) Sheri's son Joe is a volunteer fireman. He came in to the party after his shift in his uniform. He went to his room and a few minutes later he came out in a Dunkin Donuts uniform. I was like "Dude! That's classic!" Thinking it was his costume for the party. NOPE! He works across the street at D&D! D-o-h!!!!


We all ran across the street in our costumes and he gave James and Ella donuts (I had already had my fill, thank you VERY much!) James LOVES D&D and firemen, so Joe is his new hero!

Here is Sheri, or should I say Edward Scissorhands, and her daughter Kameron. Isn't their makeup fantastic? I seriously couldn't look Sheri in the eye all night. She FREAKED ME OUT!!!


Here is Joe, Sheri and Kam:


Here are two more party goers and really fun ladies, Aldene and her daughter Amanda:


Here is Sheri's Mom:


James making a fun Boo Drink!


Cute pic of the kids (love the wings!)


Chris dressed as Mike Holmes from Holmes on Holmes!


Meow!


Yum!


My little fairy princess! (Her little sparkly flats are so cute!!!!!)


Thanks Sheri! We had a spooky great time!!!!

Pumpkin Picking with Grandpa in Maine

We visited with my Dad and my sister Amy in Maine last weekend. Dad had grown some pumpkins for the kids, and took them out in the garden to harvest them.


It was a sweet moment for me. I remember as a child Dad growing pumpkins for Amy and I; he would put a mason jar with water next to the pumpkins, cut a slit in the shell and run a piece of cheesecloth from the slit in the pumpkin to the water in the jar. Somehow this would make the pumpkins grow larger.

I love the look on James' face in this photo:


He gave Ella a smaller "pupin" as she calls them; she carried it around the yard all afternoon!


Here's a shot of Dad and Ella that I fooled around with in Photoshop--I think that the hazy quality really captures my nostalgic feelings while I look at it.


The foliage was amazing--Autumn is definitely my favorite time of year! Happy pumpkin picking!

Let's Read

Reading is a FAVORITE pastime around here. James gets up every morning about 6am and reads in his room until it is time to head downstairs at 7. I don't know why it still surprises me every morning, but it still does.

After lunch he has quiet time in his room (this used to be his nap time) and reads.

We read before bed, too.

Here he is the other night reading one of the harder Thomas books his Grandpa gave him.


I get a little sad when I think about how I read to him almost every night from the time he was just a baby until he started to read on his own, and now he reads to me! That means that he is no longer my little baby boy anymore!

Here is Ella getting in on the reading action. She wouldn't let me even show here a book until a few months ago. In fact, if I put her on my lap with a book, she would SCREAM!!!! They are so different!



Here are my munchkins "reading" together!!!


OK, the truth is, Ella had just hopped up on the chair with her book when James abruptly left. He doesn't much like to share his reading with her!!

Too funny!

Smooch!!!

Here's a kiss for my Grandpa and my Auntie Amy!
See you in a couple of weeks!
XOXO
Ella