It's HALLOWEEN!!!!

After a full week of playing Halloween the "Official" day has come. We were fortunate enough to go trick-or-treating with our good friends the Thompsons. They said their neighborhood was a great place to let the kids go door-to-door asking for candy. (You never know these days where a good, safe place is to trick-or-treat) So we jumped at the offer. I got some action shots of the kids saying trick-or-treat and then "Thank you". We really practiced the last part.

Some of the home owners were even dressed up, which makes it all the more fun.

Tyson said he had his light saber out to warn off any bad guys in case they came to steal their candy. My little hero. Always looking out for everyone. Love him.

Ella the mermaid and Taryn the pumpkin fairy. Two cute little friends. They enjoyed riding in the wagon when their little legs started to give out from all the walking.

It was a faboolous way to end the Halloween Holiday. We now have two grocery bags full, and I mean full, of candy. Thank goodness I can hide it and ration it out a few pieces at a time. Although, Vaughn seems to find the stash and takes a good share of the candy. HA HA HA Gotta love it! Happy Halloween.

Trunk or Treat at CBES

Are we ready to trick-or-treat? Tonight was the annual Cedar Bluff Elementary School trunk-or-treat fest. One damper was the rain, so instead of trunk-or-treating outside they changed it to an inside festival. Each class is asked to decorate a trunk for the kids to trick-or-treat at, and since I was over Tyson's class last year I knew what a BIG deal this was going to be. It started at 5:30 in the evening but we were standing in line at 4:45 and there was already a line to get into the school gym. Luckily when the rain started, the kids and I were standing under the walk way's over hang and we stayed dry. I asked Melody and the kids to come with us. It is always more fun when you can do things together with others.

It's the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. I went to great lengths to procure his costume this year and the reaction on his face made it all worth it. He loves Star Wars and dressing up like a Jedi was pure fun.

As we got into the school there was a station where the cat in the hat was serving green eggs and ham.

Taryn was looking at him like, "I might like to try them here or there." HA HA HA. It was great.

The Jedi and the pirate. The kids enjoyed trunk-or-treating together.

Princess Belle and the Pumpkin Fairy. Two cute little friends.

Not the best picture, but the gym was so dark and my less-than-wonderful-picture-taking-skills and camera weren't up to par. I just wanted proof of her trunk-or-treating. We had practiced saying "trick-or-treat" and then "thank you" all afternoon. She did it well. I didn't even have to remind her about it.

A princess, Jedi, pirate, and pumpkin fairy all happy about their candy loot. Now the question was, "When can I eat my candy?" I was thinking the same thing!

Halloween at the Library

It is Halloween time! Yes! I love this time of year. It is my favorite holiday and I have made that impact on my kiddos too. They like dressing up for the season. Once again, the Cedar Bluff Library had a Halloween party/story time. The kids are allowed to dress up. Last year it was packed with all kind of cute kids dressed up in costumes, but it was different this year. Taryn and a few other kids were dressed up and the rest were in their regular clothes. Party poopers. It didn't bother Taryn, she loves to dress up no matter what the occation.

Her is Taryn and the story time lady. (Funny thing is, I don't know her name. We have been going to story time for over a year and I don't think she has ever said her name). Taryn loves to listen to her tell the stories and sing the songs.

Before we went to story time, the Pumpkin Fairy had to get all dolled up. This is last year's costume, but she wanted to wear it again, and who am I to get in the way of that. It actually fits her this year and so looks so darn cute!

She wanted an orange wig, and we could find all colors of the rainbow, except orange. So mom had to come up with a different plan. I told Taryn we would puts lots of curls up on top of her head. 30 minutes later, this was the result.

She was satisfied with the end result and forgot all about the wig. WHEW! I dodged a tantrum on that one. The Halloween story time was just as fun as last year. Bring on the rest of the week of Halloween fun. Taryn has her costume all worked out and all is right in the world.

Tyson's First Pack Meeting

Tyson had his first pack meeting and was so excited because he was received his Bobcat award and a belt loop for baseball. Here he is reciting his Cub Scout Promise. He takes a lot of pride in scouting.

His pack master, Mike Masters, giving him his awards.

If you look at the smirk on his face, he was beaming with pride that he had worked so hard and was given recognition for it.

After the ceremonies, the troop had fun and games for the boys and their siblings. Tyson was all about the donut eating contest.

The problem was trying to get the suspended donut to hold still long enough for him to get a bite on it. It was fun to watch.

My little scout is now a Bobcat. I am so proud of him and all his accomplishments. I know this is just the beginning, but it is a great start to something BIG!

Aunt Kariann was able to be with us on this night of awards. It is always fun to have extended family present when things like this go on. I know Vaughn enjoyed having his sister in town to laugh and hang out with.

The last game was "Making a Mummy." Tyson made his partner look like a pretty good mummy.

The whole night was fun. Tyson enjoyed the pack meeting and receiving his awards. He is now in the process of working on more achievements. So proud of you buddy!

Taryn Turns Three

There is my little princess. Last year when she turned 2 she was still a baby, but now she is a BIG Girl and all princess. We were so fortunate to have her Aunt Kariann and cousin Grace Ann fly in for her party weekend. Since Tyson had a BIG party, Taryn decided she wanted to have a party as well. So, we planned a princess party and she told me who to invite. Tyson didn't want to be in the princess party, but he wanted to be in a photo with his sister and cousin.

Here are all the princesses who came to Taryn's party. We sent out little invitations that looked like purses, made by Grandma T. I didn't think everyone would show up, but we were so lucky that they all did. We asked that they all dress up in their favorite princess outfits. As we waited for all the girls to show up, Cinderella II was playing on the TV. By ten o'clock in the morning, all the girls were there and it was showtime. Luckily my sister-in-law and Caryn Marlow stayed to help out with the princess party. We all headed into the kitchen and proceeded to make princess crowns with jewels and glitter flowers. The girls had a ball decorating their own Princess Crown. I was so glad it turned out to be a success. Once they had them all decorated we had to take pictures of all the gorgeous princesses. Taryn was the bell of the ball. She was so happy to have all of her friends at her house for her party.

Grace Ann and Taryn haven't seen each other since they were babies, literately. Each one played well with the other and having Gracie here for her party was wonderful. Here are pictures of the other little princesses:

Madison Lambert

Taylor Rambo

Kylie Ritter

Julia Mueller

Kate Rambo

Kamren Taylor

Lauren Lambert

Iris Marlow









It was so much fun to take all their pictures. I felt like we were all in a little fairy tale. Once the pictures were over we took the girls back into the kitchen, because it was too cold outside, to hit a pinata. I bought this cheep pinata and figured that the girls would each get maybe one hit and it would fall apart. I was SO wrong! They all got to hit it once and it didn't even have a dent in it; so, we tried again. I let them all hit it several times during their turn, and nothing. Then I let Tyson hit it, hard! Still not a dent in this thing. I let them all go one more round hitting it, and some of those little girls could hit it hard, and still nothing. I ended up tearing it and then shaking all the contents onto the ground. We had it stuffed with sparkly sunglasses, little flutes, necklaces, rings, stickers, and a few pieces of candy. The girls all loved grabbing the goodies and putting them in their princess bags.

Then it was time for cake. My friend Megan Schultz, made this amazing Princess Aurora cake with the three fairies. This picture doesn't do it justice. It had yummy butter cream frosting. Needless to say all the little girls loved the cake and ate their piece all gone. Last was the presents and Taryn's little friends were so generous to her. She received all kinds of Princess items and girly things. Thanks so much to everyone for all the presents and the kindness.

Taryn and Grace Ann after the party, all dolled up in their treasures from the pinata. It was a successful party, but the party day was only partly over. We still had fun things to do.

That night at the Thompson Bowl Area the Shriner's Circus was in town. I thought it would be a great way to end my little princess's day. She lasted the first hour and then fell asleep in my arms. She was too tired to finish out the circus acts. So we only stayed until intermission, which was about 2 hours and then we left.

They had all kinds of rides the kids could handle, but they were pricey. So I allowed Tyson to ride the big slide. He had a ball and that was all that matters.

I was able to get down on the floor and take a picture of all the circus stuff.

Tyson found little little niche up above our seats, and he and Taryn thought they were cool sitting up in the nook, watching the circus. Then Taryn became tired and the rest was history.

The opening ceremonies. It was pretty cool to see all the masons who work so hard to make the circus possible.

I love the high flying trapeze artists. They are probably my favorite to see in a circus.

I loved the whole day and I think Taryn did too. Happy Birthday to my little princess. We love you and are so glad you are in our lives!

Halloween Decor

The kids have been begging me to decorate for Halloween, but honestly we just haven't had a free day or night in which to accomplish this task. Today we didn't have anything going, which doesn't happen very often, and so the kids and I decorated till Taryn said it was a Haunted House.
The kids made the spiders and we hung the webs for them to put their creepy creations on. Since we move ever so often, my decor is limited, because I know that in a few years I will just have to pack it all up again. I try to keep it small, but when we are finally settled into our own house, I will go crazy and have TONS of decor for every season.

Tyson's thumbs up sign means we are ready for Halloween. Now they ask me, "When can we dress up and go Trick-or-Treating?" It is going to be a long month!